Nik and Jake Nalder

Friday, June 3, 2011

OOPS, I DID IT AGAIN!!!

6/3 8:30pm

Hi, I'm Nik. And I just pooped all over my bed!!! LOL!!!

Shhhh, don't tell my nurse!!

We had a better nurse today, although the day was kindof shaky in regards to they boys stats. They both had to be on more oxygen to keep their levels up today. I was kindof concerned, but figured they may be having a dip. I would much rather see them progressing at this point...for obvious reasons.

I'm stressing about managing every ones time at home and who's going to watch the kids and when. I'm trying to figure out when I can have the kids come up here to see the babies and spend some time together with them, as well as finding some relief for my mom, who is taking care of them right now. I know she desperately wants to see the babies, but knows I need her in California to watch John, Anna and Ava. For some reason I'm worried about it.

This evening our night nurse is one of my favorites! She is really gentle with the boys. Fie just came by to see the boys during their CPAP check/change with all their gear off. She also brought them reinforcements....lots of milk!! It'll help their little tummies so much. She also brought me a couple books to read and some "skittles". She's great. I'm really happy she was able to come and see the boys with out all their gear. They are usually very awake during the 8pm changing, which is a great time to see their little personalities and the very cute things they do.

The boys are doing great tonight. After today being shaky on their stats, I'm surprised at how great they are doing tonight. They have been running on almost no extra oxygen at all...and not desaturating to much. So, hopefully they are in for a well deserved long rest!! I think the other nurse...who shall not be named....completely wore them OUT! We will be trying not to have her again....actually, I'll be doing more than just trying. I gotta take care of my boys!

Weights
NIK - 1090 grams (gain of 10 grams)
JAKE - 1140 grams (gain of 20 grams)

Thursday, June 2, 2011

6/2 - New Nurse

Boys have a new nurse today...not sure if I like her yet or not. She's old school...and a little rough. But we'll see how the day goes.
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I have been here with they boys all day long. I decided I definitely....DON'T like the nurse....for various reasons. I try not to let personality cloud my judgement. I actually liked her as a person. But....I'm here to take care of my precious little boys....not to make friends.

This is the part I really really hate about the NICU experience. It's stressful enough having 26 week babies in the NICU, but not having any confidence in the nurse that's supposed to be taking care of your babies is stressful, annoying, and exhausting. It's going to give me an anxiety attack!!!!

5/31 to 6/1

Boys are doing well this morning. Nik has been turned down to a 5 on his CPAP machine...HUGE step for him. Not as much pressure to keeps his little lungs open. Hopefully he will tolerate the change okay. I actually was able to hold Nik today for a little bit. He did great! Actually, his saturation level was higher than he had all day. I think he enjoyed it almost as much as I did.

NIK (6/1)

Nik seems to be getting stronger everyday. I can tell by how much he tries to help during diaper changes, and how much he protests during CPAP changes. Thoes great big eyes get me every time!!! I think he know it too!

JAKE (5/31)

Jake is cruzing right along. He likes to try and poop on the nurses. He actually peed all over his isolete...it was his way of telling them it was time to clean his room!!

Weights on 6/1
NIK - 1060 grams
JAKE - 1130 grams

(I stayed with you both most of the night...till about 1:30am)

5/28 to 5/30

Nik has been doing so much better over the past few days. I could really tell a difference about 1 1/2 days after his blood transfusion. He is able to keep his blood oxygen level up better and he looks much less pale. And he is overall a bit more feisty!! The Dr. and nurses say they haven't heard his PDA (heart murmur) in the past few days. So, that's definitely helping him to get blood to his lungs. If it will just stay closed we will be in good shape with that issue. The Dr. also said they can reopen at any time for no reason at all. But we are hoping it will stay closed.

The Dr. has also put them on continuous feedings. They have tried extending their feeding over longer & longer periods of time, but finally decided to put them on a daily amount calculated by their weight that continually goes in over a 24 hour period. This keeps the boys from getting to full and spitting up...leading to desaturation...etc.

Jake is starting to look more pale. We noticed him being more pale on Monday, 5/30. But his O2 saturation level and heart rate are holding steady. The paleness is most likely due to his red blood cell, or hematocrit levels dropping. They are holding off on a blood test or likely hood of a transfusion until he becomes more symptomatic...like desaturating as his brother did a few days ago.

Weights as of 5/30
NIK - 1050 grams (birth weight 940)
JAKE - 1100 grams (birth weight 1105)