March 30, 2010

There comes a time when even a blogger needs a vacation. The blog will be on standstill (except if Mom and Dad decide to post pics every now and again) for a full week. I will have a large blog posting upon my return Wednesday (4/6) evening time. Hopefully, when I return, there will be a more solid time frame around when the possible discharge may be so I can then turn around twice and head to MD!!

Grandpa Lewis had a big day at the hospital today. He got to hold Tenley and help to bathe Will, who was absolutely LOVING his nice, warm bath. Will's eye exam, again, went really well today...no issues there...so he's free-and-clear of eye exams for at least the next two weeks. Will is still learning how to gulp and breathe - and not brady - while breastfeeding. He is now taking his feeds during a two hour duration as opposed to continuously throughout the day. He brady's every now and again so he will remain at this level until he gets use to it. Next week he will start being evaluated on his motor skills to see if the level IV brain bleed has caused any impairment thus far.

Tenley had her tube feeds drop to 33CCs for a few days but is now back up to 40CCs. The biggest news for her....she is now in a bassinet just like her brother! They are right next to each other but they don't really seem to notice at this point. She has a little difficulty staying warm, so they keep her extra covered up with blankies to assist. Tenley's eye exam last week went well, no change, so her next exam will be next week.

Some more cute pics ...

Will being fussy

Will being cute, yet again

Tenley is very sleepy

Tenley being Tenley

March 29, 2010

The blogger would like to apologize for any unanticipated chaos caused by the statement "there may be a possible discharge this week." Although the Doctors did say this, they were just warning Mom and Dad that they need to prepare in the event such lovely news was to be given.

In order for Tenley to get discharged, she has to gain some major weight (she still weighs less than 4 lbs), get stronger with the bottle/breast feeds, and get this whole allergy situation under control. Although weight gain is not Will's problem (he weighs 4lbs 8 ozs) he still needs to come off continuous feeds, get comfortable with the normal every three hour feeds, then start primarily doing bottle/breast feeding. His reflux and brady occurrences are doing better but those are still factors as well. So, it could still be a few weeks, but Mom and Dad need to start getting prepared now just in case...

Now for some pictures courtesy of MoMo and Pop Pop.

Will being cute:

Will's new bed (where is he?):

Cutie Tenley:

Tenley's huge binky:
more pics can be found at: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2296522016/a=2117318021_4884556/

Pics, Pics and more Pics!

Ladies and Gentlemen....I will now present to you the wireless/tubeless Kinloch twins ....

Will
Tenley
And now, the Kinloch twins laying down head to head (Tenley on right, Will on left) ...


The Kinloch Family (Will held by Mom and Tenley held by Dad):


Lots more pics are located at http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3689340009/a=2117318021_72699886/

March 26, 2010 - Moving Day

Moving day? ... Wait ... What?!

Yup, that's right...you read me correctly. Both Will and Tenley are now in another sector within the NICU, referred to as either the "satellite" room or the "step-down" room. Mom walked into their room of the last 68 days and saw that Will was missing. After a brief panic, they led her into his new home-away-from-home, where he was patiently waiting for his sis to join him. Although Mom knew they would be moved soon, the timing of it was just a bit surprising. After spending almost a week within blocks of the hospital, the twins were moved on the night they are going back to sleep in their own house, 40 miles away. Both Mom and Dad have to work tomorrow so it just made more sense to not stay there for the night. Leaving them in a strange room on their first night makes Mom a bit uneasy, but they are still in good hands. Personally, I found this to be great news! I just remember walking by those rooms in January talking to my sis about how long it will be until they get to go into those rooms. Now the time has come and I am nothing but ecstatic about the situation.

Will's one breastfeed is going pretty well. One common side effect of brain bleeds is not getting the hang of the gulp then breathe timing needed while feeding. He seems to be doing ok, but definitely has a brady every now and again due to this. Other than that though, his bradys are a lot more infrequent. He's still on caffeine to help stimulate his breathing, but as long as he's still doing well on Monday, they will likely take him off.

Tenley just can't seem to gain weight these days. The breastfeeding sessions can continue however all but one of her bottle feeds are now tube feeds. Each tube feed is 40CCs at this point. Her stools don't visibly look bloody anymore but they still test positive in the lab work. On Monday they will re-evaluate her allergy symptoms and Mom's diet.

March 25, 2010

The last couple days have been busy, busy, busy for these new parents. Tenley keeps Mom busy with her five breastfeeds a day. Will keeps them both focused on him because he is now off the nasal oxygen (a big YAY!)and is therefore breathing on his own and looking ultra cute without his nasal oxygen tubes. Plus, they are actually going to take him out of the isolette tonight!...as in, he wont be in that enclosure anymore, he'll just be laying there like he would in a normal crib. AND, now he is being breastfeed one time a day. So, between toggling the feeds, the holds, the doctors, the nurses, and just normal tasks like eating and walking back and forth between the hotel and the hospital...there's just very limited time. There are also rumblings of a possible discharge next week....so all the tasks in the "we'll do that later" category now need to be done.

The good news is that all of this means progress, and progress is something we've all been hoping and praying for over the last two months.

March 23, 2010

Tenley - Yesterday she still had some blood in her stool but today was much better. She is off the caffeine doses (which she's had every day thus far). Her breastfeeds have gone up from three times a day to up to five times a day, with the other feeds being via feeding tube...no bottle due to all the effort being exuded from breastfeeding. As of today, she is officially a "corner baby". What does this mean? Well, out of all the babies in the room, she is the next up to go to a step-down room. Although harder on Mommy and Daddy because now the twins are separated again, it's one step closer to Miss Princess coming home.

Tenley in her froggy outfit:
Tenley's cute ruffles

Will - His air levels for the nasal oxygen are WAY down (yay!) and they have moved the feeding tube back into his little tummy. Yesterday he had a few big brady's within a few hours of the tube being moved, but has only had a few little ones since (so little that he snapped himself out of them without nurse intervention). The next headscan will be next Friday, so nothing to report this week as far as that is concerned. Today they increased his Zantec med (for his reflux) to the maximum dose.

Will sportin' his new froggy outfit:

Will and Mo Mo
Here's a pic of Will's isolette on the right and Tenley's on the left
more pics can be found at http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2277388016/a=2117318021_4884556/

March 22, 2010

Tenley's diapers are looking much better! A nurse came in yesterday who hadn't seen her since Friday and said they looked significantly better. They are still testing positive for blood traces, however the bleeding has definitely visually reduced. Therefore, they are allowing Mom to stay on soy products (Yay! Now she can actually put salad dressing on her salad!) She is completely off bottle feeds now as well... three feeds from Mommy and the rest are via the feeding tube so she doesn't have to exert as much energy on eating and can gain weight quicker.

Will's rash looks much better as well. He must be sensitive to detergents because he seems to be doing a-ok with the non-harsh detergent...phew! Mo Mo got to hold him for the first time yesterday. As far as his last headscan results...to be more descriptive, the clots appeared to be breaking down and draining when compared to the last scan. We aren't sure if he's getting another one this week or not, but I'll keep you posted.

Thank you to Aunt Kay and her Pittsburgh crew for the cutie froggie onesies and Easter supplies!! They got a pic yesterday with both of them sportin' their new gear :) Again, I won't be posting pics for a week or so, but as soon as they are able to post pics to snapfish again I will post them for all to see.

March 21, 2010

The first night at Ronald McDonald went well (as of 11pm, that is). The accommodations there were very nice and being only a few blocks from the hospital - I'm sure - reduces some of their stress.

Will had his two-month-old shots yesterday. He did cry, but not as loud as his sister did. He was very tired last night so he was left in his isolette to get some much needed sleep. His headscan results came in...good news!...there has been improvement even since last week. Keep it up Will!!! The official weigh-in for the week, 4lbs 2ozs. In another day or two they will try moving the feeding tube back to his stomach to see if the reflux meds are working...keeping my fingers crossed.

Tenley weighed in at 3lbs 12ozs. Since she only gained 4ozs from last weeks weigh-in, they decided she is to come out of her isolette three times a day only...and that is only to be breastfed. Poor Daddy doesn't get to hold Tenley for awhile (at least, not for long periods of time) :( They increased her food to 35CCs and she's on a one hour continuous feed, so hopefully these changes will help her to pack on the ounces. Mom was also advised to stop eating soy products yesterday since Tenley's stool is still bloody. I'm not sure what the heck mom CAN eat at this point (plain meat, nut products, and salad?), but if it helps Tenley, I'm sure she'll figure it out.

March 20, 2010

I think there's one more batch of pics coming but after that it may be awhile until we see anymore. After two months of transporting back and forth to the hospital, Mommy and Daddy have caved-in and are staying at the Ronald McDonald house.

Will started his Zantac medication yesterday (for the reflux) and the plan is to keep him on it for a few days, then move the feeding tube back up to the stomach and see how he handles this change. His brady's have not completely gone away, but they have significantly decreased. He had a head ultrasound yesterday so we're just waiting to get those results back. He is up to get his two-month-old shots any day now - with being on the Zantac they don't want to change too much up at one time. He's getting a slight rash as well so Mommy and Daddy are changing to skin-friendly detergents. Grandma Lewis got to hold him yesterday for the first time!

Tenley did not like her two-month-old shots at all...in fact, I think the babies a few nurseries over were complaining about the noise levels during that time...can't say the girl doesn't have healthy lungs!! She's up to 31CCs of food but still continues to have blood in her stool. Hopefully the new dairy-free milk (which started yesterday) will start helping soon.

Movies! (and more pics!)

Don't forget to scroll down to the previous posting to see more pics

This is a movie about Will getting frustrated that Daddy isn't offering-up what Mommy does....(plus, he sneezes, which is just really cute)

This is a picture of a happy son and father

This is a movie about Tenley being VERY sleepy from her two-month-old vaccinations given today...(plus, she points to the sky and then yawns, which is just really cute)

This is a picture of Tenley with pink/swollen eyes and a rash on her face due to the allergies but finally getting baby chunky ;) more pics can be found at http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3639270009/a=2117318021_72699886/

Pics!

Tenley says "yay!"
Tenley with Pop-Pop
Wide eyed Will
Little Will in a big hatMore pics can be found at: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3628921009/a=2117318021_72699886/

March 17, 2010

HAPPY TWO MONTH BIRTHDAY WILL AND TENLEY!!!

Both babies had their eye exams yesterday...routine for preemies. Will had perfect results...YAY!..and is off the hook for another eye exam for the next two weeks. Tenley didn't have raving results like Will but they weren't horrible either. She just has to have another eye exam in a week to make sure what they saw (which was very minimal) isn't progressing. It's common for preemies to have eye issues due to their retinas getting exposed to light before they would have normally.

Will got his feed increased from 10CCs an hour to 11CCs an hour, and is otherwise doing status quo. They are holding off on giving him his two month old vaccines until his respiratory rates are more stable.

Tenley is now only having food from either a bottle (30CCs worth) or from Mommy. Whatever she doesn't drink from the bottle will be sent down her feeding tube...but only then will her feeding tube be used. She is gaining roughly 1/2 to 3/4 of an ounce a day, so I don't think eating is this little girl's issue. She is getting her two month old vaccines today, so that should put her in a fantastic mood!

March 16, 2010

Not too much going on with Ms. Tenley. She is still waiting for her non-dairy filled milk (not sure how that works, but I'll go with it) but in the meantime has little, pink puffy eyes due to the suspected allergy. The allergy, however, is not preventing her from having numerous poo-canoes (its like a volcano, but, well....I think you get it). As you can see in the pic below, she was a bit cranky yesterday ;)
Will just can't get settled to the right Oxygen level. They put him on a high level and he does really well so they put him down. A few hours later, he'll start having brady's so they turn it up again. Such has been the pattern for the last day or so .. hopefully they'll find the right level for the little guy soon! He pulled his feeding tube out TWICE yesterday so it has since been moved to his nose. Also, as of yesterday, he is offically IV free again...one less day of being poked like a pin cushion! Below is the cutest dang pic of Will I have ever seen

March 15, 2010

Tenley - Well, appears the Dr's think she is allergic to dairy so Mommy is officially on day 1 of a no-dairy diet. After being milk-free for 48 hours, they will start giving her the dairy-free milk to see if this helps.

Will is still holding strong on the nasal oxygen and has only had one brady that they know of - and that was when he was having repiratory treatment so he was probably just tired of being messed with. The CPAP had him wear this brown sticky thing on his forehead which has now left a stubborn mark of sticky-gooey stuff on his face. They finally got it all off, but Dad definitely struggled.

more adorable pics can be found at http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3620398009/a=2117318021_72699886/

March 14, 2010

Tenley still can't get rid of the blood in her stool. Yesterday they held one of her feeds and her following stool was blood-free. However, the next stool (after going back on milk) had blood. So, they are testing some different situations to see if perhaps she has developed a food allergy of some kind. Mom is meeting with the Dr tonight about this...her guess is that they will first start with Mom taking dairy products out of her diet to see if perhaps she is lactose intolerant. If there's still blood in the stool after that change, they will try taking Mom off nut products (or any product made in the same factory as nuts). They took a stomach ultrasound to make sure it wasn't anything else and that came back clear, so for now, the assumption is that its a food allergy of some kind. She is still primarily off the nasal oxygen - only going on it for bottle feedings. She is up to 30CCs of milk per feeding now...which reminds me...her official weigh-in for this week....(drum roll please)....3lbs 8ozs!!! YAY!!!

Will is officially off the CPAP and on nasal oxygen as of today!!! His brady's are drastically decreasing and when he does have one, he can kick himself out of it without needing nurse intervention; appears his reflux may have been the cause all along. So, they are going to keep him on the continuous feeds (10CCs through an hour duration with two 1 hour breaks - works out to be about 29CCs of food per feed) and continue leaving the feeding tube further down passed his stomach until he weighs enough to go on the medication. Yesterday, Will took a few really big gulps of milk from Mommy and when she pulled him away he opened his big blue eyes nice and wide (the widest Mommy has seen) and stuck his tongue out asking for more. Good boy, Will!! As for the headscan results....remember, both sides of his brain got graded a level 4 however the left side was worse than the right. Well, the results this week showed the left side shrank down to the size of the right side...Yay!!! He will be getting another scan next week. His official weigh-in for the week....(drum roll please)... 3lbs 12ozs, however he did appear a bit swollen so an ounce or two is probably water-weight.

March 12, 2010

Rachel is out for the evening, so please enjoy this Uncle J exclusive!!

Will was able to come out for kangaroo care with just the nasal oxygen and he enjoyed himself thoroughly!! In fact, he enjoyed himself so much that he just couldn't stop kicking his little legs around when they put him back in the incubator. Personally, I think he was training for the 2030 Olympics (look out Michael Phelps), but there's a rumor going around that he was probably just uncomfortable. In an effort to maximize his comfort level, they asked if he could be swaddled, and the nurses allowed it! As soon as they wrapped him all up, he went right to sleep. While you might think this destroys my 2030 Olympics theory, every great athlete knows that sleep is a crucial part of training. Also, every great athlete knows that proper salt intake is equally important. Therefore, Will demanded an IV to give him a little more saline fluid. It's like the Gatorade for preemies. Also, they were able to lower the level of the CPAP today, and if everything goes according to plan, they're hoping to wean him off by Tuesday!

Tenley continued being her wonderful self today. When Mommy arrived, she was crying demanding her meal. Both her 3:00 and 6:00 meals directly from the source went delightfully well. She gained 2/3 of an ounce since yesterday and her stools are blood-free! Her next challenge is to master the trick of remembering to breathe while eating (it's like chewing gum and walking). Every now and then she gets so into her meal that Mommy has to remind her to breathe by rubbing her back. The same thing happened to Bill two Thanksgivings ago, so I'm not sure if it's a preemie thing or a Kinloch thing.

Both babies continued being the cutest babies in the world.

March 11, 2010

Will got to be held by Daddy for a long time yesterday. His reflux has been doing pretty well on the continuous feed...a couple of brady's but nothing too serious. They moved the feeding tube further down, to sort-of by-pass his stomach which should also help to reduce some of the reflux. This was working well until Will decided to yank it out..silly little guy! So, they had to put it back in this morning which meant getting an x-ray to make sure it was in the correct spot again. His respiratory test results have been really good so they put him down to the lower CPAP machine today. If they can get his brady's under control, he'll be in a good position for going on the nasal oxygen (which means cuter pictures!). He has his bi-weekly head ultra sound tomorrow - normally they would look for unchanged results but at this point they are looking for some signs of shrinkage.
Tenley was breathing on her own yesterday!!...without the nasal oxygen. They only put it on her during bottle/breast feeds due to the effort involved with actually "working" for the food instead of having it just drip directly into the belly. They did end up putting her back on the nasal oxygen today because she was just exhausted from all the bottle/breast feeds yesterday. They are going to reduce the amount of bottle feeds and hopefully that will help get her back off the nasal oxygen again (she is currently doing 2 bottle feeds, 2 breast feeds and the rest via the feeding tube). The blood in the stool was due to a fissure - a small tear - and it will just heal on its own in due time. When she was bottle fed yesterday, she got down 21CCs and was given the remaining 7CCs via feeding tube.

March 9, 2010

Will-He has been completely off milk since yesterday and had not had one brady all day. So, at 3pm and 6pm, Will went back on milk (half feeds - 13CCs). After eating, Will started having brady's again. They have concluded that Will may have reflux and he will have further testing to determine if he just needs his feeds dripping constantly - drip by drip - all day long, or if he needs to go on medicine. Whatever the result, if reflux is the cause for all his brady's...that is good news. He's still on the higher level CPAP machine but if they can start controlling his brady's, he will be put down to the lower level CPAP machine.

Tenley-She was VERY responsive today during her "directly from the source" feeding. In fact, it was determined that she actually had gotten a full feed and therefore does not need any additional food when this opportunity presents itself again in the future. It's unbelievable to think that she should still be in the womb but she is already getting full feeds "directly from the source". Her last few stools had some traces of blood. Her last one before Mom and Dad left for the night only had a little bit so they are thinking it was due to moving the breathing tube from her mouth to her nose (to make drinking from Mommy more feasible). Her nose is a bit dried out (and sometimes bloody) from the nasal oxygen, so the breathing tube could have gotten some of this blood in it and sent it down the digestive track. No worries for now. Pop-Pop Kinloch got to hold her today for the first time :)

Tenley and Pop-Pop
Tenley "in a mood" today

March 8, 2010

Below are some videos (Mommy is not a videographer...please keep that in mind) and more pics of the cuties from when Aunt Rachel visited and from today (Daddy is feeling ill so he wasn't able to see them today).

Tenley - Up to 28 CCs of food, Tenley is being a super-star. Not only does she eat all her food, but then she also eats "directly from the source" whenever the opportunity presents itself. In fact, she only got half her feeding at one point because she had taken so much from Mommy. She is already up to 3lbs 5ozs.. up 2 ozs since Saturday!

Will - He had a bit rougher of a day. Today he decided he didn't wanted to be bothered at all. Whenever someone would touch him, he would Brady. When he was left alone, he was fine. They took him off milk completely so he is solely on IV's (TPN, fat, etc) drips. This is really so he can have complete rest and gain some strength back. The thinking is that his body works so hard trying to digest the milk, that he is just exhausting himself. Earlier this morning they were thinking he would have to go back on the ventilator (re-intubated), but so far he has managed to do ok with just the reduction of digesting milk. It seems like a step back for now, but whatever helps the guy get some rest so he can come home nice and healthy is a-ok.

Cutie Tenley
Sleepy Will
Aunt Rachel and Will
Aunt Rachel and Tenley

Aunt Rachel and Tenley

March 7, 2010

Yesterday was a big, big day...a few things happened. Mommy and Daddy walked in Saturday afternoon and the twins were fully dressed in some cutie outfits (including hats) and they were all swaddled-in looking absolutely adorable. Since both of them are now 3lbs and 3ozs (yes, they are both 3lbs 3ozs now!) they are allowed to wear clothes and be swaddled. The benefit to being swaddled...it makes it A LOT more accessible for the babies to come out and be held. In fact, Tenley got clearance to come out whenever, not just once a day for an hour, as long as the nurse is aware. Will can still come out much easier now too, but due to being on the CPAP it makes it slightly more difficult. Later that afternoon, Daddy was kangaroo holding Will when all of a sudden a nurse walks up and hands him Tenley. Now he got to hold both his babies for the first time ever! Take a look at the happy family
I had called my sister earlier that day and let her know that Uncle J and I somehow ended up in Virginia Saturday (long story) and were only going to be 1.5 hours away from them. The four of us made plans to meet up around 9pm Saturday night and headed to the hospital for a late night visit. I walked in and just saw the cutest two little buggers ever! They looked sooo good - and I had only been away from them for two weeks. Then, the most awesome thing happened (well...for me, anyway), I was able to hold Tenley. I was a happy Aunt. While I held her, she had two brady episodes and had to be put away, but I still got about 45 minutes of holding in! And just when I thought the night couldn't get any better, I got to hold Will for 30 minutes or so. Even though they look like cuties in pictures, they are absolutely even more adorable in person. What a great weekend!

More pictures can be found at http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3572906009/a=2117318021_72699886/

March 6, 2010

Thank you Uncle J for making such an awesome video on the twins' progress thus far... it was quite a nice surprise. If you haven't seen the video yet, check it out in the post below.

Tenley - Her recent blood work showed she had low red blood cell counts so she got a blood transfusion. Afterward, her cute pink color came right back. She got to have a nice two hour long kangaroo hold with Mommy on Thursday and even had a few mouthfuls of food "directly from the source".

Will - on Thursday Will was still having some breathing issues, Brady's were still frequent, and he was still being quite lethargic. He had at least two blood tests, a chest x-ray, and they changed his feed to drip over an hour as opposed to 30 minutes to help figure out why he's being so lethargic. He, too, got a blood transfusion due to low red blood cell counts and this seemed to help his energy level a bit. They also gave him some extra caffeine to help boost his energy level. He's still eating all of his food and even getting a few extra gulps when Mommy kangaroo's him.

Video Update

I figured it's a good time to check up on how far we've come. And while we're at it, let's put it to music! Go ahead and crank those speakers and press the play button below.

More Pics

Tenley - Is she yawning or screaming???
Tenley - Yes, we know you want to be Kangaroo'd Will - In his cocoon Will - no CPAP more pics can be found at: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3560903009/a=2117318021_72699886/

March 4, 2010

Tenley - When Mom walked in to see Tenley yesterday, there was a sign on her incubator which read: "I now weigh 3 lbs!" (YAY!!!!). She had a nice, long kangaroo hold with Daddy yesterday so this made her day. Late Tuesday night, the nurse looked over and Tenley had wiggled her way off her bed, off the padding, and was laying stuck in between the incubator wall and the incubator bottom. So now they have added all kinds of extra towels to act as barricades so she can't do this trickery again. Silly girl...stop being so wiggly!

Will - Yesterday Will was being a bit lethargic and his Brady episodes were increasing so they put him back up to the higher CPAP for now. His blood results for the day showed low red blood cell counts so they will be doing a transfusion today. The blood work also showed no sign of any infection so they're hoping he's being lethargic simply due to low red blood cell counts. The EEG results showed that his Brady episodes do not correlate with seizure activity and they were better results than his last EEG, so they are still keeping his Phenobar doses on the smaller side. He got to have a kangaroo hold with Mommy and "latched on" again, getting a few big gulps down. He now has a nickname, told to me by Mommy, it made me laugh and laugh and laugh - "Pin Cushion" - due to all the times they have had to poke this poor kid for his IVs and blood testing.

Pics from March 2nd

I had a really hard time just picking a few of the good ones out, so I strongly recommend that you also go to the link below to view more. Will is on the right (with goop in his hair due to the EEG), Tenley is on the left.



Tired Will from getting beat up on :) http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3550002009/a=2117318021_72699886/