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.