Respiratory Day...or Wednesday

The doctor called today "respiratory day" for the babes, and for good reason:

Ella came off the ventilator this morning! :-) And she looks amazing! She's back on the CPap to help her breathe, but she's requiring less and less oxygen as the hours she's been off the vent grow. We're hoping she can keep this pace and catch up to her big brother. The steroids she's been on are almost done, and while they've helped immensely, she's also developed a little case of "baby 'roid rage." Either that, or she's just feeling so much better that she's gotten all her spark back, because she threw some of the biggest fits today I think Jeff or I have heard from her! She kicked her legs and swung her arms so much she was able to kick of her saturation monitor that was attached to her foot! I know we'll eat these words, but it's so nice to hear her cry and see her tantrum after a week of feeling so crummy.

Cooper also had a good respiration day. He was moved from the high flow cannula to a standard flow cannula. The biggest difference is that the standard flow cannula doesn't push humid air through it, it's just dry air and it's up to Coop to start to process that. It's just one step closer to not having anything sticking up his nose to help him breathe (which we know he's most excited about...he hates having things in his nose). Coop and I had a good kangaroo hold today that included a story (Harold and the Purple Crayon), and a poopy diaper change on Mommy's lap. It was interesting to change a diaper on my lap, but it gave us a good chance to take a picture so everyone can see how big he's getting outside of his bed.

Tuesday's update

With the muggy weather we've been having lately, today was a great day to be stuck inside in the NICU! Both babies also got great reports from the doctor during rounds, so that made the day even better. :-)

Eloise is "responding beautifully" (doctor's words) to the steroids she started yesterday. So beautifully in fact, that throughout the day she was continually weened on her ventilator. It's been the most forward progress she's shown in a week and I think everyone that's worked on her couldn't be happier. She's also now getting the same protein fortified food Coop's getting, so growth wise, she should be catching up to him in no time.

Cooper is still just being Cooper. I think today was the first time in the 3+ weeks they've been in the hospital that the doctor has made no changes to his treatment. The doctor has plans to ween him to a low flow cannula, but she's waiting for him to tell us he's ready. Today was also the first time that Coop's been taken out twice for holding! Usually Jeff and I just pass him off to one another, but today I got him out earlier in the day, then when Jeff got to the hospital, he took him out too.

As most of you know, Jeff and I moved to a new house shortly before the babies were born. Our new next door neighbors were also expecting, and this evening Jeff and I got to meet our newest neighbor! It was strange to hold a full-term baby and compare him to our tiny little preemies. It will be nice once they come home, however, that they'll have a baby playmate right next door.

Just another NICU Monday...

I think it's a good thing when the NICU nurses want to be the ones caring for your babies, and it seems that little Cooper and Eloise have created a bit of a NICU Fight Club. First rule: don't talk about NICU Fight Club :-) All joking aside, it's always nice to get updates from nurses that not only know our children, but know us as well. Coop and Ella actually have nurses trying to work out their schedules so they can all take care of them.

Cooper is still just plugging along on his high flow cannula. The doctor is thinking of weening him to a regular cannula, but she doesn't want to push him too fast. He's still seeming to tolerate the bolus feedings well, and like his daddy and his puppy, he's starting to make a routine of the "post-meal nap".

Coop is also starting to chunk up a bit. The doctor has started adding protein to his food, and he will hopefully hit the 3lb mark by the end of the week.

Eloise, on the other hand, has come to a plateau of sorts. While she's still making small steps forward, I'm not sure the doctor is satisfied she's moving forward enough. In order to help clear her lungs and hopefully get her off the ventilator for the last time, the doctor has decided to start her on some steroids. Hopefully we'll see if they are working quickly. She is, however, starting to tolerate stress better, so for the first time in a little less than a week, I got to help with her cares. She's also starting to get some of her spark back, as she fought her diaper change like nothing was wrong with her!

Happy 4th!

It's too bad the NICU doesn't have any 4th of July themed micro-preemie outfits, because that would've made for some cute pictures. As it was, it's been a pretty good first 4th for these babies.

Eloise continues to make small improvements, although it's probably going to be a slow road to get back to where she was. She's still tolerating her feedings well and is finally starting to look as big as her brother.

Cooper is still living in calm land, and we're all pretty content to leave him there, especially since he continues to improve and grow. The bolus feedings are continuing to go well, and it seemed that today he started to fuss and wake up a bit as it was getting to be feeding time. Clearly he takes after his Daddy. :-) Both Jeff and I "kangaroo" held Coop today, which just means that we held him skin-to-skin against our chests. During my hold with him, Coop lifted his head a few times and tried to look around. With Jeff, Coop actually turned his head from side to side trying to get comfortable! He's becoming way too cute for words.

Happy 4th of July from the Minneapolis Robinsons! (Caddie the "unhappy because there are fireworks" puppy included)

Saturday Update

It was a good saturday for both babies today.  Ella continues to improve and is needing less support from her ventilator.  She has definitley started to get some of her spark back. She restarted on feedings yesterday, and she is making good progress on them.  Cooper has moved on to Bolus feedings.  Instead of being on a constant flow of food he recieves his feedings every 3 hours.  It is still through his nasal feeding tube, but is designed to replicate regualr feedings and start to get him on a schedule. He is doing well with it and moved right back up to full feeding.  The first couple were smaller just to make sure he would tolerate it. 

3 weeks old...

So as not to bother and stress Little Miss Eloise, today was mostly all about Coop. Fortunately he's still living in "calm land" and being weened even more on his cannula. He's also getting close to being able to regulate his own temperature, and not have his bed do it for him. Cooper also got to get dressed for the first time today! Lucky for him, I'd already gotten him (and his sister too, although she's a few days away from being able to get dressed) his first outfit. :-) Jeff did want to point out, however, that I shouldn't put Cooper's pants on him because "what boy likes to lay around in pants?" In the end, I think he looked beyond adorable, even without his bottoms. He should be able to get dressed most, if not every day from now on. Just one more step in the direction of getting bigger and stronger.

Ella, while still on the ventilator, is starting to make small improvements. Her chest x-rays are looking better and better, and she's getting less and less oxygen and pressure from her machines. We don't want to push her too hard, too fast, but a calm weekend should do her well.

Jeff's buddy Jason Topp stopped by, and although I wasn't in the "boys club" room, I'm pretty sure Cooper was fit for his first set of golf clubs. I also over heard Jeff and Jason talking about Coop's grip on the clubs. Gramma Polly also stopped by in time to see Coop get a double hold from Mommy and Daddy.

The past two days...

It's been a rough past few days for 3 of the 5 Minneapolis Robinsons:

Caddie, of course is fine. She gets walks around the neighborhood with Mommy and Daddy regularly and has no idea anything is amiss.

Cooper is in "calm land" according to the doctors and nurses. He's on the high flow nasal cannula, and is being weened down on the pressure he's receiving. He's growing and getting stronger right before our eyes. He's also becoming a little ladies man :-). Although he can't really "see" a whole lot at this stage, his eyes are bright, and when he's not sleeping, wide open, and he loves to try to follow who is in, and what is going on in his room. Apparently all the evening and overnight nurses like to peek into his room just to look at him. He's also charming his Mommy and Daddy with every passing day.

Eloise, Mommy and Daddy on the other hand have been not quite as calm and relaxed as the other two. Ella has had a rough two days. She's been dealing with a PDA, or a patent ductus arteriosus, that's been causing a heart murmur for the last week or so. Yesterday she started showing signs that she was having more difficulty breathing and oxygenating her blood, her murmur was getting louder, and the doctors could hear some fluid in her lungs. They started treating the PDA with medication, but it was unclear whether that was working, as she was still unstable. The doctors put her back on the ventilator last evening to give her a break from working so hard to breathe, in hopes that she could start healing herself. The doctors also drew some blood to see if an infection, such as pneumonia, was causing her backward steps. This morning Ella had an Echo to see if the medication was helping to close the PDA. The results of that were positive, the PDA is small, and doesn't appear to be causing her problem. The 24 hour blood culture results also came back this evening and are so far showing no signs of infection. The doctor has tentatively diagnosed her as "being a premie" and will hopefully be back chasing after her brother in a couple of days. Although the last 24 hours or so have been rough, we believe Ella is starting to "turn the corner" as her nurse said when we were leaving tonight. She's starting to get better oxygen flowing through her blood, and although she's still not tolerating stress well, she's able to bounce back more quickly. It'll probably take a few days for her to get back to where she was, but we're hopeful that she'll get there.

As is probably obvious, Jeff and I have been stressed and overwhelmed, and we've spent a lot of time down at the hospital. We're pretty certain our stress levels will mirror what Ella's stats do, so we're hopeful that as she gets better and stronger, we'll calm down too.