Yeah, it finally happened. Our little man Tyler is finally home. He was able to come home yesterday after 10 weeks in the NICU. We are so happy to have him home.
We actually expected Tyler to be home on Monday but at the last minute we decided to try a couple of things with him. Over last weekend they slowly converted his food. The formula that he was on was a very expensive pre-digested formula that he went on after his big infection. It was the easist thing for him to be on since he was having so many issues digesting his food. It took about 3 days but now he is on a regular formula that any premature baby would be one. That was one relief.
The other thing they tried to do before he left was to ween him off of the small amount of oxygen that he was on. The doctor said we'd give it a try. If it worked great, if it didn't work what we would do is come home on the oxygen and forget about trying to get him off of it for a little bit. Tyler did really good for about two days but then he needed a little help. So, he did end up coming home on a small amount of oxygen. Now that he is home the focus is on growing and getting stronger, we will worry about weening the oxygen slowly over time.
Tyler also came home on a sleep apnea monitor. If the monitor doesn't pick up a breath from him over 15 seconds it goes off. And let me tell you, it really goes off. It's a blessing to have because we can sleep at night and not have to worry about if he's breathing or not. His monitor did go off once last night and Corey and I both jumped out of bed. By the time we got to his room which is next to ours the alarm had shut off which meant he was breathing fine again. You judge a lot with preemies by their color and he looked fine. We just adjusted the way he was sleeping because that is one reason that babies can't breath well. Thankfully he was fine the rest of the night.
Last night was our first night home with both kids and man, is it different. They were not on the same eating schedule when we got home last night but now we've got them together. If one wakes up then we feed both. It works out great now since Corey is off but it will be interesting to see how it goes when he goes back to work. Most of the time they are up every three hours to eat but we did get one four our stretch this morning. We are quite tired today.
Tyler came home from the NICU weighing 7lbs 9oz. He is very filled out and looks like a little newborn. We had Dillan up at the NICU the night before last and weighed her while she was there. She is now 5lbs 11oz. She's still really tiny but she is growing and getting the cutest chubby cheeks. She talks constantly!!!! From the moment you lay her down until the moment she gets up again there are grunts and noises coming from her crib. It's pretty cute.
So, now we start life at home. If feels so good to be home after literally living in a hospital since the end of February. It's been a long journey but we are so blessed to have such adorable little babies. We can't thank the doctors and nurses enough for everything they did for us. Tyler especially made some really connections with a couple of the nurses in the NICU. They would literally fight over who would get to care for our little guy. It made us feel really good that they thought so highly of him.
I will continue to post updates on how everything is going. We've already got follow up appointments on Monday. TGIF everyone and thank you all again for all the love and support you have shown us over the last couple of months.
Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
37 Weeks
Hello all, I looked at my email today and there was an email saying today I would be 37 weeks pregnant. That means my kids would've been born next week had all gone according to plan. It's funny to think of it now and how big I would be.
Dillan continues to do well at home. Today she upgraded to Newborn diapers. The preemie diapers just weren't holding enough for her. She is also out of most of her preemie clothes. She has gone from being a preemie to being a newborn. She's so cute. She has her good days and bad days with sleeping at night. Last night was good, the night before was not. But that's all normal stuff that we should be dealing with.
Tyler has been doing great and they are in the process of getting him ready to come home. His feeding tube has been out since yesterday evening and he's now trying to take all of his food by bottle. So far he's been doing great. He does the best for Corey when he's there so I told him that when Tyler comes home it will be his job to feed him. Whenever I try it he just falls asleep. Yesterday we went to the hospital and had home monitor and oxygen training for him. It will be very interesting when he comes home because of the extra equipment that comes with him but we are so happy to have him on his way home. I know we will receive a crash course in patience in the next week with both of the kids home. Tonight Tyler's nurse is switching him over to all the equipment he will use when he comes home so he's used to it. The monitor makes different noises so it will be nice that it's not such a shock for him. He will have a big enough transition as it is. Tomorrow Corey is bringing in Tyler's car seat and he will do his car seat trial. He has to be able to sit in his car seat for 1.5 hours and maintain all of his oxygen stats. I hope he does well.
That's all for now. Hope everyone is enjoying the week. Thanks again for all the support.
Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler
Dillan continues to do well at home. Today she upgraded to Newborn diapers. The preemie diapers just weren't holding enough for her. She is also out of most of her preemie clothes. She has gone from being a preemie to being a newborn. She's so cute. She has her good days and bad days with sleeping at night. Last night was good, the night before was not. But that's all normal stuff that we should be dealing with.
Tyler has been doing great and they are in the process of getting him ready to come home. His feeding tube has been out since yesterday evening and he's now trying to take all of his food by bottle. So far he's been doing great. He does the best for Corey when he's there so I told him that when Tyler comes home it will be his job to feed him. Whenever I try it he just falls asleep. Yesterday we went to the hospital and had home monitor and oxygen training for him. It will be very interesting when he comes home because of the extra equipment that comes with him but we are so happy to have him on his way home. I know we will receive a crash course in patience in the next week with both of the kids home. Tonight Tyler's nurse is switching him over to all the equipment he will use when he comes home so he's used to it. The monitor makes different noises so it will be nice that it's not such a shock for him. He will have a big enough transition as it is. Tomorrow Corey is bringing in Tyler's car seat and he will do his car seat trial. He has to be able to sit in his car seat for 1.5 hours and maintain all of his oxygen stats. I hope he does well.
That's all for now. Hope everyone is enjoying the week. Thanks again for all the support.
Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
1 Week Home
Hi All, sorry it's been so long. It's been a busy week this week having Dillan home. We've had doctor appointments to get to and we try to get up to visit Tyler as much as we can. Dillan is doing great at home. She is such a good baby. She eats and sleeps and just continues to grow. She's on her last package of preemie diapers and I'll be upgrading her to newborns. Her preemie clothes don't fit anymore but she still drowns in the newborn stuff. There isn't much in between. Tonight she got a bath and is sleeping on my chest as I type this. On Thursday we met with her pediatrician for the first time and on Monday she had a follow up eye appointment. Her eyes are developing as they should be. They are obviously behind for a two month old baby but they are perfect for her gestational age.
The dogs are still getting used to Dillan. Bosco was really mad at me the first day we got home and wouldn't come around at all. Cinder thinks the noises she makes are strange and she always runs to her when she cries. I think Cinder will be her little protector.
Tyler is trying his hardest to get home with us. His oxygen has been changed to what it would be if he has to come home on oxygen. He is now receiving 100% oxygen but it is on the very lowest flow setting there is without shutting the oxygen off. The doctors are trying to wean him off of the oxygen before he comes home but we will see. Tyler has been eating great. He ate everything from a bottle for about a day and a half and then he got too tired and had to have some of it tubed. He now weighs 6 pounds 13 ounces. He's gaining weight like crazy and trying to get big and strong to come home. Tomorrow Corey and I have training on how to use a home monitor and oxygen for when Tyler comes home. He will for sure come home on a monitor but the oxygen is a just in case thing. The really exciting news is that if Tyler continues to do well he will be home within a week.
I will keep everyone posted on Tyler's progress this week. We are just so happy that he's doing well. He's been through so much in his short little life we just can't wait to get him home so he can just be a spoiled little baby boy.
The kids are already two months old. It's been a long road in the NICU but it really has gone by fast. Everyone I talk to tells me to cherish this time when they are so small because it goes by so fast. I think of that statement every night when I am up feeding Dillan in the middle of the night. We are blessed that we get EXTRA baby time with both of the kids because they were born so early. The journey has had it's ups and downs but we are so thankful for every day we get to spend with our kids. We are very lucky.
Thanks everyone for your continued love and support.
Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler
The dogs are still getting used to Dillan. Bosco was really mad at me the first day we got home and wouldn't come around at all. Cinder thinks the noises she makes are strange and she always runs to her when she cries. I think Cinder will be her little protector.
Tyler is trying his hardest to get home with us. His oxygen has been changed to what it would be if he has to come home on oxygen. He is now receiving 100% oxygen but it is on the very lowest flow setting there is without shutting the oxygen off. The doctors are trying to wean him off of the oxygen before he comes home but we will see. Tyler has been eating great. He ate everything from a bottle for about a day and a half and then he got too tired and had to have some of it tubed. He now weighs 6 pounds 13 ounces. He's gaining weight like crazy and trying to get big and strong to come home. Tomorrow Corey and I have training on how to use a home monitor and oxygen for when Tyler comes home. He will for sure come home on a monitor but the oxygen is a just in case thing. The really exciting news is that if Tyler continues to do well he will be home within a week.
I will keep everyone posted on Tyler's progress this week. We are just so happy that he's doing well. He's been through so much in his short little life we just can't wait to get him home so he can just be a spoiled little baby boy.
The kids are already two months old. It's been a long road in the NICU but it really has gone by fast. Everyone I talk to tells me to cherish this time when they are so small because it goes by so fast. I think of that statement every night when I am up feeding Dillan in the middle of the night. We are blessed that we get EXTRA baby time with both of the kids because they were born so early. The journey has had it's ups and downs but we are so thankful for every day we get to spend with our kids. We are very lucky.
Thanks everyone for your continued love and support.
Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Dillan Is Home
Hello all, I am so happy to write and tell all of you that Dillan is home with us. The last few days have been so crazy. We have been staying at the hospital in one of their separate rooms with her to make sure everything went ok. She did wonderful and was discharged from the NICU today. She did great overnight in the rooms. She eats and then sleeps for a 2 - 2.5 hours and we were actually able to get a little sleep. It was a great transition to home. We've been home since about 3 this afternoon and she's adjusting good so far. She's sleeping right now next to me in her crib. So we are already pretty tired from the last two nights. It will be interesting to see how we do now that we are home.
Tyler was having a really good week but Sunday he decided that in his world breathing was optional and he had two spells where he held his breath. Not fun. So, the doctor took another look at him and now they think it might be reflux causing him distress. So, they are trying him up on a wedge to see if that helps with his digestion. He's so stinkin cute, he loves being on his belly and he's enjoying being up in his little sling on the wedge. So we will see what happens. The good news is that Tyler is doing awesome on his feedings. 10 days ago he wasn't eating anything and now he's taking a majority of his feedings by bottle. It's just awesome. He came a long way in that 10 days and we are so proud of him. He just needs to get a little bigger and stronger and his lungs need to mature a little more. He will get there, he just needs more time.
It was hard for me to leave him in the NICU today. I'm very comfortable going in there every day and spending all day with both of the kids. Now the majority of my days will be at home with Dillan and visiting Tyler when I can. Dillan has two appts already this week and next so I'll be able to stop in and see Tyler before or after those.
It was also hard for me to leave my friend Crystal today in the NICU. Today it was 8 weeks for us in the NICU but she's now been there 11. I can't thank her enough for being such a great support to lean on. Crystal don't worry you are almost there.
Well, off to heat up a bottle for the little pumpkin. I plan to cherish every ounce of being completely exhausted with her. I can't wait to repeat (or add to) the process with Tyler when he comes home.
Thank you all for your continued love and support.
Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler
Tyler was having a really good week but Sunday he decided that in his world breathing was optional and he had two spells where he held his breath. Not fun. So, the doctor took another look at him and now they think it might be reflux causing him distress. So, they are trying him up on a wedge to see if that helps with his digestion. He's so stinkin cute, he loves being on his belly and he's enjoying being up in his little sling on the wedge. So we will see what happens. The good news is that Tyler is doing awesome on his feedings. 10 days ago he wasn't eating anything and now he's taking a majority of his feedings by bottle. It's just awesome. He came a long way in that 10 days and we are so proud of him. He just needs to get a little bigger and stronger and his lungs need to mature a little more. He will get there, he just needs more time.
It was hard for me to leave him in the NICU today. I'm very comfortable going in there every day and spending all day with both of the kids. Now the majority of my days will be at home with Dillan and visiting Tyler when I can. Dillan has two appts already this week and next so I'll be able to stop in and see Tyler before or after those.
It was also hard for me to leave my friend Crystal today in the NICU. Today it was 8 weeks for us in the NICU but she's now been there 11. I can't thank her enough for being such a great support to lean on. Crystal don't worry you are almost there.
Well, off to heat up a bottle for the little pumpkin. I plan to cherish every ounce of being completely exhausted with her. I can't wait to repeat (or add to) the process with Tyler when he comes home.
Thank you all for your continued love and support.
Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Conference
Happy Saturday morning everyone. I have some good news to share. We had a conference with the doctor yesterday and if all goes well over the weekend Dillan will be home on Tuesday. I am so excited and nervous. The doctor is really just keeping her at the hospital for this couple of days to ensure that all the caffeine is out of her system and she doesn't have any spells where she forgets to breathe. She hasn't had any since the took her off last Monday but they just want to make sure. Sunday night I am staying at the hospital overnight to be there for all of her feedings. Then on Monday night Corey and I will both stay there over night in one of their patient rooms with Dillan. It's a trial for us and her. She won't be hooked up to any machines or monitors so it's really to make sure we are comfortable taking cues from her without a monitor to back us up. It's going to be an interesting night. We are very comfortable with the backup of the monitors so it will take some getting used to. But, the doctor asked me if I wanted her to come home on a monitor for my own sanity and I said no. She's been so good and I know she will do just fine without it. I believe last night Dillan weighed 4lbs 14oz so she should hit the 5lb mark by the time she comes home. Dillan will be coming home at 35+ weeks so she's still considered over a month early. We are so proud of how well she is doing. The doctors continue to remind us that she's above average with how well she is doing and to try not to compare her to her brother.
We also got an update on Tyler. Tyler had a really good week. Yesterday they moved him to a crib and started bottle feeding. He did so well. He's holding his temperature just perfect, which isn't too surprising considering his size. He started the day taking 10ml in his bottle, went up to 15ml in the afternoon and by 10pm last night he was taking 35ml of his 55ml in his bottle. At that point he gets tired and just wants to sleep. They aren't pushing him at this point to finish the whole thing. He just takes what he can and they give him the rest through his tube. Last night when we were there he was really fussy and was dropping his stats quite a bit and we couldn't figure out why cause he'd been really good all day. Well Corey went to change his diaper and found out he left us a huge present in there. After he was changed his was back to being his normal self. Guess he was trying to tell us something. :) In our conference yesterday the doctor made the comment that Tyler could possibly be ready to come home in the next two weeks if he continues to improve as he has. We will wait and see how he does over the next week but he really has improved 100% over where he was last week. We hope he now just gets bigger and stronger and is able to come home with us soon.
Today's goals include making sure their room is ready to go and putting away all the stuff that mom and I bought yesterday while we were shopping at rummage sales. Enjoy the weekend everyone. I will try to update again before Dillan comes home but it may not happen. Thanks again for all the continued support.
Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler
We also got an update on Tyler. Tyler had a really good week. Yesterday they moved him to a crib and started bottle feeding. He did so well. He's holding his temperature just perfect, which isn't too surprising considering his size. He started the day taking 10ml in his bottle, went up to 15ml in the afternoon and by 10pm last night he was taking 35ml of his 55ml in his bottle. At that point he gets tired and just wants to sleep. They aren't pushing him at this point to finish the whole thing. He just takes what he can and they give him the rest through his tube. Last night when we were there he was really fussy and was dropping his stats quite a bit and we couldn't figure out why cause he'd been really good all day. Well Corey went to change his diaper and found out he left us a huge present in there. After he was changed his was back to being his normal self. Guess he was trying to tell us something. :) In our conference yesterday the doctor made the comment that Tyler could possibly be ready to come home in the next two weeks if he continues to improve as he has. We will wait and see how he does over the next week but he really has improved 100% over where he was last week. We hope he now just gets bigger and stronger and is able to come home with us soon.
Today's goals include making sure their room is ready to go and putting away all the stuff that mom and I bought yesterday while we were shopping at rummage sales. Enjoy the weekend everyone. I will try to update again before Dillan comes home but it may not happen. Thanks again for all the continued support.
Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Crib
Hello all, things seem to have quieted themselves down for our kids these last couple of days and we are so happy for that.
Tyler is doing much better this week. They ran A LOT of tests on him this weekend and so far everything they have run has come back negative. Yeah!!! He had a really good day today. He was awake and happy, he is eating 30ml of food every 3 hours and he's even pooping. We really couldn't be happier. Last night the central line that Tyler has had in for almost a month broke and they had to remove it. That was ok but they did have to put in an IV for the nutrition that he's still getting because he isn't eating enough. However, the doctor is going to continue to increase his food this week and he's hoping the IV can come out in the next day or so. YIPPIE!!! Tyler still has the nasal cannula in and is at 1 liter of flow. He was at about 30% oxygen the last couple of days but today he was mostly at room air. That was nice to see. So, he had a rough weekend but we are happy that he's doing better now. I know I didn't get into a lot of details around that but it's hard to write about the sad days. Oh and did I mention that Tyler is now 6lbs 5oz??? He's such a big handsome boy. I call him pork chop because he's got the cutest chubby chin. I just love it.
Dillan is doing well. She is now in a crib and holding her temp well. The last thing she has to be able to do is bottle all of her feedings. Today she bottled the first 3 with ease but by 5pm tonight she was tired. She took about half of it and then fell asleep. She's almost there. Today they stopped giving her caffeine and changed her milk to be exactly what she would get at home. I can't remember if I explained that but they give preemies caffeine to remind them to breathe. If possible they like to stop the caffeine before the babies go home. She had her last dose yesterday so now we just have to see how she does. If she continues as she has I know she will do well without it. She is absolutely adorable and she loves to dress up in all the pretty outfits she's received (even the pink ones). :) The doctor told me yesterday that she would hopefully come home sometime next week. Today he told me she's doing so well it could be sooner than later. I was so excited. I can't wait for her to be home with us. Dillan is now 4lbs 11oz and we are hoping she will hit 5lbs by the time she comes home.
Thank you all for your continued support. It's been over 7 weeks in the NICU and it feels like 7 months. We are so thankful for the doctors and nurses that care for our little ones every day. The staff has been great and we can't thank them enough.
Hope everyone is enjoying the short week this week. My days in the NICU are a blur. I can only imagine what it's going to be like with the two of them at home. Ahhh I can't wait.
Tyler is doing much better this week. They ran A LOT of tests on him this weekend and so far everything they have run has come back negative. Yeah!!! He had a really good day today. He was awake and happy, he is eating 30ml of food every 3 hours and he's even pooping. We really couldn't be happier. Last night the central line that Tyler has had in for almost a month broke and they had to remove it. That was ok but they did have to put in an IV for the nutrition that he's still getting because he isn't eating enough. However, the doctor is going to continue to increase his food this week and he's hoping the IV can come out in the next day or so. YIPPIE!!! Tyler still has the nasal cannula in and is at 1 liter of flow. He was at about 30% oxygen the last couple of days but today he was mostly at room air. That was nice to see. So, he had a rough weekend but we are happy that he's doing better now. I know I didn't get into a lot of details around that but it's hard to write about the sad days. Oh and did I mention that Tyler is now 6lbs 5oz??? He's such a big handsome boy. I call him pork chop because he's got the cutest chubby chin. I just love it.
Dillan is doing well. She is now in a crib and holding her temp well. The last thing she has to be able to do is bottle all of her feedings. Today she bottled the first 3 with ease but by 5pm tonight she was tired. She took about half of it and then fell asleep. She's almost there. Today they stopped giving her caffeine and changed her milk to be exactly what she would get at home. I can't remember if I explained that but they give preemies caffeine to remind them to breathe. If possible they like to stop the caffeine before the babies go home. She had her last dose yesterday so now we just have to see how she does. If she continues as she has I know she will do well without it. She is absolutely adorable and she loves to dress up in all the pretty outfits she's received (even the pink ones). :) The doctor told me yesterday that she would hopefully come home sometime next week. Today he told me she's doing so well it could be sooner than later. I was so excited. I can't wait for her to be home with us. Dillan is now 4lbs 11oz and we are hoping she will hit 5lbs by the time she comes home.
Thank you all for your continued support. It's been over 7 weeks in the NICU and it feels like 7 months. We are so thankful for the doctors and nurses that care for our little ones every day. The staff has been great and we can't thank them enough.
Hope everyone is enjoying the short week this week. My days in the NICU are a blur. I can only imagine what it's going to be like with the two of them at home. Ahhh I can't wait.
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