The Crawdad Chronicles: 2 Months Old

2 Months Old- 37 weeks gestation adjusted

The doctors have emphasized that we should be looking at the babies based on their adjusted ages not their actual so I'm going to try to include that in their monthly posts.

Kate: 6 pounds 12 ounces

Andrew- not sure your exact weight but over 7 pounds

Kate is still fitting in her preemie clothes but Andrew is moving into mostly newborn. The nurses also have him in size 1 diapers!

When it was time to take these two month pictures I confess that I was a little bitter. I just could not believe that we were still dealing with going to the hospital every day. The toll it was taking on our family was huge and there was no end in sight. But... I tried to focus on all of the positive things that had been happening and how far the babies had come.

Andrew and Kate this has been a BIG month for both of you! One huge accomplishment is that you are off your feeding tubes!!! Kate pulled hers out herself and the doctor let it stay out and a few days later Andrew's was taken out as well. It was such a special moment for me to finally see your sweet faces with no tubes or medical equipment- one of my favorite moments in this journey! Both of you have been working on nursing and taking feeds by bottle. You also both had another brain ultrasound to check for brain bleeds (thankfully there were none) and you also had an exam with the pediatric ophthalmologist which showed you both had mild cases of retinopathy of prematurity. You both also got hip ultrasounds because you were born breach. You were stable enough to be transferred to the hospital here in town and you got to take a ride on the ambulance together. It was bittersweet to leave the hospital where you were born but we are so glad to all be in the same town and we love our nurses and doctors here as well.

Andrew you have been somewhat of a handful this past month. You have been growing and gaining weight which is great but unfortunately have been having lots of bradycardia episodes and desats which has kept you in the hospital. Several times this past month we were told you were coming home and then you had another episode which put you back. It is hard to describe how devastating it is to think your child is coming home, to have the car seat all ready, and then to be told it isn't happening. It is extremely frustrating because if it wasn't for this one issue you would have been able to come home at around 34 weeks gestation. After one particularly bad morning you were taken on yet another ambulance ride to get an MRI. It was a very scary day for us but thankfully it all looked okay. You have grown so big that the nurses got you a big boy bed and we also brought your bouncy seat to the hospital for you to hang out in. For the most part you are very laid back and seem to enjoy just eating on demand and then hanging out. The nurses are sweet to hold you and cuddle you when I can't be there. When you got your feeding tube out we worked on bottle feeds and nursing but then we cut out nursing for awhile try to get your issues figured out so it's back to full time pumping for you. The doctors have thickened your feeds, put you back on caffeine and started you on reflux meds. Basically anything they can think of to get you straight so we can bring you home!

Kate this was a big month for you! Less than a week after you got transferred to the new hospital we got to bring you HOME! The plan was for you to wait for Andrew but when it became apparent that he wouldn't be ready for awhile we decided to go ahead and get you out of there. You were barely five pounds and looked so tiny in your car seat. In order for you to leave you had to pass your car seat test and the hospital had to train Daddy and Mama in CPR. The second night you were home both James and Harrison woke up with high fevers so I had all three kids awake in the middle of the night crying. Not to mention how paranoid we are about you getting sick already and then we have that to deal with! Harrison also gave your mom a heart attack when a few days after you came home he decided to pick you up and carry you into the kitchen when I wasn't looking! You have been a trooper though. Every day you come with me to the hospital to see your brother and you attract a lot of attention with your tiny cuteness. We are working hard on getting you to nurse full time. Right now we have to nurse, top off with a bottle, and then pump for the next bottle. It takes me almost two hours to feed both babies! Hopefully the doctor will say you are growing well enough that we can stop some of that.

Our 2 Month Photo Shoot!

And some of the highlights of the past month with the babies. I found a huge batch of pictures from my phone I have forgotten to put on other posts.

Cuddle time

Daddy stopping by after doing a surgery

Ryan spent the day with the babies while I was at Georgia's birthday with the boys and sent me these silly pictures.

Crazy daddy

Learning CPR before Kate's discharge. When I asked the nurse if everyone has to do it she said, "Only families like you who are very high risk." Nothing like that answer to freak you out when taking your baby home!

This picture always makes me cry. Ryan snuggling Andrew before we had to leave him to take Kate home. It was awful.

Loaded up and ready to go!

James teaching Kate how to play ball

And giving her a stuffed animal

Harrison's turn to hold Kate. I love how you see my hospital bands. I was told I wasn't allowed to take them off until the babies were discharged (and they were serious- it was a strict rule with both hospitals)

Another turn for Harrison

My helper

I caught both boys just watching her in her crib

Andrew's first time in his car seat- on the way for his MRI

The transport people couldn't figure out how to safely get him there so the nurses and I came up with the idea to strap his car seat to the stretcher which could be bolted down in the ambulance