The boys had their four month checkup on Friday the 20th. They are both growing well and the doctor said they look good!
Carter now weighs 13 pounds 7 ounces and Jacob weighs 14 pounds 2.5 ounces. Jacob is an inch longer than Carter! We got the go ahead to start cereals, fruits and veggies. We tried rice cereal but they didn't seem to like it. But then we tried oatmeal and they both smiled and ate! Most of it was all over their faces but they at least smiled through it!!! We are going to try some veggies soon and see how that goes!!!
We are traveling today to Salisbury to visit our families for Thanksgiving...here is hoping that Carter sleeps in the car!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We will post pictures when we get back into town!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The boys are 4 Months Old Today!
I can't believe that the boys are 4 months old already! Time is flying by! I am going to try to take pictures of them today if they will let me and I will post later. But for now, here are some pictures of them that were taken in the last week.
I did try to post the videos of them rolling over but something didn't work. If you haven't seen them, we did post them on facebook. I will try to get them up here as well. Jacob started rolling from his belly to his back on October 29th and Carter rolled as well on November 4th. Jacob is close to rolling from his back to his belly but hasn't quite figured it out yet. Carter isn't trying that yet!
They go for their 4 month check up on Friday and I will update again with their weights and how things went with their shots! Looking forward to it!!!
Enjoy the photos!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Halloween Pics...just a little late!
Here are some of the Halloween pictures we took. The boys were so tired but they greeted most of the kids that came to the door. And we were able to get some good photos before they crashed for the night!!
Friday, October 30, 2009
We have huge babies!!
So I just came back from the doctor with the boys!
I was hoping to get some answers to Jacob's reflux issues and Carter's car seat issues...that didn't happen. We weren't able to see their pediatrician and ended up seeing someone that was absolutely no help.
The only thing that came from the visit is that they were both weighed. Jacob is still the big guy...13 pounds 4 ounces. And Carter is 12 pounds 11 ounces. They are huge!!!!
Jacob is our loud boy. He is babbling and laughing and smiling all the time. He is really too much. He is rolling over from his tummy to his back and he is close to rolling from his back to his tummy. Not yet though. He is great entertainment!
Carter is a little more quiet. He is still finding his voice. He is trying really hard though. He is smiling more and more each day! He had his Early Intervention Assessment and he has been approved for occupational therapy every other week. But the therapists said he looks good!
I was hoping to get some answers to Jacob's reflux issues and Carter's car seat issues...that didn't happen. We weren't able to see their pediatrician and ended up seeing someone that was absolutely no help.
The only thing that came from the visit is that they were both weighed. Jacob is still the big guy...13 pounds 4 ounces. And Carter is 12 pounds 11 ounces. They are huge!!!!
Jacob is our loud boy. He is babbling and laughing and smiling all the time. He is really too much. He is rolling over from his tummy to his back and he is close to rolling from his back to his tummy. Not yet though. He is great entertainment!
Carter is a little more quiet. He is still finding his voice. He is trying really hard though. He is smiling more and more each day! He had his Early Intervention Assessment and he has been approved for occupational therapy every other week. But the therapists said he looks good!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Three Months OId
Can you believe it? The boys are three months old and we haven't written anything here for a month!!!
We have been really busy...they boys keep our hands full. I will do my best to get pictures posted as soon as possible.
The boys are both doing well...they are growing big and are starting to look more and more alike! Carter has been doing really well with his feedings...so much so that we have bumped their feedings to seven ounces!!! I can't believe he takes that much. Jacob is an eater so I wasn't too surprised by him...but Carter is taking his bottle as fast as Jake now!!!
Carter has his last speech appointment this week. She thinks he is doing really well...and so do we!
Both of the boys are working on holding their heads up. Jacob is a little farther along than Carter but he is really working on it. They both smile and Jacob is cooing alot!!
Pictures to follow.....
We have been really busy...they boys keep our hands full. I will do my best to get pictures posted as soon as possible.
The boys are both doing well...they are growing big and are starting to look more and more alike! Carter has been doing really well with his feedings...so much so that we have bumped their feedings to seven ounces!!! I can't believe he takes that much. Jacob is an eater so I wasn't too surprised by him...but Carter is taking his bottle as fast as Jake now!!!
Carter has his last speech appointment this week. She thinks he is doing really well...and so do we!
Both of the boys are working on holding their heads up. Jacob is a little farther along than Carter but he is really working on it. They both smile and Jacob is cooing alot!!
Pictures to follow.....
Friday, September 18, 2009
Two Month Doctor Visit
Today the boys went for their two month visit to the doctor. They each had three shots. They cried but they seemed fine a few minutes later. They both came home and slept!
Jacob is doing pretty well. He has been dealing with reflux issues and we have decided to try are few more weeks on his current medication (Zantac) at a higher dose to see if it helps and if it doesn't we will try a stronger medication. He is now nine pounds 3 ounces, 21.5 length. He is a monster!
Carter had his first speech appointment yesterday and we are trying a new bottle and position for feeding. Since the switch he is taking a four ounce bottle in 20-30 minutes! No tube feedings...he is really doing great! He weighed 8 pounds 8.5 ounces, 21 length. So his little brother is bigger than him now!!!
A big thanks to Nicole for coming with us to the doctor. I couldn't have gone to the appointment alone with the boys...
Now the boys are getting ready for our open house tomorrow to meet lots of new people and to get spoiled by Michelle who is coming for the weekend!
Jacob is doing pretty well. He has been dealing with reflux issues and we have decided to try are few more weeks on his current medication (Zantac) at a higher dose to see if it helps and if it doesn't we will try a stronger medication. He is now nine pounds 3 ounces, 21.5 length. He is a monster!
Carter had his first speech appointment yesterday and we are trying a new bottle and position for feeding. Since the switch he is taking a four ounce bottle in 20-30 minutes! No tube feedings...he is really doing great! He weighed 8 pounds 8.5 ounces, 21 length. So his little brother is bigger than him now!!!
A big thanks to Nicole for coming with us to the doctor. I couldn't have gone to the appointment alone with the boys...
Now the boys are getting ready for our open house tomorrow to meet lots of new people and to get spoiled by Michelle who is coming for the weekend!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
More pictures!
Carter with his hat!
Jacob hanging out in his bouncy chair
Carter looking at his favorite photo on the wall!
Jacob winking at the camera!
Both of them ready to start screaming!
Catching Up
There has been so much going on that we should have posted but we have been really busy!
Carter had his G tube surgery on August 24th. After the surgery he went back for a short stay in the NICU to recover. We never realized how difficult it was to be at the NICU instead of the Pediatric floor because Jacob had to stay in the waiting room. So we were back to visiting Carter one at a time while the other stayed in the waiting room.
He was transferred back to the pediatric unit by the end of the week and was discharged on the 31st! IT was such a great day to take him out of the hospital and to have both of them finally home!!!
We spent a few days together before Johnny had to go back to work. Jacob was having a bit of a difficult time adjusting to having his brother home but he seems to be doing a little better now.
Once we had Carter home, I started feeding him by bottle at every feed so that he could get used to it. The only feed we didn't do this was the one in the middle of the night. We just hooked him to the pump. But the good news is that with more stimulation he is now taking all of his feeds from the bottle. (Complete 3-4 ounces every four hours!) He has been doing this since September 9th!!! We are so excited for him! He is slow but he improves each day! We have an appointment with a new speech therapist on Thursday to work out a new plan for him.
Carter had his follow up surgery appointment on Monday and they have replaced the long tube that he had with a little button which is great! No more huge tube coming out of his belly!!!
We have an appointment with Early Intervention to have Carter assessed for therapy. I am anxious for this because I would really like to continue his occupational therapy to work on his low muscle tone. We had started this at the hospital but the therapists did much more than we can.
Both of the boys go on Friday for their two month doctors visit. I am taking Nicole with me so that I don't have to hold two screaming babies when they get their shots!!! Hopefully that will go well and we can post their most recent heights and weights. Stay tuned!
Carter had his G tube surgery on August 24th. After the surgery he went back for a short stay in the NICU to recover. We never realized how difficult it was to be at the NICU instead of the Pediatric floor because Jacob had to stay in the waiting room. So we were back to visiting Carter one at a time while the other stayed in the waiting room.
He was transferred back to the pediatric unit by the end of the week and was discharged on the 31st! IT was such a great day to take him out of the hospital and to have both of them finally home!!!
We spent a few days together before Johnny had to go back to work. Jacob was having a bit of a difficult time adjusting to having his brother home but he seems to be doing a little better now.
Once we had Carter home, I started feeding him by bottle at every feed so that he could get used to it. The only feed we didn't do this was the one in the middle of the night. We just hooked him to the pump. But the good news is that with more stimulation he is now taking all of his feeds from the bottle. (Complete 3-4 ounces every four hours!) He has been doing this since September 9th!!! We are so excited for him! He is slow but he improves each day! We have an appointment with a new speech therapist on Thursday to work out a new plan for him.
Carter had his follow up surgery appointment on Monday and they have replaced the long tube that he had with a little button which is great! No more huge tube coming out of his belly!!!
We have an appointment with Early Intervention to have Carter assessed for therapy. I am anxious for this because I would really like to continue his occupational therapy to work on his low muscle tone. We had started this at the hospital but the therapists did much more than we can.
Both of the boys go on Friday for their two month doctors visit. I am taking Nicole with me so that I don't have to hold two screaming babies when they get their shots!!! Hopefully that will go well and we can post their most recent heights and weights. Stay tuned!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Carter is HOME!!!
Okay..by now most of you know Carter came home last Monday.
More on this TOMORROW!
More on this TOMORROW!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
UPDATE: AUGUST 20, 2009...A PLAN!!!
Sorry for the long delay between posts. It's been a week since Carter was moved to the Pediatric Unit and things have gone very well. We made a big decision this past week that Carter will be getting a G-Tube. This is a feeding tube that is put in through his abdominal wall and into his stomach. It is "permanent", in other words it is there until the doctors decide to remove it. It will be used to supplement feeds. We will continue to feed him with a bottle, but if he cannot get enough nourishment that way, we will have to give the rest via the G-Tube. We are still working on getting him to feed from a bottle and we have seen some great improvement in Carter's ability. Last week he was barely taking 3 mls. Alicia, our speech therapist decided to thicken his feeds with a gel like substance that makes it easier for Carter to coordinate the sucking, swallowing and breathing. This has helped, A LOT!!! Last night our nurse called us about 6:30 and told us that Carter had taken 66 mls by bottle and today when we arrived we found out that he took an additional 50 mls at his 10pm feed and 65 mls during his morning feed. This was a joyous time for Tracy and me. Tonight he is having an acid reflux test done and it will take about 15 hours. They have a tube down in his esophagus measuring for reflux. If it is found out that he does have reflux, they will tighten the connection between his stomach and his esophagus during the G-Tube procedure. The surgery is being scheduled for Monday, but our nurses tell us to not count on it. If any emergencies come up, then he will get bumped. He will then need about 5 days of recovery, then he will be coming home!!!! We are very excited that we now see Carter at home in a short amount of time.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Carter is Graduating!!!
Today we had good news from the NICU staff. We had a family meeting today and they told us that Carter is ready to be moved from the NICU to the Pediatric Unit upstairs. He had another EEG today to make sure that there has been no more seizure activity since they have been lowering his dose of phenobarbital. They would like to wean him off this medicine completely before coming home if possible. The EEG results were good...but we have to wait for the neurologist to read them to let us know what they are going to do about the medication.
He will most likely be moved by Friday this week upstairs. This means that we will be able to stay with him 24 hours! Only one parent can stay overnight but that is okay since Jacob needs us too! The big plus to him being upstairs means that he can now visit with his brother! We are really excited to see them together for the first time!
While he is there we will be taught how to care for his NG tube and also work with the therapists. We are not sure if he will be coming home on a feeding tube or not but it is likely. He is sucking more but not enough to take his entire feed. Right now it is a very small amount...but hopefully he will improve with more stimulation from us!
We are expecting that it will be a several more weeks in the pediatric unit but this is a huge step and we are really proud of him for accomplishing everything that he has so far!!!
Jacob is still doing well. He is starting to get pudgy like his brother! He seems to eat all the time and for the most part he is a good sleeper. His reflux issues make him uncomfortable but the medicine he is on seems to be helping. Surprisingly for all the growing he is doing he still doesn't really fit into his preemie clothes all that well! But I am sure he won't be in them for much longer.
Johnny will post new pictures soon. We keep taking them but we have been so busy traveling back and forth that we haven't been able to get them downloaded. Stay tuned!
He will most likely be moved by Friday this week upstairs. This means that we will be able to stay with him 24 hours! Only one parent can stay overnight but that is okay since Jacob needs us too! The big plus to him being upstairs means that he can now visit with his brother! We are really excited to see them together for the first time!
While he is there we will be taught how to care for his NG tube and also work with the therapists. We are not sure if he will be coming home on a feeding tube or not but it is likely. He is sucking more but not enough to take his entire feed. Right now it is a very small amount...but hopefully he will improve with more stimulation from us!
We are expecting that it will be a several more weeks in the pediatric unit but this is a huge step and we are really proud of him for accomplishing everything that he has so far!!!
Jacob is still doing well. He is starting to get pudgy like his brother! He seems to eat all the time and for the most part he is a good sleeper. His reflux issues make him uncomfortable but the medicine he is on seems to be helping. Surprisingly for all the growing he is doing he still doesn't really fit into his preemie clothes all that well! But I am sure he won't be in them for much longer.
Johnny will post new pictures soon. We keep taking them but we have been so busy traveling back and forth that we haven't been able to get them downloaded. Stay tuned!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Happy Three Week Birthday!
Just wishing the babies a Happy Three Week Birthday today!
Jacob is growing and growing. We took him to the doctor yesterday and he weighed 6 pounds 3 ounces!!! That is what Carter weighed when he was born! So he is catching up to big brother! We think he has some reflux issues. We now have some medication and hopefully it will help him.
Carter has also gained some weight. He is now 6 pounds 9 ounces. He needs to eat more if he wants to stay bigger than his little brother!! He is doing well. They are reducing his amount of phenobarbitol and so far everything is going well. He still isn't swallowing so there really is no way to feed him a bottle which is his next big goal. He has started to show a sucking reflex but it is weak. He had speech therapy every day this week and I think he has improved.
He unfortunately didn't pass his hearing test so he will need to be re-tested at some point. The nurses tried to assure us that it might be nothing and not to worry too much right now.
He is still doing lots of occupational therapy and we have met with the therapist to show us what we can be doing while we visit. The therapy sessions are fun because it gets him out of the crib and usually he is wide awake!
In general the boys are doing great and we are just hoping for the whole family to be together soon!!!
Jacob is growing and growing. We took him to the doctor yesterday and he weighed 6 pounds 3 ounces!!! That is what Carter weighed when he was born! So he is catching up to big brother! We think he has some reflux issues. We now have some medication and hopefully it will help him.
Carter has also gained some weight. He is now 6 pounds 9 ounces. He needs to eat more if he wants to stay bigger than his little brother!! He is doing well. They are reducing his amount of phenobarbitol and so far everything is going well. He still isn't swallowing so there really is no way to feed him a bottle which is his next big goal. He has started to show a sucking reflex but it is weak. He had speech therapy every day this week and I think he has improved.
He unfortunately didn't pass his hearing test so he will need to be re-tested at some point. The nurses tried to assure us that it might be nothing and not to worry too much right now.
He is still doing lots of occupational therapy and we have met with the therapist to show us what we can be doing while we visit. The therapy sessions are fun because it gets him out of the crib and usually he is wide awake!
In general the boys are doing great and we are just hoping for the whole family to be together soon!!!
Monday, August 3, 2009
UPDATE- AUG. 3, 2009
Sorry for the delay in updating the blog.....
Jake is doing really well. Had another doctors appointment today and he has gained 1/2 a pound. He is now 5 pounds 14.5 ounces. He is catching up to his brother who is now 6 pounds 7 ounces. Doctor said he looks really healthy. The only problem is that he is having some pains and we are not sure if it is gas or reflux. We are keeping an eye on it.
Carter is doing well also. He has started work with both a speech and occupational therapist. The Occupational Therapist has shown us different massages we can do to help stimulate him and strengthen his muscles and he seems to be responding very well to this. The Speech Therapist is showing us how to get him to start sucking. This is needed so that he can start to feed by bottle. He is only being fed by a feeding tube. Alicia said that he showed some signs of sucking this morning and both Tracy and I saw some this evening when we went in for a visit. Carter had some other visitors today; Jason and Nicole came to meet him. He was WIDE awake and was happy to see some new faces. He is always looking around the NICU at what is going on around him. We brought him his mobile and his loves it!!!
Jake is doing really well. Had another doctors appointment today and he has gained 1/2 a pound. He is now 5 pounds 14.5 ounces. He is catching up to his brother who is now 6 pounds 7 ounces. Doctor said he looks really healthy. The only problem is that he is having some pains and we are not sure if it is gas or reflux. We are keeping an eye on it.
Carter is doing well also. He has started work with both a speech and occupational therapist. The Occupational Therapist has shown us different massages we can do to help stimulate him and strengthen his muscles and he seems to be responding very well to this. The Speech Therapist is showing us how to get him to start sucking. This is needed so that he can start to feed by bottle. He is only being fed by a feeding tube. Alicia said that he showed some signs of sucking this morning and both Tracy and I saw some this evening when we went in for a visit. Carter had some other visitors today; Jason and Nicole came to meet him. He was WIDE awake and was happy to see some new faces. He is always looking around the NICU at what is going on around him. We brought him his mobile and his loves it!!!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
UPDATE- JULY 27th at 11pm
Just got back from an evening with Carter. He is looking so much better. His swelling is going down and he looks great. He was a little sedated because he had his MRI tonight, so hopefully we can get some information tomorrow. Tomorrow night is bath night!!! Carter was squirming when Tracy changed his diaper tonight. We are so thankful to all the doctors and nurses that are taking care of our boy.
Jacob went with us tonight to Jefferson. He isn't able to go back and see his big brother. He slept with Grandma for a bit then I went and sat with him and fed him. He is so peaceful and doesn't cry all that much....I know I just jinxed us!!!
Below are some new photos of the boys from today.
Jacob went with us tonight to Jefferson. He isn't able to go back and see his big brother. He slept with Grandma for a bit then I went and sat with him and fed him. He is so peaceful and doesn't cry all that much....I know I just jinxed us!!!
Below are some new photos of the boys from today.
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