Twin Update

Sutton had his post-op appointment this week in KC.  The doctor was very pleased and said that he just needs an x-ray every six months until he is two.  Fortunately, we can do this in Columbia so we think our trips to KC are done for now.

My school year started up last week.  I had been dreading leaving the boys, although a part of me was excited to get back into the classroom.  Morning #1 was rough!  The boys started going to their sitter and they seem super happy there.  They are going to an in-home daycare with 4 other little ones.  We love their sitter!  She has six children of her own ranging from elementary to adult.  Sometimes when we go to pick up the boys, one of her kids is holding or playing with one of the boys- it really warms our hearts.  There is so much love in that house and our boys get so much attention!

Before taking the boys' to daycare for the first time, I had a little chat with the boys' pediatrician.  I expressed my concern about taking them to any daycare/sitter and them getting sick.  To me, daycare represents my boys going out into the real world where there are new people, new germs, and catching a cold or virus is inevitable.  The doctor warned me that this winter would be very rough on both boys due to their prematurity.  Their lungs and immunity are less developed than full-term babies. He said that we will be seeing a lot of each other this winter.  

Well, imagine my surprise when both boys developed a runny nose this week.  I played it cool for a day or two and didn't call the doctor.  The next day, they both had a tiny cough.  Yesterday morning we woke up and I thought Lawson's cough sounded a little worse, but he still had no fever, was eating his full feeds, and had slept great the night before.  By the end of the day though, he wasn't eating as well and had a low-grade fever.  I made an appointment and the doctor squeezed us in yesterday afternoon.

Lawson's cold had turned into bronchiolitis (the most well known bronchial virus is RSV although the doctor said he does not have RSV at this point).  The virus causes asthma-like symptoms so needless to say Lawson is not too comfortable.  This morning, he woke up with no temperature and was eating great.  After a short nap though, his temperature had spiked to 101.  I called the doctor and he wanted to see him in case there was a secondary illness.  After bloodwork and an x-ray, all signs are still pointing to a virus.  There's no medicine to treat it, so we are just using saline, a nasal bulb syringe, vapor rub, and a humidifier.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that the virus clears up and doesn't get any worse.  The pediatrician told us that most of the boys' colds will turn into bronchiolitis this winter- bummer!  Welcome to the next 6-7 months of our lives!

On a happier note, here are some pictures of our cuties:

(Lawson, Sutton)

(Sutton, Lawson)

(Lawson eating carrots for the first time)

(Sutton rocking the Bumbo)

Getting Back to Normal

Well, it's been a little over a week since Sutton's surgery.  His pain seems to be under control and he's not needing as much ibuprofen.  We are seeing his happy side a lot, but his cranky side has been coming out in full force as well!

The last time we spent the night in the hospital, it took a day or so for him to get back on schedule.  This time though, we are definitely a long way away from our routine.  It's no surprise it's been a rough transition home.  There was zero routine in the hospital as he went a couple of days without eating.  He was also awakened several times throughout the night to have his temperature taken, get medicine, and have his diaper changed.  So for the past week, it's be an accomplishment to get him to sleep before 9 (he had been going to bed at 7:30).  He is also waking up around 2 and 4 whereas he had been sleeping all the way until 5 without waking up.  In the past 5 days, he has probably taken a total of 1 1/2 hours of naps during the day.  Needless to say, he's spent a good deal of time crying when he should be napping.  It's been a long week:).  Thankfully Andrew's mom was here to help!

Lawson made an easy transition home- one out of two isn't bad:).  That little guy is learning to sleep through some pretty intense screaming!

Here are the boys in one of Sutton's happy moments:

It's hard to believe summer break is almost over.  I've absolutely loved getting to spend so much time with the boys.  I was hoping I would feel more "ready" to go back to work, but I'm just not there yet.  I hope as soon as I get back into the swing of things, it will get easier.

We've got one more follow-up post-op appointment in KC at the end of the month and we are hopeful to put Sutton's health issues behind us.  Thanks for the support!

Home Sweet Home

Praise God that Sutton was healthy enough to be discharged from the hospital today!  I spent all morning staring at his monitor with an anxious feeling in my stomach.  Anyone who has spent any significant time around heart/respiratory/oxygen saturation monitors know that they can be a blessing and a curse.  NICU parents tend to base their kids' progress on these monitors all the while knowing that one shift in position or tiny foot kick can show an inaccurate reading.  I am highly aware of these facts, but I kept feeling a surge of panic any time Sutton's oxygen saturation dipped (even though I could see his rosy cheeks beaming at me). Suttie's "incident" is one we won't shake for quite some while.

The surgical team came in today and told us that if his stats remained good while he took a nap off oxygen and his next feeding went well, we could go home.  This was music to our ears- we were so excited to have our healthy baby back, plus we couldn't wait to see little Lawson!

After a good nap and feeding, we gathered our belongings and got the heck out of that place!  The staff was amazing and the nurses were so sweet to us, but we were ready to put this experience behind us.

Andrew's mom is coming up to Columbia to help with Sutton's transition back home as Andrew leaves on a business trip.  On her way she met my parents at the lake to pick up Lawson.   How lucky are we that our precious babies have two sets of grandparents who have continually rearranged their schedules and made special trips to help us take care of our family?!  We really could not have survived these past six months without such amazing parents.

We are hopeful that this is the last surgery for Sutton.  The doctor is confident that the procedure will prevent further diaphragmatic hernias as they sometimes reoccur.  Sutton has a follow -up appointment in August.  From there, we will follow up with x-rays every few months to make sure those pesky organs stay in place.  

Thank you for your Facebook messages, texts, emails, phone calls, thoughts, and prayers.  The comfort and support we received over the last few days was a tremendous help.

("I feel better!")

Better Day...Knock on Wood!

Sutton is so much more comfortable today!  He woke up with a big old smile on his face!  I feel like he finally got some quality sleep.  He ran a low-grade fever last night, but that's fairly common in post-op babies.

His glycerine suppositories really kicked in today too!  His belly is back to its normal size and is nice and soft.  He was able to have 1.5 oz of formula diluted with 1.5 oz of water.  Not quite his normal 6 oz, but he was so happy to finally have something in his belly.  The surgeon came in a little bit ago, and said the goal for today is to continue to coast and not do anything too "exciting" like yesterday and we just may go home tomorrow!

Here's our smiling Sutton once again:

With all this talk about Sutton, I thought it was only fair to give a shout-out to sweet Lawson.  He has been on his very best behavior at Lulu and Graw's.  I know he is getting spoiled to pieces, so it makes being away from him a little bit easier.

Sweet baby Lawson after a bath at Lulu and Graw's:

We will keep you posted and thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

Suttie's Surgery

Well, we are a little over 24 hours post-op and it's been an eventful day to say the least! 

First off, surgery went well!  The doctor did find that Sutton had a diaphragmatic hernia and eventration.  He was able to fix both in a somewhat lengthy surgery- he went back at about noon and we were able to see him around 5.  He was extubated quickly and was a champ with anesthesia.  He was on 1.5 L of oxygen until about 1 am and did well without it for the rest of the night.

Here is a picture of Suttie in his hospital gown right before surgery:

We were able to start feeding him pretty quickly which was great since he hadn't eaten since 2:30 am.  We fed him a little throughout the night, but at about 3:30 am, we noticed that his stomach looked very distended.  It was rock hard and pretty big.  We asked for a doctor and he said that it was probably a lot of air that just needed to work itself out.  The surgical team came to check on him at about 6 am and echoed that it was most likely excess air.  This meant unfortunately that Suttie would not be able to eat until his stomach was no longer distended.  He is now taking glycerine suppositories to help that situation.

Little buddy after surgery:

We spent the morning working very hard to make Sutton as comfortable as possible.  He was dealing with hunger, a very bloated belly, and having his insides rearranged- needless to say he was not a happy camper.

But things really went downhill fast after his noon dose of morphine.  About 20 minutes after receiving his dose, the nurse decided to measure his belly so we could start checking if it was changing in size.  Suttie really hated this and started bawling.  It's hard to say if it was because of his pain, effects of morphine, or both, but he stopped breathing.  The nurse sprang into action and tried stimulating him, but it wasn't working.  He turned a dark shade of purple/blue.  She called out for another nurse and pulled the alarm for "code blue."  In a matter of seconds, Sutton's room filled with 20-30 medical personnel including nurses, doctors, ICU, the surgical team, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, radiology, social workers, and a chaplain.  Andrew and I were whisked to the side.  I, like any mother, was completely beside myself and was promptly placed in a chair.  The social worker, chaplain, and sweet Andrew were taking care of me.  Andrew has a real knack for staying calm (at least on the outside) in stressful situations.  What felt like hours ended up actually being 30-45 seconds without breathing.  Our little guy came to and started crying.  Everyone kept saying "he's fine, Mom and Dad, he's fine."  Only after we had been reassured several times that Sutton was fine, was Andrew able to break down.  I thank God he has the gift to be so strong when I am at my weakest.

Because there is no way of knowing what actually triggered this incident, Andrew pushed for them to put Sutton back on oxygen and we requested a non-narcotic pain medication (morphine can cause babies to get too relaxed and stop breathing).  The staff has really been fantastic about listening to us and taking our opinions into consideration.  Since that event, Sutton has done well on oxygen and seems to be in less pain.  He has released some gas which has helped his tummy a little although not enough for him to start eating.  We think as soon as he can eat, things will really move along.

Here is Sutton later in the day after his "event":

One would think that after all the time we've spent in the hospital with these sweet babies, we would have had some pretty scary days.  We can say with 100% certainty this was the scariest day yet.  Our little guy is doing better, but we could still use all the prayers we can get:).

6 Months and Other Happenings

On Sunday, the boys officially turned 6 months!  Half a year- whoa!  I feel so lucky because even though they are 6 months, they are really more like 3 months which means we get babies for longer!

Here are their stats from the 6 month check-up:

Lawson:  23 inches long and 11 lbs. 10 oz.

Sutton:  22.5 inches long and 11 lbs. 12 oz.

These stats put them below the second percentile in height and weight compared to their same-age peers.  For their adjusted age (3 months), they are around the 10th percentile, although their pediatrician said that coming up with a percentile for an adjusted age in preemies born this early is really a shot in the dark.  The doctor did say that they looked "perfect" and he was extremely pleased with their growth.  Poor babies had to get their 6 month shots:(.  I was sooooo glad that Grandma Lulu was there to help as we had 2 inconsolable babies for a good 5-10 minutes.

On another note, we had a great 4th of July holiday!  The boys were so excited to meet their cousins on the Pennington side!  We were also super excited to meet our new nephew Greyson and of course reunite with our other nephew Gage and niece Emma Kate.  We had a great time hanging out with the family and catching up!  We also got lots of help with the boys which was so great:).

I've had lots of people ask about Sutton's health.  So far the only update we have is that his echocardiogram was perfect!  He had this done in Columbia while the Andrew's family was in town, so the boys' Nanny (Andrew's mom) got to spend some quality one on one time with Lawson, which they both loved!  As of now, we are just working on scheduling the scope in KC.  This time we plan on being super prepared to spend the night/s there.

Our Yankee Doodle Dandies:). (Outfits made by Grandma Lulu)

Pediatric Surgery Update

Sutton went on another road trip to KC yesterday!  This time I drove us because Andrew was already in KC for work.  Thankfully Sutton slept the entire way which allowed me a calmer time getting lost in downtown KC when my phone GPS stopped speaking out loud to me:).

Our appointment yesterday was a consult with the pediatric surgeon.  He decided that since the fluoroscopy and CT scan could not definitively show if there is a hernia or not, he would need to do a scope.  Before we schedule that, Sutton will need to have another echocardiogram just to make sure he's strong enough for the procedure.  The doctor does not foresee any issues with that and fortunately that can be done in Columbia.  The scope/possible hernia repair will most likely be done sometime this summer.  

The surgeon echoed Dr. O'Connor's thoughts about having diaphragmatic hernia now as opposed to having it at birth is such a blessing.  The issue with having it in utero or at birth in a preemie would be that it can keep the lungs from fully developing causing a lot of breathing issues.  Fortunately, Sutton's lungs are developed and this isn't the case with him.  An untreated hernia can have serious consequences though, so even though he is not symptomatic aside from some occasional quick breathing, the surgeon would like to take care of this as soon as possible.

We felt very comfortable with the surgeon and Sutton was very taken with him- he kept giving him his gummy grin every time the doc looked at him.  We took this as a great sign that Suttie is once again in great hands.

Lawson got to hang out with Lulu again and decided to spend the whole day smiling at her.  He is such a happy baby:).  This weekend we will finally introduce the boys to my extended family and we are so excited!  Then for the fourth, the boys will get to meet their cousins and uncles on Andrew's side (they've already met their Aunt on his side).  We cannot wait to see them and meet our new nephew Greyson who was born in March!  It's so fun to finally share the boys with all of these special people! Have a great weekend!