Thursday, February 25, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Boy meets girl
Now that Mckenna and Connor are getting more stable, I have finally been able to hold them both at the same time. It was so funny the first time I held them together. Mckenna was okay with it, but Connor wanted no part of it. It's funny because the pictures look all sweet, but in reality Connor was whining, trying to push his sister away, and throwing his head back. Looks like they are going to be good friends, lol.. It was cute becuase the second time I held them together, Connor cried for the first five minutes. The doctor kept joking about how no man is willing to share his woman. It was cute becuase again Mckenna was as cool as a cucumber, and when he was crying she put her hand on his. Its so fun to hold them together! They are so sweet.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Connor Issac Burns
Connor Issac Burns is now a whopping 2 months old and is getting soo big! I can't believe how much he has changed. He is now 4 pounds, 13 ounces and 16 inches long. Connor is our little cuddlebug and he loves to be held and cuddled by anyone who will hold him. He also loves his binki and we are just trying to start him on bottles. The poor kid is pretty confused though. He kind of will just lick the bottle with a very concerned look on his face. He does a little better with breastfeeding.Usually he will be successful for a few sucks, forget to breathe, desat and start to turn blue, and I will have to stop him and he will get mad and cry, and then we do the whole thing over again. Poor guy, who knew eating was so hard.
Connor is also a kid that needs to be contained. He loves to be swaddled and wrapped up as tight as he can. Connor also does a lot of funny things while he is sleeping. When he is asleep his eyebrows are always moving, and he is always making funny faces. He often will get this twitchy smile that comes and goes when he is sleeping. Connor is usually happy, but has no problem letting you know if he is hungry and needs or wants something. He also now will look at you when you walk in the room and start talking to him. He is gettting so big, we love him so much. It is fun to already see how different he and his sister are.
Beautiful baby girl
Beautiful baby girl
"Stop mom! Stop"
Mckenna Ruth Burns is getting so big and beautiful! She is now 4 pounds 6 ounces and is almost 16 inches long! Mckenna is a really sweet girl and is getting healthier everyday. Mckenna is a little less fussy than her brother. Although when she cries it is more sporadic and we can't really figure out why she is crying. Lol, maybe its a girl thing! She also has this funny thing she does anytime she is stressed out or doesn't like what you are doing. She will take her hand and stick it striaght out and give you kind of like a stop sign. Its like she is staying "stop mom!" just "stop!". Poor girl, she has been through so much, I think its kind of a defense mechanism.
Mckenna doesn't like to be held as much as brother, she is really sensitive to a lot of movement and sound. Her favorite way to be held is just to lay on her stomach on your chest. They also started her with breastfeeding and trying a bottle this week. She actually does pretty good with both! She gets the swallow suck thing more than her brother. I think she likes breastfeeding more though.
Mckenna also is getting big. She is fitting into premie clothes, and I'm having a lot of fun dressing her up! I don't think Mckenna appreciates it as much as I do though. One of our nurses made her some flower headbands that look so cute on her! She will sometimes try to grab it and it will be right over her eyes like a blind fold. Poor girl, she is learning early beauty is pain! jk.
We are so proud of our girl, she is making big strides. She is now on 30 percent oxygen, and we hope that we can wean her off before she goes home.
"Stop mom! Stop"
Mckenna Ruth Burns is getting so big and beautiful! She is now 4 pounds 6 ounces and is almost 16 inches long! Mckenna is a really sweet girl and is getting healthier everyday. Mckenna is a little less fussy than her brother. Although when she cries it is more sporadic and we can't really figure out why she is crying. Lol, maybe its a girl thing! She also has this funny thing she does anytime she is stressed out or doesn't like what you are doing. She will take her hand and stick it striaght out and give you kind of like a stop sign. Its like she is staying "stop mom!" just "stop!". Poor girl, she has been through so much, I think its kind of a defense mechanism.
Mckenna doesn't like to be held as much as brother, she is really sensitive to a lot of movement and sound. Her favorite way to be held is just to lay on her stomach on your chest. They also started her with breastfeeding and trying a bottle this week. She actually does pretty good with both! She gets the swallow suck thing more than her brother. I think she likes breastfeeding more though.
Mckenna also is getting big. She is fitting into premie clothes, and I'm having a lot of fun dressing her up! I don't think Mckenna appreciates it as much as I do though. One of our nurses made her some flower headbands that look so cute on her! She will sometimes try to grab it and it will be right over her eyes like a blind fold. Poor girl, she is learning early beauty is pain! jk.
We are so proud of our girl, she is making big strides. She is now on 30 percent oxygen, and we hope that we can wean her off before she goes home.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Drama Queen (and King)
Mckenna, our little drama queen, has had another up and down week, but is doing very well right now. Both kids were moved to the "continuing care" side of the NICU this week, which is great because it means that they are out of the "acute" intensive care unit. It's basically where babies go when they aren't in serious condition anymore, and where parents can hold the babies more regularly and breathe a little easier ourselves. Now each of them has their own room equipped with a futon, a recliner, a mini fridge, and a TV! It's like paradise compared to the craziness on the other side of the NICU, where 3-5 babies and parents cram into a big room that is full of nurses, doctors, and blaring monitors. The reason for the luxurious (using that term a bit liberally-- it's still a hospital) rooms is to encourage parents to stay there as much as possible as the duties shift from the nurses to the parents, and where fewer nurses and doctors are around. The first day in the new room, Mckenna decided that she wanted to give us another scare, and had a mini crash. She went up to 80% oxygen, and we couldn't really determine the reason. The doctor came in and did another x-ray, and found that her lungs looked a little cloudier than the one that was done four days earlier. He gave her some dieretics to drain her lungs and put her on her stomach, where she breathes more easily. She was really laboring to breathe, and her chest would expand a lot more than normal as she struggled with each breath. It sounded like she had a lot of mucus in her throat or stomach as well, because the breaths were really scratchy. We felt so badly for her, because she cried almost the whole night, and she hardly ever cries. She has a hoarse cry and it's not very audible still because she had the ventilator in for so long. We knew something was really wrong, but even the doctor didn't know why she was struggling so badly. They suctioned her nose and mouth, and turned her on her stomach, where she usually breathes a little better. We had a little hand-held oxygen machine that's attached to the wall, which we just held in front of her face for a couple hours until she seemed to improved a bit. She still has her nasal cannula oxygen, but sometimes needs additional support. She went down to 60% O2 as the new position and dieretic seemed to help.
Karisa stayed the night with her and often just put her hands on her, which helped calm her down and slow her anxious heart rate. We still aren't really supposed to hold her very much because her lungs are very fragile. The next day, Karisa noticed that Mckenna's stomach was unusually hard and asked the nurse for a stimulant to help her poop, which was a great discovery. It had been a couple days since the last one, and our little girl relieved herself quite impressively, going through three diapers!! It was the perfect remedy, because she returned to her normal oxygen support at around 30% after a few hours. She started breathing much easier, and is fine now. She has her eyes wide open like she usually does when she's feeling well. She has such big blue eyes-- we love to see them wide open, because it's the best indication (unless she's sleeping) of how she's feeling.
Connor is also doing pretty well. He's breastfeeding now about once or twice daily. He still has his feeding tube, because by breastfeeding we really mean breast-sipping. He needs to stop and go quite a bit. The stops are due to his brady episodes when his heart rate drops because of his lack of breathing, and mom needs to pull him off so he can recover and breathe normally. Multi-tasking isn't yet a strength of Connor's because sucking and breathing is too much to focus on at the same time for the little guy. His forehead turns white when his oxygen is low, and his heart rate drops from 150 to about 70-- the monitors start beeping and that's when we know to pull him off. At first when she pulls him off, he doesn't cry because he's practically passed out-- he just goes limp and closes his eyes until he can recover. We rub his back, head, or stomach to stimulate his breathing again. If it wasn't scary it would be pretty funny (and still sort-of is), because all it takes is about 30-60 seconds to recover, and as soon as he starts breathing again and feeling better, he gets mad because he doesn't have milk. Then he starts to suck and get more milk, which causes him to brady again and pass out, and mom quickly removes him to help him recover. As soon as his breathing resumes, he gets angry again and we let him feed until he turns white and we need to pull him off. The cycle of sucking, passing out, recovering, getting mad, and sucking again continues over and over until the dramatic feeding is complete. Mckenna actually breastfeeds a little better than Connor, which was a huge surprise! She still has nasal oxygen though, so it's not yet a fair comparison. Premies often struggle with this, we're told, and even a full term baby can have some difficulty sucking and breathing at the same time. I helped give Connor a bottle for my first time this week, with the nurse present, and he brady'd three times in five minutes. He would suck a little until his forehead turned white and we would need to pull the bottle out, sit him upright, and let him rest. After five minutes, the nurse asked me to put him back in his bed to help him rest and recover more completely, after he spent most of the time "resting and recovering" while I was feeding him. Such fragile babies!!
Connor currently weighs 4 pounds 5 ounces, and Mckenna weighs 4 pounds even. They are approximately one month and 5 days away from their original due date. Connor is without oxygen support completely, and Mckenna still has the nasal oxygen support. Connor also had his pulse sock (the oxygen is measured with a velcro strap doctors place on a baby's foot) removed completely yesterday, so the only way we can tell if his oxygen is low is from his skin color or when the heart-rate monitor starts beeping.
Karisa stayed the night with her and often just put her hands on her, which helped calm her down and slow her anxious heart rate. We still aren't really supposed to hold her very much because her lungs are very fragile. The next day, Karisa noticed that Mckenna's stomach was unusually hard and asked the nurse for a stimulant to help her poop, which was a great discovery. It had been a couple days since the last one, and our little girl relieved herself quite impressively, going through three diapers!! It was the perfect remedy, because she returned to her normal oxygen support at around 30% after a few hours. She started breathing much easier, and is fine now. She has her eyes wide open like she usually does when she's feeling well. She has such big blue eyes-- we love to see them wide open, because it's the best indication (unless she's sleeping) of how she's feeling.
Connor is also doing pretty well. He's breastfeeding now about once or twice daily. He still has his feeding tube, because by breastfeeding we really mean breast-sipping. He needs to stop and go quite a bit. The stops are due to his brady episodes when his heart rate drops because of his lack of breathing, and mom needs to pull him off so he can recover and breathe normally. Multi-tasking isn't yet a strength of Connor's because sucking and breathing is too much to focus on at the same time for the little guy. His forehead turns white when his oxygen is low, and his heart rate drops from 150 to about 70-- the monitors start beeping and that's when we know to pull him off. At first when she pulls him off, he doesn't cry because he's practically passed out-- he just goes limp and closes his eyes until he can recover. We rub his back, head, or stomach to stimulate his breathing again. If it wasn't scary it would be pretty funny (and still sort-of is), because all it takes is about 30-60 seconds to recover, and as soon as he starts breathing again and feeling better, he gets mad because he doesn't have milk. Then he starts to suck and get more milk, which causes him to brady again and pass out, and mom quickly removes him to help him recover. As soon as his breathing resumes, he gets angry again and we let him feed until he turns white and we need to pull him off. The cycle of sucking, passing out, recovering, getting mad, and sucking again continues over and over until the dramatic feeding is complete. Mckenna actually breastfeeds a little better than Connor, which was a huge surprise! She still has nasal oxygen though, so it's not yet a fair comparison. Premies often struggle with this, we're told, and even a full term baby can have some difficulty sucking and breathing at the same time. I helped give Connor a bottle for my first time this week, with the nurse present, and he brady'd three times in five minutes. He would suck a little until his forehead turned white and we would need to pull the bottle out, sit him upright, and let him rest. After five minutes, the nurse asked me to put him back in his bed to help him rest and recover more completely, after he spent most of the time "resting and recovering" while I was feeding him. Such fragile babies!!
Connor currently weighs 4 pounds 5 ounces, and Mckenna weighs 4 pounds even. They are approximately one month and 5 days away from their original due date. Connor is without oxygen support completely, and Mckenna still has the nasal oxygen support. Connor also had his pulse sock (the oxygen is measured with a velcro strap doctors place on a baby's foot) removed completely yesterday, so the only way we can tell if his oxygen is low is from his skin color or when the heart-rate monitor starts beeping.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Happy Valentines Day!
A look into the past...
Snowboarding last valentines day
The wedding!
A week before I went into labor
Big blue eyes
daddy's little lady
so sleepy!
mommy time!
our little "heartbreaker"! Our primary nurse, Tamara, made this blanket for Connor with the words "heartbreaker" all over it. It is so funny!
Sweet girl
Happy Valentines Day!! It as been a great week at the nicu. Mckenna has been able to stay on the the cpap, and now they are even trying her on a nasal cannula. She is doing so well, and has come such a long way in the past week, we are so proud of her. It was a fun Valentines day in the nicu. We got to kangaroo both kids. One of the kids' great primary nurses got them really cute outfits and bedding for valentines day. They looked so cute, thanks Tam! Our kids have some really great primary nurses. It is amazing how our kids know and love them.
It is a crazy thing because I was thinking about our last valentines day. Eric and I were dating and decided to visit my grandma and grandpa in the mountains and we went skiing. It is amazing to think how life has changed since then. Last valentines day we were not even enagaged yet, and were just having fun dating. We had no idea what the future would bring! In the past year we have gone from dating and have gotten engaged, married, pregnant, and now have 2 kids! It has been year full of changes and fun. Even though things have been hard with the kids in the nicu, it has been one of the happiest times of my life. I thought I knew what love was before we got married, but it is amazing how when you go through trials and hardship with someone how you learn to rely on each other and your love grows. I never knew I could be so happy being a wife and a mother. I never knew I could love my husband and kids so much. My life has been so full, I am so grateful for all the changes in my life throughout the year. I can honestly say I never knew a love like this...
Snowboarding last valentines day
The wedding!
A week before I went into labor
Big blue eyes
daddy's little lady
so sleepy!
mommy time!
our little "heartbreaker"! Our primary nurse, Tamara, made this blanket for Connor with the words "heartbreaker" all over it. It is so funny!
Sweet girl
Happy Valentines Day!! It as been a great week at the nicu. Mckenna has been able to stay on the the cpap, and now they are even trying her on a nasal cannula. She is doing so well, and has come such a long way in the past week, we are so proud of her. It was a fun Valentines day in the nicu. We got to kangaroo both kids. One of the kids' great primary nurses got them really cute outfits and bedding for valentines day. They looked so cute, thanks Tam! Our kids have some really great primary nurses. It is amazing how our kids know and love them.
It is a crazy thing because I was thinking about our last valentines day. Eric and I were dating and decided to visit my grandma and grandpa in the mountains and we went skiing. It is amazing to think how life has changed since then. Last valentines day we were not even enagaged yet, and were just having fun dating. We had no idea what the future would bring! In the past year we have gone from dating and have gotten engaged, married, pregnant, and now have 2 kids! It has been year full of changes and fun. Even though things have been hard with the kids in the nicu, it has been one of the happiest times of my life. I thought I knew what love was before we got married, but it is amazing how when you go through trials and hardship with someone how you learn to rely on each other and your love grows. I never knew I could be so happy being a wife and a mother. I never knew I could love my husband and kids so much. My life has been so full, I am so grateful for all the changes in my life throughout the year. I can honestly say I never knew a love like this...
Friday, February 12, 2010
Happy 2 month birthday guys!!
Connor and Mckenna now!
Our babies are now 2 months old and we are so proud of them! It is crazy how fast time goes. Connor was born at 1 pound 10oz and is now 3 pounds 13 oz. Mckenna born at 1 pound 8 oz is now 3 pounds 10 oz. They have overcome many obstacles from heart surgery, to chronic lung disease, infections, and gi issues. These guys are truly fighters and have taught us so much. We love you guys!
Our babies are now 2 months old and we are so proud of them! It is crazy how fast time goes. Connor was born at 1 pound 10oz and is now 3 pounds 13 oz. Mckenna born at 1 pound 8 oz is now 3 pounds 10 oz. They have overcome many obstacles from heart surgery, to chronic lung disease, infections, and gi issues. These guys are truly fighters and have taught us so much. We love you guys!
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