Update on the Premies

It's been a pretty busy week at the NICU, so we apologize for not updating this as regularly as we want to. Since the kids are in the continuing care section of the nicu, we've been shouldering more of the work load, including feedings, baths, changing clothes, holding the kids, reading to the kids, etc. Reading to premies who aren't even supposed to be out of the tummy sounds a little strange, right? I guess the doctor really believes that it will help, but every time I read to them (dad), they look completely uninterested and end up squirming (Mckenna) or crying (Connor). I'm not seeing the educational benefit in this...


Here are some of the latest updates and developments:

1. Both kids weigh around 5 pounds. Connor weighs 5 pounds 2 ounces, and Mckenna weighs 4 pounds 13 ounces.

2. Both kids had their brain/head ultrasounds on Monday, Mar. 1, and both heads are completely normal! Huge sigh of relief... Connor has a funky little bump on the crown of his head, but the doctors don't seem worried. They think it's just a fatty deposit from the plates growing together in his head.

3. Both kids had their eye exams, and Connor will most likely be fine. The doctor says that although he has minor ROP, 98% of the time his issue will improve on its own. Mckenna, not too surprisingly, (between the two, she has had it worse with most issues) has more severe ROP and may need eye surgery to remove the ROP issue that she has. She has a follow-up appointment with the eye doctor on Thursday to see if she will need the operation or not. Basically, due to the large amounts of oxygen she has required, the retinas in her eyes have been affected, and will need to be addressed if the problem has gotten worse since last week. We are praying hard that it will not be necessary since she's had such a rough road so far.

4. Connor's cry is progressing quite nicely, and you can hear him cry outside his hospital room now pretty easily. Mckenna's cry still isn't audible because of her prolonged experience with the ventilator tube. Her voice has been affected and will take a little more time to mature and heal. She doesn't cry very often though, and that's a blessing because her voice will heal more quickly if she doesn't use it, according to the doctors.

5. Sucking, swallowing, and breathing have been a challenge for both kids so far, but they're both getting better. I have laughed out loud at times when I watch Connor try to do this. He passes out ("brady") from not breathing, but gets frustrated as soon as he comes around and realizes that we've removed his food... only to pass out again a few moments later when he starts drinking again. Both kids have feeding tubes in their noses that provide the majority of the milk they receive.

6. We still don't know when the kids will come home, but we expect that it may be within a month or so for Connor, and maybe a little longer for Mckenna. She will be coming home with oxygen for sure, and we are a little nervous about that. We both don't mind having her in the hospital for now because she's with doctors and nurses and monitors that measure her heart rate, oxygen level, and respiratory levels. Once she's home, we'll need to do the monitoring ourselves which may be tough.

7. The kids have different rooms now, but we mostly bring Connor into Mckenna's room, since he's more stable and mobile. It's pretty funny to see both kids asleep on Karisa at the same time, and it's really cute to see. Mckenna is more willing to share mom-space with Connor at this point, because Connor usually cries for a minute but then gives in and shares space with his sister.

8. Mckenna looks hysterically funny at times with her bows and flower headbands-- many times they are bigger than her head. Karisa and her primary nurses have made her so many headband flowers that often doctors and nurses will come in to just look and laugh and talk about it. The other day there were so many nurses in the room that I had to grab the only other guy in the room, Connor, and make an escape.. we went into Connor's room, turned on ESPN, and I explained the rules of football to our little man as the ladies were in Mckennas room ooh-ing and ahh-ing about bows, ribbons, and flowers.

9. As a final update, Mckenna's health has gone from critical to stable, and we have little doubt that we'll be able to bring her home as a happy little girl, along with her happy twin brother. She's had a wild ride, and some issues still remain, but we don't sleep with our phones anymore, anticipating an urgent call from the NICU regarding Mckenna, except by habit at this point. She and Connor have been truly blessed by the Lord to make it this far and we've seen miracles by our Heavenly Father especially in preserving Mckenna's life.

That's all that I can think of right now, but we sincerely appreciate all your prayers and support, as always. Also, we really want to thank everyone who has brought us meals and offered to bring meals, even going back to when Karisa was in the hospital on bedrest. It's been so helpful, and we really appreciate it!!