Big brother time!

This morning I learned that Brody was already taken off his nasal canula the night before and was breathing just fine and they were in the process of taking Tyler off as well. I got to experience "Kangaroo Care" with Tyler for the first time. This is where you have a baby on your chest skin to skin and snuggle for like an hour. What's better than that? This especially helps preemies because the baby is able to hear your heart beat and feel the warmth of your skin as well as feel you breathing. It's very soothing to them. I was able to do this with both boys today; Tyler at his 10:30 a.m. care time and Brody at his 4:30 p.m. care time.

A lot of people have been asking me if they think I can spot any characteristics that are different between the boys. The only thing I have been able to notice so far is that Brody is a bit feistier than Tyler, (although Tyler's nurse said today that he is giving Brody a run for his money in the last day or so).

They have both been given a peripheral IV line in their hands so that their umbilical lines could be completely removed (they each had one line left going into a vein). Apparently the NICU team noticed via x-ray that the lines had moved a little out of position and rather than putting them in again (which is a sterile surgical procedure), they were stable enough to just have the IV put into their hand instead. This is much better because they are easier to handle and hold without worrying about disturbing that area.

They are taking more and more milk and digesting all of it so far!

Hunter got to meet his brothers today for the first time. He was very curious about all the different buttons on the incubators and in their NICU room in general. The nurse was busy explaining all of their functions. There are a few other babies in the room with our guys and Hunter saw a similar incubator on the other side of the room. He said, "Mom, we have three twins!" John asked him if he wanted to see Brody. He went and got a step stool and brought it over to Brody's "home" so he could peek in at him. He asked which twin it was and John told him "Twin B." He said, "That's not Brody, Dad...that's Milk" (I mentioned on an earlier post that several months ago he nicknamed them Tree and Milk). He was getting antsy after a little while and went up to my hospital room with John while I finished "Kangaroo Care" with Brody. The nurse said they like this care to last at least an hour so that's quite some time for a four-year-old to stay calm.

Tyler's bilirubin count was high enough that he had to start phototherapy lights tonight. He has to wear special eye-wear to protect his eyes while under his "tanning lights." Brody is still avoiding this for now but most preemies and even a lot of term babies will have jaundice so it's no big deal.

I will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow morning. It is bittersweet. On the one hand I am so ready to get home and enjoy the freedom I have missed out on these last 9+ weeks and to spend time with my family but on the other hand I am so sad to have to be apart from the boys. We hope that they can come home very soon.