Updates

Hi Everyone,

It's been a while since our last post and we apologize for that. The boys have, overall, had another good week. There's been lots of weight gain - Ethan now at 3lb 1.5oz and Caleb at 2lb 10.5oz - which is great. They are really starting to fill out now, especially in their cheeks, which is really great to see. Both are getting full feedings 6 times per day and, with the exception of some reflux, are handling it well. So hopefully the weight gain continues strong!

They've also been making slow, but steady progress on breathing. Both have remained on the nasal canula since they were originally put on it and have been slowly getting weened down. They still have some work to do here and are still having some spells, so we are cheering them on every day.

We also know that their "piping" is working because both of them are giving us (mostly Jamie) some pretty stinky daipers. And we've been caught not changing Ethan fast enough with a rainbow while he was waiting for his new daiper. The nurses keep telling us that it will happen at home quite a bit to, so we'd better get used to it.

Caleb is down to one medication to control his seizures and we haven't seen any signs of them recently and they've stopped testing him as frequently, so hopefully he is outgrowing them now. He is still going to get an MRI done in the near future, but we are not sure when.

The only real downbeat news we've received recently is that Caleb got a urinary tract infection. They were able to quickly treat him for it and his tests are coming back negative, but because the particular strain of bacteria he had is resistant to many antibiotics and easily spread, they have put him in isolation for the rest of the time he in the NICU. This means we have to wear gowns and gloves to touch him or anything he uses and we can't touch Ethan after we have touched Caleb. This has not been easy! It's difficult to plan out who you are going to touch when all you want to do it be able to touch both of them whenever you want. We know this is best because it helps keep Ethan safe from possibly getting the infection, but it is hard to be so restricted with your children. We still have a ways to go before they come home, so hopefully we will adjust to the situation as time goes on.

Thanks for your continued prayers!