Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Our NICU Story in a NUTSHELL

OMG!! I feel so bad, I have been absent for so long since the girls have arrived and it has not been easy by far... We have been very very busy with the little ones; we thank God for the help we are getting from both our families...

This is going to be a long one….

So to go back in time almost 2 years now and I can still remember the rest of the girls NICU stay as I can remember everything that they went through during their 17 day stay. I will summarize it so I can then post all the updates and bring you all up to speed... (I'm so sorry for being absent, but being full time working mommy and wife is very hard to do - I give respect to all women who have done this and are doing this on a daily basis!)

Day 1
After leaving the hospital and going home, it was all about going back to the hospital in my brain, nothing else mattered but to go back and be with the girls. I called before bed and as soon as I woke up. Heard that Imani had an apnea over night (she forgot to breath) oooh NO BUENO!! Mommy made me some oatmeal - hubby went to work - I pumped milk - hubby came home - hospital bound! Got there and heard all the details of the apnea - she recovered well and had a bit of oxygen and back to normal. Isabelle was good. We got to kangaroo and hold them both today YAY!!! It was the most amazing feeling ever! Stayed till late went home - called again - all is well.

Day 2
Woke up - called NICU - this time Isabelle had apnea and a bradycardia again but that all got well once she got some oxygen - hubby went to work - mommy made oatmeal (I was eating oatmeal everyday when my mom was here, it was great for milk production but I was getting disgusted) called again - everything was fine! Pumped breast milk - Woohoo 2 oz per boob (AWESOME!!) Hubby got home - went to Hospital got all the details that they ate very well a lot of ounces, and no more apnea no more brady's and they had a small bath at night before. We got to carry them and hang out, talk and learn from the nurses and start trying bottle feed or latching on, but no go on that one. Stayed till late night went home – called again – all is well.

Day 3
Spoke with their Dr, and we were advice that Isabelle was going to be tested to see if she could regulate her body temp the following day as she has been doing very well in the incubator. Imani is developing bit slower but is coming along very well. They were not worried about the apnea’s or brady’s anymore as they tend to happened with preemies. Both girls were passing all their tests very well and all was coming up normal, the main thing now was weight gain and bottle feeding. After hearing all this great news! We got to hang out and kangaroo the babies, try to bottle feed which was going surprisingly well to begin but they would get tired fast. They were getting a mix of breast milk and formula to help them gain weight.

Day 4
At this point the nurses already knew the times I was calling, and would give me all the details over the phone – which was so helpful seeing that I was at home on the 3rd floor not being able to move around much and drive yet. This was keeping me very calm. Today we did a bit of shopping to stock up and buy all the babies stuff – bottles, diapers, sheets, clothes, car seats, stroller, etc etc etc – we had to get everything done after as we could not do it before – just paint. We ordered the furniture got a great deal at Walmart and order stroller also from there we got the Contours Optima Tandem Stroller. Then to the hospital for my daily visit – and to take in all the breast milk I had been pumping. These are always the highlight of my day! Got there and Isabelle was still in her incubator, we asked the nurses how the test go, and they said that she didn’t do well so it has to be a few more days. We got to feed and kangaroo both girlies.

Day 5
This was 4th of July my hubby worked, the Florida weather was HORRIBLE and I couldn’t drive we had one car only during this time so it was very difficult to be able to make it to the hospital. It was the worst day ever! Not being able to go see them was the WORST ever! I must have called the nurses like 100 times that day (exaggerating a bit). But all went well and it was all good.

Day 6
My mom went back to Aruba this day, but she came back later on when the girls got out to help me take care of them before I had to go back to work. So took mom to airport, then went to hospital to visit and relax at church as all was going well, they still had feeding tubes, but taking the bottle much better, and were doing better with their body temps might get out soon from the incubator. And they were growing so big. It was nice even seeing them sleep.

Day 7
Surprise Surprise! Isabelle was out of the incubator – she was regulating her temp very well and was taking the bottle also so no more Gavache tube either.. Wooo hoooo!!! Imani however still had a little bit of delay but was taking the bottle very well, neither of them were latching on for breast feeding unfortunately but I was pumping and producing like a cow – even the nurses said to me they had sufficient and that I could hold on to them at

Day 8
Imani did not wait too long to get out of her incubator either, by the following day, they were testing her, and she was doing well!! So she got out a well. And then they removed her gavache tube as well, seeing that she started pulling it out and was taking the bottle very well. Soooo both girlies were out and gaining weight!! Yayyy!! Wooohoooo it was such an amazing things seeing them like that… and growing so much… God truly blessed us when he gave us these little angels. Beautiful and amazing little angels.

Day 9 – 12
So they let Imani and Isabelle chill separately for a day or so, to make sure that they really regulate their temps on their own. Then they placed them together in one crib! It was so nice to see them laying and sleeping next to each other. They kept progressing and taking the bottle, and feeding more and more and gaining weight on a constant. As for us we just kept going with the finishing touches at the house and just kept visiting them daily and spending all free times at the hospital.

Day 13
Second time I was not able to make it in to go see the girls – no car, hubby working, can’t drive.. booo hooo.. Also hubby was exhausted of the back and forth, working early mornings and then getting home late nights.. It was wearing both of us out… I called all day to check up on them, they told us to register for the car seat education class as they are reaching the weight for discharge very fast and we should be prepared.

Day 14
Took in the car seats and took the car seat safety class to get prepared for the home coming of the girls!! We just started counting the day!! The release weight was 5 lbs and both girls were already in the 4 lbs range so it was a matter of days.

Day 15 – 17
As the girls kept gaining weight we kept counting the days, on day 15 they did the car seat test with Isabelle, and she did not pass. So they tried again on day 16 with both of them. And all went perfect!!! We were so happy and excited what that meant was that soon they will be home and it turned out to be the very next day on July 15, 2014!! Our babies were released on we were on our way home!! Whoop Whoop!! Our family was complete!

There you have it the entire NICU story in a very long nutshell, I will provide pictures as soon as  I can so you can see the progress in pictures. It has been a very eventful 20 months and we are just a couple of months away from their second birthday, and I am back to blogging and will do my best to keep it up as much as I can.

God bless.


Ciaooooooooooooo