3 Weeks Old!

What an exciting week we have had. At least for me it’s been full of exciting moments. Over the past week:

-------We bought a car!!!!!! The first car that Zed and I bought together (7+years ago) bit the dust. We knew that with these additions to the family our little sedan wasn’t going to cut it anymore, so we’ve been prepping and saving for a while now to help us buy a bigger car when I finally had more kids to put in it. Well, right after Zed returned home this summer our car’s transmission gave up. It was going to be about $3500 to repair, and our car was estimated at about $3500. So since we were in the market for a new car any way we went ahead and sold our car to the auto shop owner for cheap and have been using one of my parents’ cars ever since.

Until last week. Zed and I have both done some research on vehicles over the last few months. Zed has really invested himself in car research lately, he’s kind of awesome. Well the car that fit the most requirements on both of our lists (okay, so really I’m the picky one and Zed mostly just wanted me to be happy without killing our bank account) is our new Chevrolet Traverse. I haven’t gotten to drive it much, but I like it.

Otis was disappointed it wasn’t brown (his favorite color some days) but RED was the next best thing for this kid. Mr J was disappointed that it didn’t have magic doors (automatic sliding mini van doors) or a TV that came down from the ceiling. He was appeased though when Zed explained that this car is great to take camping, and then proceeded to promise the boys a camping trip before school starts this week. They went out last night and I figure they had a blast.

-----I finally got to drive for the first time in MONTHS!!!!!! It's not like it really felt all that weird or different, it just felt great to FINALLY have that level of independence back. That's been my favorite part. I don't actually like driving. In high school I taught my friends how to drive a stick shift so that they would want to practice in my car and I wouldn't have to drive around. I love being chauffeured around--I'm high maintenance like that. But it has been really nice to have an element of independence again. 

-------Will broke the 4 lb mark!!!!! Mike is only a few ounces behind him, but breaking into the 4 pounds is kind of a big deal in the NICU. You can buy special infant car seats that are rated for 4lbs, so that is one requirement for being released that we can check off our list! Both these boys have jumped up their feeding amounts this past week. They are chowing down every few hours. They both eat more than 1oz, which is a big deal since they took several days before they could eat 3mL (there are 30mL in an ounce). They are eating tons and it is fantastic!

Zed came back to visit one night after he brought the boys back home. He was soooooooooo tired, but still wanted to come with me to see our babies. He and Mike had a nice little nap together. Pretty much one of the sweetest moments ever.

-------Yesterday when I went in Will had graduated. His beds lid had been lifted! They are in the beds that have the lids to keep the warmth in while the babies learn how to regulate their own temperatures. Yesterday the nurse decided that Will was doing a pretty good job and graduated him on up. She put him in his first shirt, swaddled him, put on his cute little hat, and he was doing great with keeping his own body temperature up! While I was there the nurse also graduated Mike in the same way.

I finally got to see my sweet boys face! Will is very handsome.

------Also new yesterday was the biggest, greatest thing yet: Will’s air tubes were out!!!! He was totally breathing great on his own. I could see his whole face!!! The last couple of days Will had a smaller tube in so that they were still pumping humidity in his nose, but it wasn’t really giving him any help with his breathing at that point. So yesterday they took it out and he was doing fantastic! Once the breathing tubes were out it was so easy for me to pick Will up all by myself. I still had to get help to get Mike out yesterday, but TODAY Mike was free from his air tubes too!! I can see both sweet handsome little faces so well! They are both still attached to little heart monitors and have feeding tubes in their noses but those wires are easy to move while I picked up my baby.

Will was a very happy and alert baby when I left the hospital tonight.

-------My babies got moved on Sunday so that they are “sharing” a room! Technically they are in 2 separate rooms, but it is just a curtain that separates them, so we’ve left it open and the boys are only a handful of feet from each other. I love it. I got to be there while they were moving the boys and I thought it was about the coolest thing ever! I love going to visit them and seeing one while holding the other. I can walk back and forth from one to the other without ever leaving the room. It makes me a pretty happy mama!

Mike is also a very handsome boy. I love looking at their sweet faces. Mike was snoozing pretty hard after his first ride.

------Today they moved even beyond sharing a room though. This morning someone at the hospital had triplets and the NICU was officially full. I got called this morning requesting consent to transfer my sweet little warriors to an affiliate hospital that is has a lower level NICU. Doing this opens up beds needed for more serious infants. Bright note: my babies are cruising along in their progress and were prime candidates for a lower leveled NICU. The only real reason I had to hold back my consent was that the hospital they wanted to send my boys to is pretty much as far across the valley as possible from my mom’s house. In the end I gave consent for the transfer. Even now, after it’s all over, I feel torn about it. I’m not one bit concerned about the kind of care my babies will receive. I’m entirely self-absorbed and am more concerned about the changes this has for me. I just told Zed that it will take me a few days of driving to Timbuktu and meeting the new nurses, getting acquainted with the  new set up before I’m ok with things again. This hospital is smaller. The NICU here normally only has 4-6 babies, it is significantly quieter than the other hospital. And it is set up in a much more open setting, no rooms. It’s weird for me, but only because I’m a hormonal mess and am not currently accepting change very well. I’m rational enough to recognize this at least.

---OH YEAH! The boys had their first car rides today! In an ambulance even. They are pretty cool kids. They each had their own ambulance ride complete with nurses and a respiratory specialist. They were so well taken care of and are impressing us through every single day.

The 3 biggest milestones that the boys have to hit before being released are

1.       Breathing on their own (Will checked that one off)

2.       Regulating body temperatures (both boys were rocking that one last night)

3.       Being able to eat (suck, swallow, & breath) on their own. This skill is not likely to be mastered prior to 34weeks gestation. So today they are 34 weeks gestation, so I’m hoping that this week we can start trying these guys on the bottle. We’ve been offering them pacifiers since they were born to try and encourage them to suck and breathe successfully. Sometimes we would put a tiny bit of milk on the pacifier at feeding times so that they would start to associate the taste of the milk, with sucking on something, and getting food in their stomachs. The big test will be when we can try the bottle and see how they do with adding swallowing in there.

Otis' very best friend is this Bear. It is absolutely the sweetest thing ever.

              Last week we had Mr J and Otis down for a few days. I loved it. I miss them so much. I miss being a family, and being a part of their upbringing. It’s so hard to have not been with them these last few months and know that they have grown and learned so many things that I was not a part of. Mr J starts kindergarten tomorrow and I’ll not be there. But I am so very excited for him. He is excited beyond description. He is so social I’ve no doubt that he will love every minute of school. Otis doesn’t start preschool for a few more weeks, but he is pretty excited to. I am totally just looking forward to the day when I can bring my kids to school and pick them up. When I’m the one they’ll be telling about their day to. I’ll get hugs and kisses everyday again. And then, with all my boys around me, I will be overwhelmed with love. Love for each sweet son of mine being all together. Love they have for one another. Love from my Heavenly Father for blessing me with such amazing, tender, and courageous warrior sons. There is no question at the stress and turmoil each of us had endured this year. I am so proud of my boys for how well they have adjusted and accepted the trials this year has brought to them. It’s been hard on them, but I am so grateful for the family and friends and neighbors who have lent helping hands to make it easier for my boys. You have been blessings in my life.

Mr J wore mis matched PJs and thought he was pretty funny. I love this sweet boy. I can hardly believe that he is starting KINDERGARTEN tomorrow!!!!!!!! It's crazy that he is that old! Love him.

                I know that my Heavenly Father set aside this experience for Zed and I. These sweet tiny babies were designed for our family. This was a series of experiences that HE knew we needed to have. There were so many things that we needed to learn. I’m hoping we have learned what we needed to up to this point. I’m hoping that all of us are stronger for this, I know I am. I feel weak sometimes still, but when I review the last 6 months as a whole I feel stronger for having had this crazy experience. I understand so many things I never even imagined before. I am simply in awe.