Mama, Mama I'm Coming Home!

Happiness...Check,
Nervous...Check,
Fear...Check,
Terror...Check,
Relief...Check...




We've run the gamut of emotions over the past 48 hours. Nicholas and Nathan were slated to come home on Friday night, but after a few episodes of "Brady's" or Infantile Bradycardia. The doctors have convinced us that this is not out of the ordinary and they decided to send Nathan home on a heart and respiration monitor. Because of this we were required to spend a night in a parenting room with the boys last night in the hospital so we could get used to the monitor. It was a long night to say the least. Neither of the boys slept well and Nathan had one significant "Brady" during the night. The lack of sleep and the nerves from the night before caused us a lot of trepidation upon leaving the hospital. So far so good, Nathan has had a couple "Brady's" during his feedings, but we are getting the hang of catching them before they cause any real problem.

Drew has been really excited to have his little brothers home finally, but we can already see the signs of him yearning for attention. This has been a very difficult stretch for him with the time that Jaime spent in the hospital before the twins were born, and all the time we spent in the NICU over the past few weeks.



I'll continue to update the blog as time warrants (hopefully a couple times a week). So please keep checking in. As I've said before, we all really appreciate all the well wishes and support all our family and friends have given.

Homecoming in Sight!

Well it's been an eventful last couple days. On Sunday morning Nathan was moved into a crib with Nicholas and now the boys are together again. My mom was down for the week, and she was a huge help shuttling Jaime back and forth to the hospital and watching Drew while we were at the hospital together. Nathan has started to get the hang of eating out of a bottle, but his major successes have come when the nurses in the NICU feed him. He continues to get too comfortable and sleepy with Jaime and I to complete a full feeding. The big news of the day was that Nathan had his feeding tube removed today, and the doctors suggested to Jaime that if he continues to improve his feedings he will be allowed to go home with Nicholas on Friday! It really is amazing how far the boys have come in less than 3 weeks.

On another note we actually got the boys Social Security cards today so they are now official U.S. citizens, and we can claim them as deductions on our 2009 taxes. Nice little bonus for the parents!



Nicholas is now 4 lbs. 6-2/3 oz.








Nathan is now 4 lbs. 0-1/3 oz.









A whole slew of pictures can be seen by checking out this slideshow!

Into the Crib

Today Nicholas was moved into a crib. Jaime was a little emotional with the move. It is tough to see one of the boys moved ahead of the other in such a clear manner. The feeding tube was one thing, but this is a really big step. The good news is that this is a sign that Nicholas is moving towards coming home.

I was able to visit for a few hours last night and I think I've figured out the feeding method for Nathan. There is a trick to it and I think that if we can get it down we can get Nathan home real soon. Nathan has been feeding with a Haberman Feeder. It is a special nipple for babies with cleft lip and palate. It allows Nathan to feed without developing the suction a normal baby would.
Jaime is now able to breast feed Nicholas whenever she wants, and she is able to try to breast feed Nathan once a day. Nicholas is latching on great, but like with his bottle feedings Nathan is able to suck, but the feedings are not particularly productive.

It seems like they are moving towards sending Nicholas home soon. I'm not really sure what that means (3 days?, 10 days?)... We're really not sure what that means for Nathan. The NICU staff seems determined to make sure that we can get the boys home together.

Nicholas is now 4 lbs. 1-1/3 oz.
Nathan is now 3 lbs. 11-2/3 oz.

Steps Forward

Today was an awesome day. My mom flew into town this morning and was able to visit with the twins for the first time. She had a really great time and we're looking forward to the next week while she's here. Nathan made some big steps today. He is now off of his temperature monitor and is maintaining his own body temperature on room air. He also had a great day with his feedings which is just awesome! I wasn't able to be at the NICU today, but Jaime said that he really became more aware today of his surroundings, and he had a lot more energy. It was a huge step for Nathan.

We also were able to schedule Nathan's evaluation with the doctors at University of Chicago for his cleft lip surgery. We'll be taking him in the first week of December and we're both really excited. The group seems really excited to care for Nathan.

The doctors and nurses have started preparing us for Nicholas' release from the hospital. He is doing really well and our biggest fear at this point is that Nicholas will be released before Nathan. Obviously having a 3 year old and a newborn at home with another child in the NICU will present a rather difficult situation. We're working with the NICU team at Memorial to make this as easy as possible.

Nicholas is now 3 lbs. 13-1/2 oz. and Nathan is 3 lbs. 9-2/3 oz.

A special thanks goes out to the boys' primary nurses in the NICU. Stephanie and Brittany have been outstanding (along with all the other nurses in the NICU) at taking care of our two little boys.

Here's a couple more pics...

Nicholas

Nathan

The First Week (or so)

It sure has been a busy week and a half since the boys were born. Jaime was released from the hospital on 10/26 and we have been busy commuting back and forth from South Bend every day. Jaime's parents have been an awesome help watching Drew and taking Jaime to and from the hospital. Both boys are now gaining weight and doing really well. Nicholas actually had his feeding tube removed this past week and was able to breastfeed for the first time tonight. Nathan is working to catch up. His cleft lip makes it difficult for him to feed from a bottle and he hasn't quite yet built up enough stamina to complete a bottle feeding. We're working on different feeding methods now, but hopefully as he gains weight he will get stronger and his feedings will go better.


Nicholas

Nicholas is really doing well. He has been gaining weight for the the past few days well enough to remove his feeding tube. He is typically very curious of his surroundings for the short spurts he is awake during the day. Both the boys are the spitting image of their big brother (and their dad) already. He's even developed enough strength already to hold his head up for short spurts. Nicholas is about 3 lbs - 12 oz. right now so he has a couple more ounces to go before he reaches his birth weight, but we expect him to surpass that soon.



The nurses in the NICU are so wonderful. They have been so helpful and caring for the boys. Every day they document interesting notes about each of the boys on a calendar. Here's the listing of updates for Nicholas for October...

10/23: Happy Birthday, 17-1/4", 3 lbs. 14 oz.
10/24: Just hanging out in my isolette. I have an IV because I'm not eating yet.
10/25: I started eating today. I eat 10 cc's every 3 hours (3 lbs. 11-2/3 oz.)
10/26: I'm tolerating my feedings well! I now eat 15 cc's every 3 hours. (3 lbs. 8 oz.)
10/27: (3 lbs. 9-2/3 oz.)
10/28: I love my bottle! I'm eating 25 cc's now! (3 lbs. 8-2/3 oz.)
10/29: Thanks for the pictures Drew! (3 lbs. 8-1/3 oz.)
10/30: I get 30 cc's to eat. That's a whole ounce! I'm getting stronger. (3 lbs. 8-2/3 oz.)
10/31: Happy 1st Halloween, 35 cc's to eat! (3 lbs. 10 oz.)


Nathan

Nathan was born with a cleft lip and some issues with his palate that do not appear to have resulted in a hole in the palate. Nevertheless this has caused some difficulty for Nathan to feed from a bottle. We're still working on the feedings, but the good news is that he is gaining weight now and hopefully with the added weight he will gain some endurance for feedings. Nathan also had issues during the first week with his breathing. From time to time his respirations would drop and his heart rate would drop as well. Nathan was the smaller of the twins at birth and the ultrasounds a few days before he was born showed that he wasn't practicing his breathing in the womb as well as Nicholas. Had Nathan just didn't have enough time to build up strength and practice before being born. To help Nathan out the doctors started giving him caffeine daily. Basically Nathan is now getting a morning cup of coffee every day. He has been doing much better with his breathing since then, but he still has issues from time to time. We continue to work to find the best method of feeding, but it seems like it's just going to take a little time for Nathan to catch up to his brother.

Here's the notes the NICU nurses left for Nathan in October...

10/23: Happy Birthday, 16-1/4", 3 lbs. 7 oz.
10/24: I'm resting well in my isolette. I have an IV since I'm not eating.
10/25: I started bottle feeding today. I eat 10 cc's every 3 hours. (3 lbs. 5-1/3 oz.)
10/26: I started getting caffeine today to help my heart rate. (3 lbs. 3-1/3 oz.)
10/27: I am now getting 20 cc's of mommy's milk! (3 lbs. 4 oz.)
10/28: I'm still learing to digest all my food. (3 lbs. 4-1/3 oz.)
10/29: Today I get to eat 25 cc's every 3 hours! Thanks for the pictures Drew! (3 lbs. 4 oz.)
10/30: TGIF! 1 week old. 30 cc's every 3 hours. I'm trying out some different bottles (3 lbs. 4 oz.)
10/31: Happy 1st Halloween! 35 cc's to eat. (3 lbs. 5 oz.)


We are so blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends and family and we really appreciate everything you have all done for us. We feel very blessed that the boys have done so well to this point. This will be a long journey for our family, but we are so excited and blessed to have two wonderful little boys in our lives.

Check back again for updates.

Thanks again and God bless!

They're Here!

Here are the first photos of the boys...

Nicholas Anthony Oss
Born: 10/23/09 @ 11:27 PM Eastern
3 lbs. 14 oz., 17-1/4"

Nathan Edward Oss
Born: 10/23/09 @ 11:28 PM Eastern
3 lbs. 7 oz., 16-1/4"

"I think we need to go to the hospital tonight..."

It all started with those simple words from Jaime on Tuesday night (10/20/09). Well I guess they really weren't that simple. I was walking into a church meeting just before 7:00 PM central time when Jaime called me to tell me that she had been having contractions for a few hours and that she had just got off the phone with her doctor. She was on her way home and would meet me there. Yes that's right, my wife who was carrying twins and dealing with gestational diabetes had suffered through a few hours of contractions at the office, and then decided to drive home while talking to her doctor. Crazy, I know. We let her rest at home while timing her contractions for about 30 minutes, and due to the spacing and intensity of the contractions I called her doctor and we were told to get to the hospital ASAP.

Jaime was brought into the childbirth unit at Memorial Hospital in South Bend and immediately they evaluated her situation and began attempting to stop the pre-term labor Jaime was in. Jaime was also given a steroid injection to help the babies' lungs develop in the event that the doctors were unable to stop the contractions. After many hours and some drug induced side effects that were very difficult for Jaime it appeared that the contractions had been stopped.

Tuesday evening Jaime was moved from the childbirth triage unit to the Obstetrics Special Care Unit where she would be monitored constantly. On Wednesday morning it appeared that labor had been averted. We all felt that Jaime would be released soon with a prescription for oral medication in the next day or so, and that she would be confined to bed rest at home. It was already difficult given that our first child Drew was unable to visit the hospital to see his mom due to the visitation rules implemented by Memorial Hospital because of the H1N1 flu issues.

Jaime tried to lobby the nurses and her OB doctor on Friday morning to allow her to leave the hospital and rest at home. Unfortunately (not really) Jaime's doctor unequivocally denied her request and told her that she was not getting out of the hospital until the babies were born. At this point Jaime started creating a list of all the items she would need for her (perceived) long stay in the hospital. I was then given this list and told to deliver her needs and hunker down for a long journey of caring for our son by myself (with help from her parents of course).

I was able to get some good friends of ours to watch Drew on Friday night, and I dropped him off at around 6:15 PM Central. I told our friends that I would be back by around 9:00 to pick up Drew and take him home.

I arrived at the hospital and brought in numerous items for Jaime so she could work and be more comfortable in the hospital for what we thought would be at least 10-14 days. About an hour after I arrived the nurse came and told Jaime that she would have to have her monitors hooked up for about 20 minutes before she went to bed for the night. I figured it was time to start wrapping up and get ready to take off, but Jaime's body had a different idea. She started to have contractions high in her uterus. They weren't particularly painful to Jaime at first they were just taking her breath away. The doctor decided to administer her medication in a double dose about an hour early to try to quell the contractions. After about 20 additional minutes of monitoring the contractions were not slowing down, and the doctors decided to try to give Jaime morphine to calm her and her uterus down. About 10 minutes after they administered the morphine the contractions had not stopped and the doctors decided it was time to take the babies. Just before 11:30 Eastern time we welcomed the boys to the world...