The Chant is working!

Big Cole is up to 2 lbs 14 oz!!  We are loving having our sweet Chase home with us.  Harper is such an awesome big brother:)  Cole's been behaving for the most part and is doing what he needs to do.  The house is in shambles but were getting things set up as we need them:)  Thanks for all of the love!

Quick Update

Chase is home in Harper's new house and he is doing wonderful!!  Had a Dr appointment today and he is up to 5 lbs 6 oz.  Cole is doing well.  It's hard to have them separated but soon we'll have our whole family home together.  I'll be adding pictures soon of Chase's graduation day!  We don't have internet at the house yet so the updates may not be as frequent.  Don't be alarmed, I will get them on there!  Thank you all again for your support, prayers, and positive energy!  We need it!  Let's all do a chant "grow Cole grow, grow Cole grow"

Big Day

Chase is coming home on Sunday!!!!!  He's up to 5 lbs 2 oz.  Cole had his big test yesterday.  As of right now, his bladder is functioning well.  Our next step is to have an MRI about 4 months from now.  The tethered cord means that when his cord grew, his body didn't grow quite as much as it needed to keep his cord free floating at the end.  There is a piece of connective tissue that connects the spinal cord to the spine.  As he grows, it will cause tension on his spine which will cause problems later on.  The neurosurgeon said that it is a quick surgery, a day or two in the hospital, and then life goes back to normal!  Everything sounds good.  Cole started to take a bottle today as well!  Big days and bigger days to come!

We're Home owners!!!

Aaron and I are officially home owners!  We signed the closing today!  Aaron has already started moving us, as Chase will be home in a couple weeks.  Cole has his big test tomorrow.  We'll keep you posted!  Pictures of the house will follow.  Very exciting!!

Happy Father's Day

Happy father's day to all of you Daddy's out there!  The boys had a good weekend.  Cole is being weened off of the oxygen and will be put back onto the nasal cannula with just room air.  He is up to 2 lbs 6 oz and Chase is up to 4 lbs 14 oz.  Moving right along!  They are very sweet boys:)

I'm a slacker:)

Sorry for the lack of updates.  The boys are doing well.  Chase is up to 4 lbs 10 oz and is doing his thing.  One of the nurses said she thinks that he will be discharged in a few weeks.  Cole is getting a little more support for some added oxygen.  He is having his test done on Tuesday at 3:00.  He is at 2 lbs 5 oz and is as handsome as ever.  More updates and pics to come!

3 weeks today!

I can't believe that it has been 3 weeks.  The boys are doing well.  Big Cole is up to 2 lbs 5 oz, and Chase is at 4lbs 6.5 oz.  Cole will probably have his test done today to see the extent of his tethered cord.  If need be, he will have surgery before he is discharged from the NICU.  Quite the emotional roller coaster down here.  The nurses and the physicians have been wonderful:)

Chase graduated to a crib!

Aaron and I walked in to the NICU today to find our big Chase out of his isolette!  He is in a crib now (the kind full term newborns are in).  He will stay in that as long as he does not lose weight.  Weight loss would indicate that he is using calories to keep warm.  Cole is looking good.  He had a blood transfusion today, which the nurse seemed to think was because they have had to draw so much blood lately due to the infection.  Other than that, he's doing great!  Even his little cheeks are getting pudgy:)

Big Gains!

The boys had some major weight gains!  Cole is now over 2 lbs and Chase is over 4 lbs!  Cole is still on antibiotics because they are not sure where the infection came from.  He is definitely feeling much better than he was.  Keep your fingers crossed that he keeps moving forward.  Chase is making huge strides with his bottle feeding.  He still has his feeding tube in his nose to take what he doesn't drink from his bottle.  Cole has his feeding tube in his mouth still.  I think he'll start bottle feeding when he is a little bigger.  It's stressful for them and we certainly do not want to stress Cole out at all.  He needs to keep all of his calories! As always, thank you for the prayers and positive energy!  Love to all!

Better Day

We had a much better day today.  When I got to the NICU, it was time for the boys to eat.  Cole had his eyes wide open and he was ready.  He's back to eating and seems to be feeling much better.  They both gained weight and Cole is almost 2 lbs while Chase is just over 4!  Chase ate his whole 3:00 meal from a bottle that I got to feed him.  Such special moments:)  Thank you for all of the prayers and positive energy! 

Our little fighter

Our sweet little Cole Thomas had a pretty tough night.  He has developed an infection and was having some difficulty breathing and maintaining his heart rate.  Everyone reassured us that it was completely normal, which is comforting.  However, just because it is common, doesn't mean we want our sweet little man to go through it.  He started antibiotics which made a huge difference.  Today was a better day.  He was resting nicely all day and maintaining all of oxygen level, heart rate, and has a high flow of air going through his nasal cannula.  Chase took 20 cc's from a bottle today.  He's the NICU all star.  Thank you to everyone for the prayers.  They are working!  We're confident that Cole is going to grow up bigger than both his brothers.  He's just going to do it in his own time:) 

2 Weeks and 1 day

The boys had a good day yesterday.  The physicians decided that Cole's test could wait b/c it has to be done in x-ray and it's cold there.  We don't need him burning any calories trying to keep warm.  His weight stayed the same from the previous day, which is just fine.  He had worked pretty hard on Monday (trying to breath on his own and all).  I'm sure it won't be long before he catches up with his big brother.  When Aaron went down at nighttime, he got to hold that sweet little Cole.  SO good for Daddy and Cole:)  Chase is moving right along.  He's working on his bottle feeding and is up to 3 lbs 13 oz.  He's so sweet.  He snuggles right in when you hold him:)  Mommy's need to hold their babies:)

Almost 2 weeks old!

The boys will be 2 weeks old tomorrow!  Chase tried a bottle today.  That's pretty tricky considering he's not even supposed to be born yet.  So will be patient:)  Both had the nasal cannula's removed today but Cole got pretty tired so they put his back in.  Chase now has his feeding tube in his nose and will try the bottle once per shift.  Aaron got to give it to him tonight.  Both of them had their picc lines removed as well.  Sweet little Cole has something called a sacral dimple.  His spinal cord goes to L4 but should only go to L2.  He is having a test done tomorrow to see the severity of it.  Keep the prayers coming please!  Cole gained 20 grams (there are 30 grams in an ounce) and Chase gained 23 grams.  My sweet boys:)  If you want to leave a note, just click on "comments" on the bottom of each post.

Big Great Night!

I got to hold my sweet sweet baby Cole Thomas.  Our nurse was fabulous and knew that we both needed some good snuggles.  Chase decided that Daddy was going to hold him and took matters into his own hands.  As Aaron changed his diaper, he decided to make quite a mess before his new diaper could be put on:)  The nurses clearly needed to change all of his linens and therefore Chase got to go to Aaron while they did.  Quite the little personalities they both have.  What a great night!

We're getting bigger!

Day 11

Cole gained just over an ounce in one day!!  He's up to 1 lb 13 oz.  Chase is still ahead and is up to 3 lbs 10 and 1/2 oz.  Both are getting a regular saline in their picc lines and if all goes well, they will have the picc lines removed and be just on food!!  Keep your fingers crossed that they get bigger and bigger!  Thanks for all of the prayers!

Day 9

The boys had their second head ultrasounds today.  Both looked normal:)  Cole is up to 10 cc's and Chase is up to 19 cc's each feeding!  They both gained a little weight since yesterday.  Cole gained 10 grams which got him to about 1 lb and just a bit more than 11 oz (he had lost weight and is now back to his birth weight!)  Chase is up to 3 lbs 9 oz (almost back to his birth weight).  Their Dr was pleased with both of them today.
  I got to hold Chase for about an hour today which was amazing!  Still no estimated day for when I can hold Cole.  We do raise the top of his little bed so I can give him some kisses though. 
Today was a pretty good day for us in the NICU!

One week and One day old

The boys are 1 week and 1 day old.  Hardly seems possible that a whole week has gone by. 

Chase
Chase is down to just a nasal cannula which does not give oxygen but forces air so his lungs have positive pressure.  He is getting 13 cc's of milk every couple of hours (he started at 1 cc on Thursday).  He had to have a caffeine treatment today because he had a couple of "spells" where his breathing and heart rate both slow down.  He is as handsome as ever!

Cole
Cole is also using the nasal cannula for the same reason.  Both of them are breathing on their own and their oxygen levels have been fantastic.  He is getting 9 cc's of milk every couple of hours (he started at 1/2 cc Thursday).  Cole is absolutely amazing.  He's so tiny, but so strong.  He takes tiny steps  each day in the right direction.  He still needs all of those prayers everyone has been saying though!

Harper
Harper says that his baby brothers are not in my belly anymore.  He does not quite understand where they are but he knows that Mommy and Daddy go to the doctor each day to see his baby brothers.  He's going to be an amazing big brother.