Charlie

Overall, Charlie is doing really well. He is doing better than his sisters at breastfeeding but he is having a hard time taking his bottle. We are trying to feed him a bottle of breast milk once a shift (twice in 24 hrs). He is having a hard time sucking, swallowing and breathing all at the same time, and he usually chooses eating over breathing so we have to stop giving him a bottle and finish the feeding through his tube. The nurses told us to just be patient with him and he will get it eventually.


Charlie has the best little personality. It is down right scary how much he reminds me of his daddy. In about 90 percent of the pictures I have of Charlie he is peering off into the distance with a very concerned/perplexed look on his face. He is so stinking cute I could just kiss his cubby little cheeks off!
Here's some pics~~

1st Bottle!

Louise

This week I have decided to do individual updates on all the babies. Poor kids......they deserve a little individual attention. I'll start with Louise since she has had the biggest changes over the past week.

Louise is back in the Spartanburg NICU with her brother and sister. It was hard to decision for Ben and I to make, but after weighing the list of pros and cons we decided that it was best for our family to all be under the same roof (or two). We are praying that her hydrocephalus will remain stable and she will not require the care of a neurosurgeon (Dr. Troup) before she comes home. We are now most anxious to get Louise home because the sooner she gets home the sooner we can see Dr. Troup again. There is still a very good chance the she will have to have a shunt put in....but it is not an emergency situation like it once was. The longer we can wait to put it in the bigger and stronger Louise will be. For now her head is soft (which means no pressure on her brain), and her head growth has slowed into the normal range.

She has been taking her bottles well, and growing like a weed. Right now I think that she is about 4 lbs. 3 oz., but that may have increased a little. She is being a very sweet baby for us. Also, her eye appointments with Dr. White have been going well, and the report today was that her ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity) is improving slightly from week to week. Here are some pictures of our beautiful angel!

Big Week Ahead

This week could be a very big week for all of us. If things go according to plan (not always the case with preemies) 2 big things are going to happen.

Reece may get the surgery she needs to put her back together. As most of you know, Reece had a surgery when she was one week old that removed a small part of her intestine. Right now we are shooting for Thursday to put both ends back together!

The other big thing is that we may be moving Louise back to the Spartanburg NICU as soon as Wednesday.....fingers crossed. The move is dependent on two things. 1....will insurance pay for her move back to Spartanburg. Since it requires a whole team of people to move her it is a very expensive thing to do. Also, she has a CT scan of her brain today and if there are no major changes we are going to wait to do her surgery (shunt) until she is older and stronger. She has been doing well so we are feeling very good about the results. Dr Troup has agreed to continue to follow Louise from Spartanburg. If we feel that there is any reason that she should stay close to her Neurosurgeon then we will ,of course, leave her in Greenville. We are looking forward to possibly having all of our babies in the same hospital but if it doesn't happen we will not be disappointed. The best care for Louise is our ultimate goal!

The biggest change over the past week has been the baby's eating habits. Everybody is now getting breast milk as their main source of nutrition (instead of TPN fuilds that go in through an IV). Most of their feeds are going in through feeding tube. Louise is taking 2 of her feeds from a bottle and is doing very well with it. Charlie and Reece are attempting to take 1 feeding from a bottle. All of the babies are also learning to nurse. Charlie is doing awesome....boys love boobies! Louise is doing ok. Reece would just rather sleep. Everybody keeps telling me for babies their age (34 weeks gestational age) that they are doing great!

Pictures coming soon I promise!!!!

So, I didn't do a very good job of getting the pictures up the next morning. Sorry about that... I'm a busy girl these days.

We have great news..........all of our babies had a fantastic week!!!!!! They are growing, eating and their sweet personalities come out more everyday. Ben and I are still walking around like zombies, but who cares, our beautiful babies had the best week they have ever had. A full week with no major set backs is huge for us. God is good!!!!!

Charlie

Daddy and Reece


Louise's new Crib

Louise's 1st bottle

Charlie (looking a bit puffy....they tend to retain fuild from the IVs)

We are missing Louise.... can't wait to get a picture with all my peanuts

Reece looking a little startled

Lousie's 1st bath

Clean girl!!!

Charlie's 1st smile (caught on camera)

Reece

Labor Day Weekend Update

Labor Day weekend was a long one for mom and dad... Lots has changed over the past few days, and we feel like it has changed for the better. First, there was the BIG move to Greenville for Weesie. Watching my baby girl loaded up into an ambulance and wisked off was one of the harder things that I have had to do in my life. After meeting with the pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Troup, Ben and I know that we made the right decision for Louise (Even if it is a little harder on us). To say that Dr. Troup impressed us would be an understatement. The NICU in Greenville has had a more aggressive approach to her care, and she has had many firsts since she has been there. More on that in her update...

REECE (3 Lbs. 11oz.)
Reece has been doing pretty well. Over the past week, she has had several blood transfusions. She has also been retaining quite a bit of fluid from her IV's (You can really tell by her puffy eyes in the pictures that I will post in the morning). Her personality is shining through more and more every day. Ben thinks that she is by far the most fiesty while she is awake. It makes him nervous when he holds her.

LOUISE (3 Lbs. 5 oz.)
Since arriving in Greenville, Louise has been doing great. She is eating now and completely off of her oxygen (Reece and Charlie are still on). Dr. Troup will not do her surgery (yes it looks like we will have to get the shunt) until she is on full feeds. Right now she is about half way there and...are you ready for this?... I've been giving her a bottle with about 15 mL of my milk for the past couple of days!!!!! I'm on cloud 9, and it seems like she really loves it too!

CHARLIE (3 Lbs. 3 oz.)
Charlie's only setback thus far came this past week, and don't worry because we think that its pretty minor. During his second eye appointment, his retinas are still a little behind in their development. Charlie is just a happy and content little baby! He is back on his feeds, and smiles and chatters all day long. We hope that he continues to do so well, and as far as the eyes are concerned, we know a few good eye doctors that will take good care of him!!!

Sorry that its been so long since the last post (Driving and pumping and spending time with the babies has had us tied up), but I plan to post a few pictures tomorrow morning! Love all of you and keep sending the prayers our way,
Lucy

A New Adventure for Sweet Louise

On Thursday Ben and Lucy made the decision to move Louise to Greenville Hospital. She now will be under the care of Dr. Troup, a pediatric Nero Surgeon. (Spartanburg only has regular Nero Surgeons). Lucy and Ben will meet with Dr. Troup today to discuss plans for Louise and this hydrocephalus. They feel very good about this move, know it will be time consuming with babies in 2 hospitals, but wanted to do what they felt was best for Sweet Louise.

They will update soon....Please continue to pray for all our babies, especially Louise.

Junebug
(Blessed Grandmother of 3)

We made it to September!!!!!

Well, here we are....September 2. The goal my entire pregnancy was to make it to September. Clearly, my body had different plans ( I was flat lucky to make it to August). I think Ben and I would both say this past month has been the most challenging and incredible experience of each of our lives. We have grown in ways I never knew was possible. I still stand in this experience lost and afraid of what the future holds for my children. There is one thing I can say with confidence...there is no one else in the world I could have gone through this with other than my husband. Ben, thank you for being such an amazing husband and Daddy. We love you so much!!!! Enough with the sappy stuff and on to the good stuff.

We have big news.........ALL OF OUR BABIES ARE AT LEAST 3 POUNDS.......and.......DADDY CHANGED HIS 1ST DIAPER!!!!!!!

Reece

At Birth:

Wt- 1lb 15.9oz

Lenght-13in

Head-26.25cm

1 Month
Wt-3lbs 3oz

Length-15in

Head-28.5

Louise

At Birth

Wt-2lbs 1.80z

Lenght-13in

Head-25cm

1 Month

Wt-3lbs

Lenght-15in

Head 29.5 (it changes daily due to the hydrocephalus)

Charlie

At Birth

Wt- 1lb 14.7oz

Lenght-13in

Head-25cm

1 month

Wt-3lbs

Lenght 15 in

Head- 27.25cm

Ben's 1st diaper change




Success!!!! Yay Daddy!!!