It's been an up-and-down week since the last entry.
On Monday the 24th, the boys "graduated" from the NICU to the intermediate care unit, affectionately known at Swedish as "two-south". This unit has been much more comfortable. There are fewer alarms beeping all the time, so it's quieter, and the rooms have a bit more privacy. There's a rocking chair by each crib and the staff do polka-dotted cutouts of the kids' names to paste to the wall above their cribs. Over the course of the week, we've worked hard to teach the boys to eat on their own. For the last couple of days, we've been bottle-feeding them every other meal (letting them rest and use the feeding tube on the alternating meals).
They were moved into cribs right next to each other. With some effort, we were able to get the boys together a couple more times. Mom held the two boys for the first time and was almost moved to tears. Later, on Halloween, Dad visited the boys with a special gift from Mom: pumpkin-colored fleece blankets. Their first Halloween costumes!
Proud mother!
Gabriel is wide awake.
Part of the reason Gabriel is so wakeful in this shot is that they boys had a blood transfusion on the 31st. This is pretty standard for all preemies; they aren't able to produce their own red blood cells until a later gestational age, and they've been losing a little bit each time they get a blood test. It was time to get a recharge. We were told we would see more energy and more color afterward.
Proud Dad!
Yesterday was a bad day for Silas. His temparature went way up and he had several episodes of tachycardia (abnormal heartbeat) and apnea (suspension of breathing). All preemies have these to some degree, but Silas' series of episodes was pretty serious. He got very lethargic and his coloration got pale and mottled. The medical staff quickly moved him back to the intensive care unit and started a large battery of tests. It was a nerve-wracking day.
Today, Silas seems to have stabilized - at least his fever has dropped, and his color is a bit better. Some of his tests indicate some kind of infection and inflamation, most likely in his intestinal tract, but we still don't have a handle on it. We may know more in a few days when some of the lab tests come back; we may need more tests if it gets worse; or it might just get better without us ever knowing what happened. For now, his feeding has been suspended for several days until we know he's over this (he's getting his nutrition through an IV). He's cranky and fussy - you can tell he doesn't feel well, and he wants his food.
Meanwhile, Gabriel's doing great.
Keep Silas in your thoughts over the next couple of days!
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