Five Pounds!

Silas rests easy after a tough week

Silas just crossed the five pound mark yesterday! Gabriel got there several days ago. You may recall that the boys were born at about three pounds each, and their weight dropped to two and a half pounds at the lowest point (it is common for almost all infants to lose weight in the period just after birth). They have now doubled their weight since that point!

It's been very steady progress in the twelve days since our last post. Silas was released from the NICU just at the time that there was an empty bed in Gabe's room (four cribs to a room). Later, another crib opened up and we were able to get the boys next to each other again.

Silas' first bath

Our first bath with Gabriel
(a zealous nurse got to him first without us last week)

Since we've spent so much time at the hospital, a lot of our parental worry has been focused on the arrangements there. For example, one doctor had considered releasing Silas straight to the Pediatrics department, bypassing Gabriel completely; Suzanne had a heart-to-heart with the nurse in charge the next shift and arranged the move into Gabe's room. Likewise, we relied on the diligence of another nurse to get the boys moved into adjacent cribs a couple days later. It's hard to image a more satisfactory experience than we've had at Swedish Hospital, but like any large institution, there's definitely room for self-advocacy to impact the decision-making.

Gabriel patiently waits his turn (well, maybe not that patiently)

Medically, the boys are getting really strong. Neither of them has had an "incident" (a recordable interruption in their heartbeat or respiration) for a little over three days, which is a big improvement from the early days when there were eight to ten in a day. Their feeding has also become much more vigorous. They are drinking about 3/4 of their diet on their own from a bottle (with the other 1/4 by gavage through a feeding tube). These two factors are the key things to keep an eye on; they will be released when they've demonstrated they're strong enough to eat all their own food and when they go five days without events.

Mom spends time with the boys (Gabe on the left, Si on the right)

In as early as two days or as late as a week or a week and a half, we'll get them transferred to Pediatrics, where we'll stay in the hospital for a couple days with them and then bring them home. Thanksgiving still looks like a good shot!

We're deeply thankful for all the prayers, support, and offers of help.

Benji's waiting to play with the boys.