Happy Birthday, Christopher and Katharine!
Dear Family and Friends,
This entry of our blog celebrates the one-week birthday of our beautiful children! Last Wednesday, on Day 6 of week 29, Katharine Leona Keller was born at 11:20 AM, at three pounds and one ounce, and 16.5 inches. Christopher Lewis Keller was born at 11:22, at three pounds and five ounces, and 17.5 inches. They are a very healthy size for their age, and are doing a fabulous job in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Fairfax Hospital.
Mom is doing well in her recovery, and we both are getting accustomed to our life back at home, following almost two months in residence at “Hotel Fairfax”. Our blog will now share details of how we are all doing, as we work toward the day that they are ready to come home with us. This post will share additional information about the milestones our little ones will be working toward, and progress updates for their first week of life. This will help us celebrate each of the little milestones (although no step forward can truly be considered little) along the way, and these descriptions will also help to understand the changes you will see in their photos over time (Kodak Gallery link below!)
Now at 31 weeks of gestational age, our babies’ main tasks are to sleep and grow, while continuing to develop independence in the many systems that would usually be monitored by their Mom’s body during the third trimester. While they continue to develop and mature, their bodies will increasingly regulate breathing and heart rate, as they also begin to learn to digest food and eventually to suck and swallow while breathing.
We are so proud of how our little ones are doing in their progress of these goals! They were breathing on their own at birth, with positive air pressure support from a CPAP mask. Over the course of this week, they both graduated to the nasal cannula (the clear tube under the nose). What a wonderful thing it has been to finally see their beautiful faces more and more! As they continue to show independence, the air support levels are reducing every few days, and they will eventually graduate to breathing without any support.
This week, while they have been receiving the rich nutrients they need to grow through an IV, they have also begun "feeds" of a high calorie formula through a feeding tube, which prepare their little tummies for digesting food. As those feedings are taken well, they will get increased amounts of formula and breast milk until they're ready to suck and try a very small bottle. Then we’ll start transitioning to associate that skill with actual breastfeeding. The kids are doing a great job so far; their feeding levels are already at 1/3 of their daily nutrient needs!
Anemia is fairly common among premature babies, as their bodies have not started to reproduce red blood cells at the rate of a full-term newborn. As a result, Christopher received a transfusion for his birthday, which should help him continue the amazing progress he’s already making! And as their bodies learn to break down the bilirubin in their systems, both are receiving intermittent light therapy, which will help them overcome the jaundice, which is also so common for preemies.
The best birthday gift the babies received on Wednesday this week was the removal of the umbilical IV line. After the first 24-hour dressing change from this line, the babies will finally be ready for us to hold them in our arms. Due to their sensitive skin and this critical umbilical line, our contact with them this week had been limited to help with temperature checks, diaper changing, and to comfort them. You’ll see us providing this comfort in some of the photos. It’s sort of a boundary hold, similar to that swaddled feeling - that's what we're doing with our hands on their heads and feet, or gently covering the arms. It makes them feel
secure when they need comforting. We were so thrilled to receive the news that we will now be able to hold our darlings by the end of the week, and are counting down the hours until this precious first moment for our new family!
The next step after finally being able to cradle our little ones in our arms will be Kangaroo Care. The term refers to skin-to-skin contact between babies and their parents. This special bonding helps babies in regulating their heart rate, breathing, weight gain, and reach other developmental milestones. The nurses have indicated that it might even be possible for us to begin this over the weekend or early next week!
And while it is difficult to predict when one or both of the kids will be ready to come home, their doctor has shared that some babies are ready by the gestational age of 35 or 36 weeks!
With lots to be thankful for, we will share updates on Christopher and Katharine’s progress in their goals as frequently as possible. We are tickled by the personality our little ones are showing already! It is so fun to watch them stretch and explore their surroundings! And with a few days off of phototherapy and masks, they have started to open their eyes more and more and are starting to take in the world around them, and check us out. What a miracle it seemed to be when we realized our first moments of eye contact with our darling son and daughter!
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and messages of encouragement! We are so thankful for every one, and are glad to be able to share information about our amazing children with you! The NICU has recently returned to their tightened restrictions for the cold and flu season, we will unfortunately be the only people permitted to visit them. So you can count on lots of pictures of our little ones’ first days and progress in the coming weeks! This link will take you to our Kodak Gallery slideshow, which has been updated frequently, through the end of Week One. (You can click on it, or paste it into your browser.)
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=365117175905%3A47590307&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharer
With Love,
Andrea, David, Christopher, and Katharine
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