Introducing Chloe and Liam

Liam

Liam

Chloe

Chloe

Chloe

Liam

Chloe

Chloe

Chloe

Chloe

These pictures are a week old. When Kelly comes back out next weekend he will bring the camera cords and hopefully it will be easier for us to update pictures.

It has been an eventful 2 weeks. A week ago, Saturday, the birthmother signed relinquishment forms and the twins were officially placed with us. This Wednesday the birthmother flew back home. She had named the twins Victoria and Frank after her mother and grandfather and after using those names for a couple of weeks we got pretty used to them. They will stick around as nicknames. The names we have given our babies are

Chloe Ellen
and
William James

Ellen is Grandma Mary's middle name. We will call William, Liam. William James is a family name several times over on the Jarrett side. James is my Uncle's name. So Liam is named for several important family members.

It's been fun to start using these names for our babies. The nurses are still getting used to them but seem to approve:)

Both babies have made dramatic progress over the past two weeks. I'm going to run down the discharge checklist (all the requirements they need to meet before they leave the hospital) and how each of them are doing on these things.

Weight: Need to weigh between 1500-1800 grams.
Chloe weighs 1190g and Liam weighs 1150g. They have had more and more consistent weight gain over the last week. I'm convinced that all the kangaroo care is making a difference. They are so happy and smiley when I hold them.

Take all food orally (bottle or breast) for 48 hours straight.
Chloe started non-nutritive breastfeeding last week and acts like she's been doing it all her life. Tomorrow we will try nutritive breastfeeding using a supplemental nursing system. Yes, it is possible for an adoptive mother to breastfeed. If she does well with this once per day we will increase to 2 times daily, then 3, etc. and then probably introduce bottles for the times I'm not there and eventually she will be taking all her food orally.

Liam just tried non-nutritive breastfeeding today and did well. He's not as aggressive about it as Chloe but that seems to fit his personality. He had a "hmmm...." expression on his face the whole time. It was really cute. I'm pretty sure after a few more experiences he will decide he really likes it.

I'm getting comfortable holding and handling them. I take them out of their isolettes myself and it's so fun to be close to them. Chloe is sassy and social while Liam is sensitive and sweet. He hates a wet or messy diaper. They fit into our family very well.

Maintain their body temperature in room temp air.
Both babies are in isolettes that keep them warm and humidified. Their body temp should be between 36.5 and 37.5 degrees celsius. Room temp is 29 degrees. When they first got into their isolettes they needed the isolette to be at 37 degrees, doing all the work. For the past couple weeks their isolettes have been at 33 degrees. Friday Chloe's isolette went down to 32 degrees and Liam's went down to 32 today. As they continue to gain weight it will get easier and easier for them to maintain their own temperature. Only 3 more degrees to go!

Pass the Car Seat Test
Sitting in a car seat and breathing in that position can be difficult for tiny ones. Right before discharge, they will both have to spend 2-3 hours sitting in a car seat while their breathing, heart rate, and oxygen saturation are monitored. If their vitals all stay in the safe range, they pass the test.

Breathing room air on their own
This is not an actual requirement to go home. If it's the only thing holding them up, they will send babies home with oxygen and monitors. Both babies started out on ventilators and then moved down to nasal cannulas and supplemental oxygen. Last week Chloe stopped using supplemental oxygen and a few days later her nasal cannula came out. It is so fun to see her little face minus the oxygen tube. She was also being given caffeine to help with her breathing and yesterday they took her off of it. She is breathing very well without it. She has not had an apneic (non breathing) spell for 7 days. Now, without the caffeine she needs to go 2 weeks without apnea spells and then we'll know she's outgrown apnea. Liam is still receiving supplemental oxygen. Room air has 21% oxygen. He is using anywhere from 24 - 33 % oxygen. Earlier in the week he was receiving 1 liter of air flow through the nasal cannula. He's down to 1/4 liter of air flow now. If he continues to do well, they will keep dropping the oxygen and then eliminate the air flow. Can't wait for his cannula to come off!

Lay in a supine position for 2 days
Supine means on your back. Our babies like their tummies a lot better than their backs. They breath better and are just happier that way. Obviously it wouldn't be safe for them to sleep on their tummies so they have to get good at breathing on their backs. As they continue to do well with breathing, they will be given more opportunities to lay on their backs. This will also help with head shape. They have flat sides of their heads from constantly laying on their tummies or sides.

So that's the list as far as I know. They have made a lot of great progress these last two weeks and it feels like we're on the upswing. Thank you for all the prayers and kind thoughts. We love reading your comments and emails and knowing that you are all following this. Sorry if we can't answer many of them. If your a facebooker you can search for Kelly's facebook page. He does more frequent but less detailed updates on the twins there.

Jen