Monday, September 19, 2011

W2-D6 Shop ‘til You Drop

So, when we first thought about the fall consignment sale, we had some general ideas of what we’d want and need, to take care of the babies.  And has that changed.  After a week and a half of caring for them, we have a much better idea of what we’d need.  We knew how much we’d need receiving blankets and burp cloths, we just didn’t realize how many we’d need.  We had thought we’d need/want about a dozen, but we now know we want more (more like 2-3 dozen).  We weren’t sure what we’d want to dress them in, but now we figure we’ll dress them in a lot of the sleep-n-play outfits, so we’ll get more of those.

After a very short night, we got up and got out to the consignment sale.  We showed up right at 7:15 and there was already a line of about a dozen people.  But, because we were club members, we got to go right in and not wait.  Boy, it was a good thing that members got to shop for 45 minutes from 7:15-8:00 before the public gets let in.  We managed to snag a lot of things (including one of the best swings and some SuperYard fencing units) plus some supplies (receiving blankets, burp cloths, and regular blankets) before the doors opened.  We were shopping and not paying attention, but there was no doubt when 8:00 AM rolled around.  Suddenly this wave of humanity washed into the room and the room which had a slight buzz of discussion was filled with a big burst of background noise, talking and mayhem.  We left at 9:30 and managed to get quite an impressive haul of things that will really help us care for our boys.  But, after getting home, sorting the “take” and putting a load of items into the laundry, we discovered that despite this big haul, we had managed to forget to buy newborn-size sleepers, one of the big items on our list.  So, we trundled back out to the sale and got there at 11:00 AM.  We were still able to pick up a lot of sleepers and other clothing items we’ll need.

We also picked up some blankets, onesies, sleepers, caps and burp clothes for the NICU.  We now know how many they’ll go through.  Our boys have pretty much outgrown premie clothes and are ready for newborn clothes, but the NICU can use premie clothing.  Additionally, they need a mixture of boy and girl clothing, so we got a nice haul of stuff to take back to the hospital with us and it was really inexpensive and only gently used.

Now, while we were at the consignment sale, I got a call from our alarm system company.  Apparently the motion detector in our kitchen had gone off.  When we got home, we figured out why.  Our sister-in-law had kindly sent us some flowers and balloons congratulating us on the birth of the boys.  We brought them home and left them on the kitchen table…a little too close to the vent in the kitchen.  After a little while, the air currents blew the balloons around triggering the motion detector.  Well, those balloons found a new home elsewhere!

We ran a few other errands, came home, finished up most of our task list (of over 30 items on the list, we only ended up with a couple that didn’t get finished), then packed ourselves back up and headed back to Pennsylvania.  We managed to get there about 10 minutes before Dexter’s dinner-time feeding.  Whew…gotta get used to the boys putting us on a schedule!  J

So, we came in to find some wonderful news.  Dexter had been stable for long enough they had moved him into a regular crib and out of the incubator.  Yeah!  And the nurse said he had drunk a full bottle (59 ml) for 3 of the last 4 feedings.  He’s starting to eat more and all by himself.  They had even decided that he was stable enough that they removed his feeding tube from his nose.  The doctor had instructed the nurses that if he pulled the tube out, to just leave it out.  The little stinker pulled it out within about 30 minutes, so it stayed out (he must have been eavesdropping on the doctor’s conversation with the nurse).  Barbara fed him, but he would only take about 36 ml so he was still not eating consistently, but when we left, 36 was high and now 36 was low for him.  Spencer was also making good progress.  When we left, his incubator was set at 32.5 C.  When we returned, it was down to 30 F and he was maintaining his body temperature much better.  He wasn’t getting cold as quickly.  He had also started feeding himself more regularly.  He actually took 18 ml from us (the highest he has eaten on his own to date).   And apparently, he is eating about 1/3 to 1/2 of the time instead of like once per day (1/8 feedings).    But, all in all, great progress from both of them.
We found out that the boys were scheduled for a bath that day.  The nurses were going to wait and let us bathe the boys, but the afternoon nurse said that Dexter was so stinky (our words, not hers) that she didn’t want to wait.  Since this is the second time that he’s needed a bath earlier than scheduled, I think we may be bathing him more frequently than Spencer.   I did come back and gave Spencer a bath at 9:30 and then another big surprise…Spencer ate  51 ml of formula…by George, I think he’s got it.

I came back at 12:30 and Dexter did better.  He drank about 46 ml of formula. Which is pretty good.  However, he needs to consistently drink about 400 ml of formula a day and he’s really not up to that level yet.  However, he is doing well in gaining weight.  Thursday, he weighed 5 lbs, 15.1 oz.  And tonight he weighed  6 lbs, 2.8 oz.  So, in 2 days, he gained 3.7 oz. which is pretty incredible.  Spencer has also been doing well.  Thursday night Spencer weighed 6 lbs, 2.9 oz.  On Saturday he weighed 6 lbs, 5.9 oz.  So Spencer gained 3 oz in 2 days.  Additionally, both boys measured 19.5” in length.  Dexter was 19” at birth, so has gained  0.5” in length.  Spencer was 18.75” in length and has gained 0.75”.  So they’re growing well.  Once we get them eating well, we’ll find out when we can take them home.

So after feeding Dexter, the two long days with only 3.5 hours of sleep caught up to me and I apologized to the nurse on duty and did not stay to feed Spencer.  Oh well…gotta take advantage of them being there when I can.  Pretty soon, it will just be us.

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