Henry and Jameson: One Month Old!

We are very pleased and proud parents to announce that our boys have reached their 1 month birthday!  It's difficult to have the proper perspective of the last month because we're still in the midst of our NICU experience, but a milestone like this provides a chance to reflect.  I think the overwhelming feelings are that of being grateful and humble.  It's a recurrent theme for how we feel about our nurses, our families and support system, and toward our boys.  To that end, today we had the opportunity to say thanks in prayer with Father Matthew of nearby St. Joseph Morello, who was kind enough to join us and bestow a blessing upon Henry and Jameson.  It was a special moment as we were joined by Raechel's mother and sister, as well as our favorite nurse Mary who also belongs to Fr. Matthew's parish.  And to that point on gratefulness, to everyone that has reached out to us, sent a gift or even just a quick email, we say thank you.

A quick funny anecdote about the experience...Fr. Matthew requested to the nurses some sterilized water that he could bless as holy water.  One of the nurses reached into a drawer and pulled out some Similac sterilized water which fit the bill.  We kept the rest as a just in case of emergency.  It is Halloween after all :)

One other quick story...one of my best friends, Steve Bueche, got married last weekend.  Months ago I had told Steve that I couldn't picture a scenario where I would be able to make it to the wedding given our projected birth date.  With the boys arriving early, I still didn't think it was an option.  But with the boys stable and in good hands, and along with the encouragement of my wife, I decided at the last minute to go.  It was hard, but I'm glad I did.  It was a special weekend to share with Steve and his wife Colin.  At a few different moments, people asked me if it was hard to be away.  It was; there were a lot of moments of worry and stress, and generally feeling like a terrible father for being away.  At the same time, I felt like Henry and Jameson were in good hands.  I think it's because trust is such a huge part of the NICU process that I could actually make the trip.  And if there is anyone I would make the trip for, it's Steve.  He's a great person and friend, and such a role model that he and Colin will be godparents to Jameson.

We are 1 Month Old!!! Henry (left) and Jameson (right)

Jameson (left) and Henry (right)

Frick Family with Father Matthew

Henry as Thing 1 and Jameson as Thing 2 for Hallween

Henry at 4 weeks with his bunny

Jameson at 4 weeks with his giraffe

Frick Twins: Bath Time

Mom and Dad got to experience bathing the boys this week. A little easier than we anticipated. The nurse showed us how to keep them loosely bundled so they feel their boundaries and safe; and kept a heater above to keep them warm.  Here are a few pictures and a video!

Rae bathing Henry

Dave drying Jameson

Dave washing Jameson's hair

 

Frick Twins: Feeding

One of the check marks the boys need to earn is feeding on their own - bottle or breast.  While the boys are practicing both, we are learning this is something the boys must be developmentally ready to coordinate sucking with breathing and swallowing. Every day is different for Jameson and Henry. Two nights ago, the boys took a bottle for the night nurse (20 ml for Henry, 15 ml for Jameson), then completed the rest of their feeding via NG tube. Yesterday however, both boys stopped breathing with the bottle, turned blue (which no mother wants to see that!) and took a little longer than normal to catch their breath again. As one nurse shared: In the NICU, it is a lot of 2 steps forward, 1 step back... 

 

Dad giving Henry a bottle for the first time

Burping Henry

Milk Face

Frick Twins: Week 3, Development Week 34

Something that Raechel and I have noticed of late is how quickly time is flying. I've heard parents say something along those lines about their own kids for years, and I can vouch for that fact based on first hand experience.

Since our last update, the boys have made good progress. They have maintained their temperature on their own since moving to isolettes. They've started doing a little bottle feeding, which is really fun to participate in and witness. And as of today, they've each gained 1lb since birth.

They aren't without their challenges as we found out today they'll be supplementing Henry with some vitamins due to his blood being anemic, or low on red blood cells. Nothing too concerning and very common at this point in his development, but they do outline what the scenarios would look like if things get worse, which could extend all the way to a transfusion. Very unlikely at this point that it would reach that point, but it's an example of one of those things floating out there that seems to make your shoulders a little more tense and sleep a little less sound. Looking forward to the day when the boys are home, healthy, growing, and that stress goes away. But again, I've heard from experienced parents that feeling never disappears :)

Henry

 

Jameson

Frick Twins: Isolette Graduation

Last night the boys graduated from Isolette incubators to open cribs. They are now able to regulate their own body temperature and sleep in just PJs and a swaddle blanket. They are both adjusting to all the new sounds of the NICU that were muffled before in the isolettes. 

Jameson had a rough day breathing on Friday and was given a nasal cannula again to provide assistance. We also cut back on visitors to keep the noise down and any outside germs away. Since then, he is much more comfortable. 

The boys wore their new Notre Dame caps last Saturday and proved to be good luck for the fighting Irish! ND beat USC 14-10. Thank you Frick Family for the little caps.  

Frick Twins: 2 Weeks Old

Hard to believe that the boys are two weeks old today! (or 32.6 in development terms)  They’ve been doing well since our last update.  Henry is off of his nasal cannula as of 3 days ago.  Both boys are making steady progress on decreasing their apneas and bradys, which is great.  The doctor said yesterday a 3-5 week estimate seems reasonable on bringing them home, but that all depends on how the boys do over that time period.  As a parent, it’s a tough one because we want to bring them home as soon as possible, but not a minute before they’re ready.  Of course, we would love it if we can bring them home to share our first family Thanksgiving at home, but we’re not getting greedy on our asks.

 

Our schedule has shifted a little bit this week as I’m back at work.  Raechel goes over in the mornings and usually does a 6-7 hour shift.  I either join her in the morning and do some work from the hospital café, or go over in the afternoon, depending on work requirements, etc.  Big thanks to Lauryn, the Beilers, and my Dad for helping with transportation as Raechel and I head over at different times during the day.  Intel has been incredibly supportive of both Raechel and I.  My boss, Mike, gets a special shout out for being flexible on how I manage my schedule.  He’s a great example of the family-first attitude, one that I have new level of appreciation for right now.  And Raechel is going to be able to take off a substantial amount of time from work between pregnancy leave, FMLA, and sabbatical.  We feel incredibly thankful and fortunate to work for a company that can help ease some of the stress that comes from our situation.

 

We are also very appreciative of the prayers, flowers, balloons, lasagna and calzones (thanks Ellen and the Bowmans!), the preemie clothes, and everything else sent our direction.  It’s incredibly humbling to be on the receiving end of so much generosity and kindness.  Thank you!

With Henry

Henry now 3lb 14oz (3lb 7oz at birth)

Henry with his Bunny

Jameson now 3lb 6oz (2lb 15oz at birth)

Jameson with his Giraffe

Frick Twins: Day 10

Today was a milestone day!  Both Henry and Jameson are now over their birth weight, and Jameson topped 3lbs for the first time.  Feels very good to see their weight trending in the right direction.  Also, Raechel produced more milk than the boys consumed for the day!  She feels very good about being able to support the boys in this way.  Definitely a day to remember.

We spent ~4 hours with them in the late morning / early afternoon, with a couple of those being skin to skin.  Henry is still on the nasal cannula to provide pressure to keep his lungs open.  They have their breathing and heart episodes from time to time, which makes us parents nervous.  But they recover in a matter of a few seconds most of the time.  We find the hardest part of the day is in the evening when we miss our boys. 

Frick Twins: Day 8-9

Henry had a tough day yesterday - he had several apneas / bradys per hour (a few are OK for preemies, but he was beyond the normal amount).  So the staff decided to put him on a nasal cannula, which is a less intensive version of the "bubbles" he was on his first 12-18 hours.  Good news is that he didn't have any signs of an infection and generally his color continued to look pink.  Once he had that in place, his apneas decreased substantially. 

Today we had a chance to hold the boys skin to skin for about 90 minutes.  Both boys did great without any apneas/bradys.  Our nurse today, Mary, mentioned that bradys are pretty common until ~week 34, so we likely have a couple more weeks of those episodes until the boys nervous systems, lungs, and heart develop.

Speaking of the staff, we have had a host of great nurses on the staff that we interact with; it's really a comprehensive support system.  Each nurse is unique in their own way, which has its pros and cons.  They are all very skilled and competent and overall the messages on care are consistent.  That said, continuity can occasionally be a challenge and some the nuances of their recommendations are different.  Some are more aggressive with skin to skin contact, others more reserved.  Some involve us in all of the care including all the diaper changes, temperature readings, and monitoring vital measurements, and others involve us less, though all are receptive to our requests when we verbalize them.  Mary is probably our favorite nurse.  She had been at Sutter Memorial in downtown Sacramento for 30 years and transferred out to Sutter Roseville's NICU opened 5 years ago.  She's a very maternal presence for us teaching us parenting and NICU basics with great patience.  She's also Catholic, so she mentioned to Kathy today that she'd like to be present when Fr. Matthew makes a visit to see the boys (still WIP on scheduling).  Jossie is another nurse who is from the Philippines that has been a nurse at Sutter for 13 years.  She's been really proactive with the skin to skin contact experience and has a great way of interacting with the boys with a calm even in somewhat stressful moments.  And beyond the nurses, there are respirational and physical therapists for the boys development, a social worker that makes sure we're handling the situation stress ok, and obviously doctors that are shaping the course of their treatment plans.

Dave was in charge of packing a book to read to the boys ... he picked All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Here is a video of Rae and Jameson, he looks like he is listening very carefully

Frick Twins: Day 7

Sorry for the lack of updates over the last few days; combination of not having my laptop with me and being busy with babies, keeping up with everyday life stuff, etc…

 

Boys are doing well!  Every day brings a little more progress.  The boys are both off of their CPAP breathing machines, off their light to alleviate bilirubin, and off of their IVs.  The only invasive thing right now is their feeding tube that deposits the food through their nose down to their stomach until their sucking/digestive system develops.  That will likely stay in for ~a month more.  The boys and Raechel keep ramping up on their milk requirements/production, and should be in alignment in the next few days if things continue to trend well.  They still have their episodes where their heart or respiratory rates go outside of range, but either through their own or a little external stimulation brings them back into range within 10-15 seconds.  They monitor and record each of those “Bradys” (bradycardia) or “Apneas” and communicate shift-to-shift to keep track of their status.  One of the check marks that they can go home is that they have seven consecutive days without either of those, versus these days they’ll have one or more in an hour.

 

If you’re on Facebook, you’re probably aware that we’ve been able to have some skin-to-skin contact over the last few days, which is really exciting.  Today we were able to hold each of them for about 45 minutes, which was really mutually rewarding.  Raechel had the chance to read into a tape recorder yesterday that they can put into their incubator so the babies can hear her voice, and I’m working on picking the perfect read so I can add my own voice to the recording. 

 

David and Jameson

 

Rae and Henry

First Family Picture!

Henry and Jameson (showing off his guns)

Frick Twins: Day 4

Sorry for the delayed update today, been working the phones tracking down a breast pump this morning.  Managed to find one to rent locally, which after talking to a few different providers who said best case scenario was ~2 weeks made me so happy I about cried.  Amazing how tied in I’ve gotten to pumping J  Speaking of which, Raechel’s milk is starting to come in.  She went from 2ml/pump yesterday to more than 7ml in her most recent.  The boys are consuming 7ml and 17ml (Jameson a little less until his stomach gets used to food, he’s supplemented with a glucose+protein+minerals drip).  So she’s ramping up well to be able to provide those antibodies, etc that you can’t get from just formula.

 

Boys are doing pretty well today, a little more stable in their breathing and vital signs, but still periodically erratic as is normal with preemies at their age.  They have monitors on their heart rate, oxygen, and respiratory rate.  When they get outside range on either side, the machine starts beeping.  Makes for a very anxious parent to hear that sound, but again, very normal for their stage of development.  Hoping for some skin-to-skin “kangaroo” contact for the first time later today where they lay the baby on Raechel’s chest. 

 

David Jr., Lauren, and Kathy brought by some keepsakes to watch over the babies, which we really appreciate.  St. James and St. Henry now have their eyes on the babies, and a beautiful cross hangs over each of them.  They are going to have the most decorated nurseries in the NICU.

 

We can kind of laugh about it now, but here’s the contraction history Raechel was keeping track of on her iPhone app when we drove to the hospital.  Remember that Henry arrived at 3:11 and first contraction was at 1pm.  Typically when you’re sub-5 minute contractions you go to the hospital, and when they’re every 2 minutes it means you’re entering final phase of birthing.  I remember as we were driving I asked how far apart they were and she said, “30 seconds.”  I about crapped myself and said, “What?!!!”  Granted, she was measuring the end of one to the start of another vs start to start as you’re supposed to measure, but you can imagine the anxiety and adrenaline as we’re driving in the car.

Contraction App

Frick Twins: Day 3

We’ve been told that there will be ups and downs as Henry and Jameson grow and mature.  Today was a little more of a challenge, but given that’s average for this point post-delivery, we’re largely on plan.  They described it that usually there is a honeymoon period right after birth where the babies respond to the challenge, but over time exhaustion can make things a little bit tougher for their little bodies to compensate.  Last night they put Jameson back on the CPAP machine to help normalize his breathing.  It feeds through his nose, and he was still trying to breathe through his mouth, which negated the effect of the machine for a period of time.  But by this morning, the machine was doing its thing and his breathing was much more stabilized (in the 40-80 breaths per min vs last night it was spiking over 100).  Jameson also has some jaundice, very common for preemies and especially the smaller of twins.  The smaller twin usually compensates in utero by creating more red blood cells to absorb oxygen.  Now that he’s born, he needs to dispose of those.  They provide phototherapy light that he’ll be under for 2-3 days as that helps breakdown the red blood cells and makes it easier to excrete the broken down cells.  It basically looks like he’s in a mini-tanning bed.  They are monitoring it, but not out of the ordinary and not at a dangerous level.  Henry’s doing better, but also has some occasional moments where his breathing will pause.  It’s usually short and he solves it on his own, but a little stimulation helps also.  Raechel and I both got a chance to touch them through the hand holes of the incubator machine that they use to keep their temperature stable.  Raechel keeps getting more mobile, keeps on her 2-3 hour pumping schedule, and we’ve even managed to both take a shower today.  All in all, not a bad day

 

One comment on my medical notes: they’re an interpretation of a tired, non-medical brain of what I think I hear.  But I think I usually have the jist right.

 

Hard to believe Raechel’s first contraction was only 48 hours ago!  One of the other nurses made that comment, to which I replied, “For these guys, that was a lifetime ago”

Baby Henry

Frick Twins: Day 2

Today was a good day, the babies look a little stronger every time we see them.  Raechel was able to make a couple trips into the NICU today to meet and touch her brand new babies.  Everyone is progressing according to plan and both Henry and Jameson have managed to stay off any assisted breathing, though their respiratory rate can fluctuate.  They had their first tummy time, which the nurse said can help with breathing and digestion.  Jameson was a little fussy at first, but they let me touch him for the first time and that helped calm him down.  In general they’re pretty active moving their arms and legs around; they’ve already gotten a reputation with the nurses for being very feisty.  They’ve started introducing a little bit of milk+formula to their systems to get their digestive tracts moving.  The staff continues to monitor them very closely and keep us updated.  Raechel continues to heal and get stronger as well, doing some walks down the hallway and ramping up to solid foods. 

 

Kathy brought in some good old ND inspiration for the babies today you can see in the attached photo.  Thank you, it’s perfect!!!  Can’t have enough positive prayers and thoughts.  And thanks for all the flowers, balloons, etc. that everyone has sent!  Makes the hospital room much more cheery.

Cruisin to the NICU

Baby Henry, 2 days old

Baby Jameson, 2 days old

Rae touching Jameson

Notre Dame decor for the incubators

Frick Twins: Day 1

Baby Henry and Jameson arrived in dramatic fashion, i.e. Raechel had her first contraction at 1pm and babies were born a little after 3pm.  By the time we got to the birthing center, Raechel was already 7 cm.  I think I managed to get three update texts out and they were wheeling her into the OR prep.  I walked into the OR and Henry’s head literally started pushing through about a minute later.  Because they’re premmie’s at 31 weeks, they did an emergency C-Section to get Jameson out quickly 9 min after Henry was born (that description is way easier for me to write than verbalize as I had to be escorted out of the OR to watch through a small window).  They came in at a teeny 3lb 7oz and 2lb 15oz, though rounding up to 3lbs for Jameson makes it sound better / us feel better.  They had them on a CPAP w/normal air to help them breath and their lungs develop for about 24 hours and are currently testing them without it to see how they breathe on their own.  They said their X-Rays were great given how young they are; lungs looked good w/o fluid.  Assuming that goes well over the next few hours, the next key phase is getting them eating beyond their glucose+protein IV feed they have right now.  Raechel’s already been doing a great job pumping getting them started on colostrum / breast milk which I hand deliver down to the NICU every few hours and they provide to the babies. 

 

In terms of expectations for how long they are in the NICU, they want us to prepare for them being in until their actual due date in early December, but hopefully we’ll get to take them home sooner than that.  The NICU staff has been amazing; very helpful, attentive, and with the perfect attitude.  We’re taking it one day at a time; baby stepsJ 

 

I attached a couple of photos of the boys when they were about 15 minutes old and first wheeled into the NICU. 

 

Raechel’s recovery has been going great; she was up on her feet for the first time in less than 24 hours post-birth, granted for a short trip across the room to the bathroom.  We’ll hopefully get to take her down to meet Henry and Jameson for the first time later this afternoon.

15 Minutes Old: Baby A (Henry) and Baby B (Jameson)