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
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