So much for today being easier than yesterday!! Even with nowhere to go, it was a serious challenge. Brendan probably had the worst day since he has been home. His reflux issues and his coughing kept his numbers swinging wildly and his alarms would go off every few minutes. His Zantac will need a few days to really start to work, the only thing that we are able to do for him is to slow down his feedings. We are postponing the bottle feeds until we get this under control.
The good news is that the GI doctor is going to see us Friday morning, so maybe we can get a good plan for dealing with his troubles.

Trevor was awake 90% of the day today. I guess sleeping all day is for babies, and he is all grown up now! I can only hope this means that he will sleep all night!! He was not real keen about being set down so that I could deal with Brendan, there was lots of crying going on today.

Once daddy came home from work, they both decided that they were going to behave. Aside from a little bout of gassy bellies and some pacifier games, this evening has been calm. I gave Brendan a little baby Tylenol and he was able to have some holding time where he was happy. He is sleeping now, I just hope he sleeps more tonight than last night.

Some pictures from happy-Brendan time.

Who is supposed to be sleeping in this picture?

12 week old babies!!! Unfortunately 12 is the magic number when leave ends and work returns. Daddy had to go in to the office today.

My first day home alone with the boys all day included a visit to the cardiologist at the children’s hospital. From 6am until we left the house at 9:30am, I was a blur of business trying to get everything organized and make sure all the timing was right on feeding the boys, pumping, getting all the supplies ready for travel, prepping for the day, etc. It was a serious challenge but I am very happy with how the boys behaved for me so that I was able to get things done. I even took a quick shower!

The doctor’s visit was big today. They determined that besides the dry-air symptoms in his nose, Brendan’s little cough sounded more like a reflux problem. He is starting some Zantac twice a day to try to help out and we will be more cautious about elevating his head while he is fed. After the first dose today, he already seems a bit more comfortable tonight.
We are getting rid of the two diuretic drugs in exchange for a different one that will still help him shed excess fluid but protect the minerals he needs to grow. He gets another echocardiogram in 2 weeks.

At the rate that he is growing, they estimate it will take about 4 more weeks or so for him to meet his 11lb goal for surgery. While the NP was telling us that they will just keep waiting and letting him grow before going in for surgery, the cardiologist said that there is no reason to keep waiting and that they should just get him fixed. So once he hits 11lbs, he will be scheduled for a heart catheterization, similar to when he had his septostomy. This will allow them to accurately measure the pressures in his arteries, veins, and lungs and get an idea of how well the surgery will work. If his pressures are ideal, he could be home within 4-5 days after the Glenn operation. If they are not, he could have a long recovery, need oxygen longer and possibly even stay ventilated for a while. During his last procedure, they liked the pressure readings, so we will hope that that has not changed. After the results of the cath, we will get a surgery date.

Brendan weighed 8lb 15oz on the doctor’s scale too today. With this increase in size, he gets an increase in food. Two whole ounces more have been added to his daily diet. In addition to this, we are allowed to work with him more on bottle feeding. During the day, we can offer him more of his milk from the bottle, and then just push what he doesn’t finish through his NG tube. I am excited tomorrow to see how he does. If the Zantac helps him tonight, he should be in a better mood in the morning. He is resting very well right now.

Trevor had a bad night, lots of crying with cramps and gas. Once we got through a major blowout diaper and a bottle, he settled right in to sleep too. He will take 5 ounces at a time now, and has gone 4hrs between some bottles today. It is nice not feeling like we are feeding him every other minute. He did so well today with Brendan’s appointment, he loves the car ride and pretty much slept through the whole event.

Brendan likes his car seat and sleeps in the car. It is a serious relief to me to make the 20 mile drive to the hospital.

It’s not easy being cheeky

Photo evidence – Bailey held a baby! Both boys seem to like her and Trevor even flashed her a smile.

The news today is that Trevor slept too much during the day yesterday. He woke up at 11:30PM and had a bottle and then he was all wound up and ready to play. He was all kicks and coos and wanting to be held. Not held still – held up and engaged and active. Mom and Dad were passing out exhausted and he was just ready to play! That went until 4am and he finally decided it was sleepy time.
He sleeps so well, it is nice to get stuff done during the day, but that is a price to pay!

Bill and the dogs are doing a lot to keep him awake tonight before his late bottle and then maybe he will be ready to sleep when he is supposed to sleep!

Even Brendan is keeping Trevor company to help keep him awake.

Trevor is helping hold in the binky

Brendan slept so well last night, even through all of Trevor’s shenanigans. So today he was up for some bouncy chair time.

Although that wears you out too. Brendan’s nurse visit today was great too – the scale just teased us with 9lbs flickering but she wrote down 8lb 15oz. He is growing at a nice steady rate!

Many thanks to Chrystie from the MoMs group for the wonderful dinner. It was great to talk to some other twin moms this weekend, everyone has such a great story.

My sister Shannon was busy this weekend scanning some very old photos. All this proves is that the mystery continues about where the cheeks came from. No idea!!

Same with the golden blonde hair – no idea!

Trevor just looks like daddy!!