Saturday – It is really easy to lose track of the days of the week! This fifth week is flying by, and Christmas will be here before we know it.

Bill and I got to the hospital just in time for rounds this morning. The doctors were smiling and giving thumbs up. Brendan is doing very well and they have already weaned down the oxygen in the cannula a little. It will occasionally push a few drops of water in to his nose in order to keep his nostrils moist and comfortable with all that air blowing in. When those drops land, it really irritates Brendan and he will cry a short while. I can only imagine how maddening that would be and I don’t blame him for crying. I can’t wait until that can go away too!
Brendan’s new goals are all about being a baby – he needs to get stronger, he needs to eat and he needs to grow!

Trevor is awesome, he continues to be a great baby. He had some trouble with lots of gas today, I have no idea what I might have eaten that would bother him that way.

I’ll get straight in to pics and videos!

I spent hours holding Brendan. We have lots of catching up to do!

The pacifier is a wonder! They were able to go through the entire night and morning without giving Brendan any doses of Fentanyl or Morphine. They put a little sucrose on his pacifier and he was able to calm down and relax on his own. He has a drug called Precedex via IV drip now instead of Fentanyl but this reduction in drugs is a big deal to all of us.

This video is actually from yesterday. Right after taking the vent out, Brendan was figuring out that he could make noise when he cries. He will need some time before his vocal cords will heal. As sad as this video seems, we were so thrilled to hear his voice!

Trevor has a nice full belly!

Are you lookin’ at me?

My grandpa used to tell my sister that he was going to box her up and send her back to the factory because she cried too much. Trevor fits in the box, but I lost the receipt, so I will have to keep him!!

Human baby or Tasmanian devil? Trevor makes adorable baby sounds all day, but if you try to pick him up, change his position, change his clothes, etc… he growls!
Sometimes he does it randomly too!

Mom has been here two weeks and we finally made the time for me to get a haircut. It is SHORT again! Just right for having two grabby little babies with really long fingers!

The 25th is a not only a significant day because the boys are one month old, but Brendan took a huge step forward today! Extubation!!!!

This is officially the last picture of Brendan on the vent this morning!!

And this is Brendan with no ventilator!!!! His cheeks weren’t tape free for very long, he has to have the nasal cannula to deliver a bit of extra warm humid oxygen to him while he adjusts.

No ventilator means holding the baby! He is still very difficult to pick up from the bed, and very delicate with lots of connections, but he can finally get some hugs and cuddles.

We made a second trip back to the hospital tonight so that Gramma could cuddle Brendan too.

No ventilator also means that Brendan can start working on his nippling. The nurse gave him this pacifier and he took to it instantly. Not only did he latch on to it extra firmly, it helped soothe him when he was upset.

This was a very Brendan-focused day, but Trevor had a great day too. He gets lots of love and attention from everyone at home. When Mom and I went back to the hospital, Trevor got to have some bonding time with his daddy.

There is probably a ton of information that I am leaving out today, but it is all trivial in the big picture. Brendan is doing very well now – extubated for 13hrs so far and still holding strong. Trevor had a great night and was awake quite a bit today. Hopefully both boys will sleep well and wake up even stronger!

This was a very unusual holiday. We did not cook a traditional dinner, so there was no roasting turkey smell filling the house. My next door neighbors delivered a full blown hot turkey dinner to the door this afternoon, including all the trimmings. They put a lot of effort in to making us a special meal and we are very thankful.

Mom and I made the trip to the hospital this morning to see Brendan. The highways were super empty and almost creepy for a Thursday morning. The doctors got started extra early and visited Brendan’s room first, so we missed being there for rounds.

Brendan is looking pretty good today. He is on even lower ventilator settings and is tolerating his milk feedings well. They are going to add some fortifier powder to the milk in order to give him some extra calories to help him grow. The fancy new bed scale today says that he weighed 6.6lbs, but it is really hard to be sure with the nurse just trying to lift up all the tubes and wires.

The surgery team nixed the idea of removing the pacemaker wires. They really don’t need to be there, but the argument is that they are not doing any harm, so why take them out – just in case. The nurse did tell me that they plan to take out the IV line in his left femoral artery. One line at a time – it is nice to see something go.

They did switch him to the continuous milk drip overnight, but there was not really any difference in his output, so they switched back to every 3hr feedings. He is up to 14cc and going up by 2 more every 12 hrs to a max of 45.

Trevor is a growing boy and has finally outgrown his preemie 4hr feeding schedule and is hungry a lot more often. He’s kind of eating every 3hrs now, so it still works out pretty well to get some rest in between. Of course, Mom will sit and hold him for hours so I can get some sleep! He video chatted again with the IL and PA family members but was in a super food coma the whole time again. Of course, he wouldn’t make any of his adorable baby sounds until the camera was turned off.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving day!

Now some pictures!

Brendan’s Greyhound greyhound, henceforth known as Gg, is put to work holding up the ventilator.

It helps to have a team of hard working dogs on your side

Gramma talks to Brendan

The new bed is a little lower and if I drop the side, I can actually reach to smooch the baby.

One of the nurses made this for Trevor before he checked out of his hospital. Today is just a good day to post it!

I didn’t share the pumpkin pie with the baby, I swear

Serious food coma baby!