Kyle's home, Piper is on her way...

To update everyone since last week....

Kyle came home on Wednesday as expected. It was great to finally be bringing him home.

Unfortunately on Wednesday morning one of the nurse practitioners called me to tell me that Piper had some more episodes (i.e. Bradys) and wouldn't be able to come home that day. It was disappointing to say the least. But we all want what is best for her and for it to be safe for her to come home.

The nurses and doctors have continued to say the same thing - that she has to go 5 days without an incident for her to come home, or 3 days without incident to come home with a monitor. We were trying to avoid that b/c the demands of having three newborns are enough without the added stress of a monitor. But she has continued to have at least one Brady every day since then so her homecoming day keeps getting pushed back as well. The good thing is that even though she is having Bradys, they continue to be quick drops and then immediately pop back up. They have also all been self-resolved and have caused no desats (too little oxygen in the bloodstream). This is a good sign and mean that they are causing no harm.

We are not really sure what exactly is causing the bradys. It goes right along with her being premature and she will eventually grow out of them. Until then they are trying a few things to see if they can help stop them from happening - like different formulas, pacing her during feed times, etc. I am going to the hospital tomorrow for monitor training because at this point Nate and I are thinking that it will be better for us to all be home together, even if she is on a monitor, instead of each of us trying to get to the hospital every day to see her. Hopefully she will be able to come home by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Kyle's homecoming on Wednesday was wonderful. It was quite a sight to look in the back seat and see two car seats on the way home! And we've still got one more to bring home!

Landon and Kyle (Kyle's first day home)

Kyle has been great - he's the quiet one so far. He'll let you know if he's hungry, but other than that he's pretty content. Even if he's awake he'll just lay there and look around studying his surroundings. Landon on the other hand is pretty needy. He likes to be held and comforted if he's awake. We'll have to see where on the spectrum Miss Piper fits in when she gets home!

Kyle and Landon checking each other out

Nate and I have done a pretty good job so far managing feedings and sleep. It's still trial and error to see what's going to work and what's not. The first couple of nights we stayed awake in shifts - I stayed awake and took the first two feedings (11pm and 2am) then he got up and did the 5am feeding before going to work. That way we each got a good 5-6 hours of sleep each night. Well that worked when it was just Landon, and it even worked the first night we had Kyle. But the second night Landon decided he was ready to eat before I was done feeding Kyle which didn't work out so well. So then we decided we were going to both get up at each feeding to feed both boys at the same time. The only problem with this schedule is that you only get about 2 hours sleep at a time since they eat every 3 hours. But this should only last for a short time - someday we'll look back and wish it could be this simple!

Mommy holding both boys after bath time

We are very excited about this upcoming week because Nate has arranged to take off work and be home with us all week! It's going to be great spending time together as a family and learning about the babies different personalities. It will also be good for Nate and I to have time to play catch up on sleep!

Owen is still enjoying his role as big brother. He helps whenever he can and has been very patient with mommy and daddy as we are learning how to juggle time between him and his new siblings. We are making sure to spend extra time with him playing games or reading books or doing anything within reason that he wants to do.

With big brother Owen

Our wonderful church family has begun supplying us with meals again a few days each week. This is a very good thing and we are very much appreciative b/c most days the day has completely gotten away from us before I even think about planning a meal. So thank you to everyone who has brought us a meal or will be bringing a meal - we love you!

I can't make any promises, but if Piper comes home this week I will try to get a post on as soon as possible. I know that you want to share in our joy of finally having our family together. In the meantime, please continue to pray for her - that she will grow stronger everyday and that God will help her and her brothers to get past all of the issues that prematurity brings.

Have a great week!

Mindy