The New Journey Begins

It has been an emotional last few days with passions in all directions. We had the shock of an unexpected delivery of the twins two weeks prior to the plan. There were some initial health concerns that seem to turn out not to be worries. However, as time progressed new worries set in.
 

Before giving the details, I think it is vitally important to explain there is no reason to believe the boys are in any danger or is what is happening outside of the norms of a delivery at their gestational age. That said, Kristina’s and my expectations simply were not aligned with the realities of delivering this early. In our minds, although early, we had focused on the statistical risks, which are about the same as full-term delivery. What we did not understand is the difference between survival and watching drama play out.
 

Grayson was 4 pounds 6 ounces, but surprised everyone by how well he progressed. He was breathing on his own and suckling and keeping food down. He did even better after having skin-to-skin with Mom. His brother, Bennett, despite being a heavier 5 pounds 2 ounces, had trouble breathing at first. He had to be on a CPAP breather for the first 36 hours. However, once breathing on his own, Bennett skyrocketed towards a healthy status much faster than expected.
 

A little into the third day, we became familiar with the term “honeymoon period” of newborns in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). Sometimes newborns thrive well in the first few days, then the trauma of what they experienced starts to show. We were asked to slow our pace and expectations. We were not being let to take the boys out of there incubators for feedings and holding at the intervals we had previously been privileged.
 

This was emotionally devastating as we tried to wrap our heads around what it meant. Essentially, neither boy was holding his body temperature without the aid of the enclosed Isolettes. The energy they spent interacting with us, although healing and helpful, was too much for them to also grow and progress. Making matters worse, Grayson quit taking food.
 

Late last night, a very astute nurse named John made a crucial discovery with Grayson. Both boys were on feeding assistance, but Grayson’s tube had become kinked and possibly turned back into his esophagus. This likely prevented him from getting nutrients for more than six hours. For a preemie only a little over four pounds, the event took a heavy toll on his progress. Fortunately, John’ diagnostic skill leading to the finding, probably saved Grayson’s life and has set him back on the path to proper growth.
 

Grayson has suffered two major scares in the past three days. First there was the sac rupture that caused the emergency C-section. Then there was this feeding-tube issue. The takeaway here is Someone is watching out for Grayson.
 

Obviously Bennett to has had his share of trauma. The breathing issues scared us a lot at first, but then he turned around so quickly we started to expect him to be released in just a few days. Of course, we have learned we simply were asking too much of the little boy. Also, around the same time we were getting the worst of the news about Grayson, there was an instrument malfunction that showed Bennett has lost more than 7 ounces in weight. This was straightened out in a few hours, but quite an overwhelming thing to process as we learned everything we had come to expect was just misaligned to what was occurring.
 

The great news is overnight Bennett has held his temperature and is no longer requiring an Isolette. This is a big step in his recovery and one of the major goals to meet for his being about to come home. He will need to continue increasing the volume of his food intake and gain a little weight, but he might be ready as early as the end of the week.
 

Grayson, on the other hand, is tired. He has already turned around since the difficulties of yesterday, but it took a lot out of him. He needs to rest and let his body distribute the calories he gets to where his body knows where to send them. He will likely stay in his incubator for a few more days, and he will be assessed hour by hour, day by day. He will recover, as there is nothing wrong, but the timespan for him to reach “newborn” status may be longer than we thought it would be.
 

To end this post, I want to reiterate there is no reason to believe or fear the boys are in danger or weakening at all. They are both progressing and growing to become healthy young children. We are very blessed to have them and to have supportive friends and family to help us manage all the things we have to juggle during this temporary but taxing time.
 

Both the boys’ sisters have come to visit them twice already, and we got to spend some quality time with both the girls as well. We had hoped to have all four kids together at home by the end of today or tomorrow. However, that moment will have to be delayed for a little longer, but again, this is merely a temporary delay. Soon all will be realigned to what we planned.