Super Babies!!!

Our NICU days are now officially over!!! Logan was discharged for the second time on July 11th and has done nothing but improve ever since. Here is an overview of what these super babies have conquered these past few months...

Lathan
*Born 28 weeks weighing 2lbs 14.2oz. As of last Monday at his doctor's appointment, he is a whopping 8lbs 4oz!!!
*PDA...ligated (heart surgery), no longer a problem!
*Apnea of prematurity...on home monitor and doing great!
*Chronic lung disease...came home on 100% continuous oxygen
*Bilateral Grade 2 intraventricular hemorrhages (brain bleeds)...nearly resolved!
*Three hernias...so far not causing any problems so they will not need to be removed until this fall when the surgery will be minor and probably won't even require an overnight stay!
*Retinopathy of prematurity(abnormal blood vessels in eye that can scar or cause the retina to detach)...his moderate case is almost clear!

Procedures:
Intubation, Mechanical Ventilation, Nasal CPAP, Oxygen Enrichment, Umbilical arterial catherterization, Umbilical venous catherterization, Perpheral arterial line, Percutaneaous centreal line, Lumbar Puncture, Blood Transfusions, Phototherapy

Lathan came home June 15th after a 52 day long NICU stay.

Lauren:
*Also a 28 weeker (obviously)! She weighed 2lbs 12.3oz at birth but is now about 6 1/2 lbs (the smallest of the group)!
*PDA heart surgery...no more problems!
*Necrotizing Entercolitis (a severe infection of the intestine that almost cost her her little life)...no side effects!
*Apnea of prematurity...on a home monitor and doing really well!
*Gastroesophageal reflux...came home on a cocktail of meds
*Feeding hypoxia...she was sent home with oxygen for her feeds
*Retinopathy of prematurity...her moderate case has not gotten any worse and we hope to get a clear report at her appointment this week!
*Small reducible umbilical hernia...will hopefully go away on its own by the time she is a toddler.

Procedures:
Intubation, Mechanical Ventilation, Nasal CPAP, Oxygen Enrichment, Umbilical venous catheterization, Umbilical arterial catheterization, two Lumbar punctures (spinal taps), Percutaneaous central lines (she had two of these during her stay), Blood transfusions, Photo Therapy, Upper GI's

Lauren came home on June 30th after a 67 day stay in the NICU!

and last but not least...

Logan:
*28 weeker, the smallest at birth weighing 2lbs 10oz. Logan now weighs about 7 1/2 lbs!
*He, too, had the PDA heart surgery and has had no problems since.
*Apnea of prematurity...on home monitor like the others and doing super!
*Pulmonary Edema...resolved
*IVH brain hemmorages...his initial grade 3-4 on the left and grade 2 on the right are now both resolving grade 2's
*Gastroesophageal reflux...he is on medications but is doing MUCH better now that he is at home and in a more relaxed environment!
*Retinopathy of prematurity...the first of our three to be given the all clear
*Feeding difficulties...Logan was discharged with a 30 day nasal feeding tube
*Pyloric Stenosis (blocked intestine that landed him back in the NICU after only 3 days at home)...repaired and we have seen huge improvements in Logan's feedings ever since!
*Three large hernias...repaired during his pyloromyotomy surgery!

Procedures:
Intubation, Mechanical Ventilation, Nasal CPAP, Oxygen enrichment, Umbilical artery catheterization, Umbilical venous catheterization, Peripheral arterial lines (two for him), Lumbar puncture, Blood transfusions, Phototherapy, Upper GI

Logan was discharged originally on July 1st but then readmitted on July 4th. His final discharge was on July 11th for a total of 76 days in the NICU!

All of the babies are doing remarkably well and have improved so very much since April, I think the pictures in the post below prove that! We are enjoying every moment of having them home and can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

For all our pictures, visit our Shutterfly website at:

http://www.guinntriplets.shutterfly.com/action/

Look how much we've grown...our progress in pictures!

Lathan
Lauren
Logan
Lauren
Logan
Lathan

We Got So Close!!!

Well we were a complete family, everyone home last weekend until...

Lauren was the first to join Lathan, coming home on Friday (June 30th) after a week of ups and downs with her weight. She was presribed her own special formula recipe to help her continue gaining and a cocktail of relux meds. She has home care nurse visits 3 times a week, an apnea monitor and oxygen when she eats. She has loved being home from the second she got here and has continued to improve each and every day!

Logan came home the following day (July 1st) with an NG tube (nasal feeding tube) and an IV pole for feeds. He, too, was presribed his own special formula recipe, a specialized reflux cocktail, apnea monitor and home nurse visits. He did really well his first night home but then things started going down hill. He was unable to keep any of his feeds down and was throwing up constantly. We finally had to readmit him to the level 2 NICU at Texas Women's on Tuesday where he was diagnosed with Pyloric Stenosis (a blockage of the intestine). He was extremely dehydrated and had lost 1 lb during the 2 days that he was at home (pretty significant especially considering he only weighed 7lbs to begin with). He spent the next 2 days on IV's fluids getting rehydrated and was then moved to the level 3 NICU where he was put back on the ventilator and prepped for surgery. His surgery took about an hour and a half while they removed what turned out to be a large pyloric stenosis and also knocked out his 3 hernias (saving him a surgery down the road). They were unable to remove him from the venitlator as quickly as they would have liked but by Friday afternoon he was finally taken off and on Saturday he was moved back to the level 2 NICU where he remains this evening.

We were only home for 2 days but REALLY enjoyed skipping our trips to Texas Women's which had been a daily occurance for us since I was admitted March 16th. We are expecting to once again be free from the medical center sometime this week and can't wait to have all of our little ones reunited again!

***We have finally updated our shutterfly pictures***

http://www.guinntriplets.shutterfly.com/action/