June 17, 2010

Big news!


10 days old!

And they just got moved into the same crib.  I am not real sure how they feel about it just yet, but mama and daddy are happy about it!  And they even got a maroon blanket.. Gig'em.

Daddy and Cullen are going to get along just fine!  He is already laughing at my corny jokes!

Babies and mama are doing well. Not making a blog update means everything kinda runs together for a few days. I could probably dig a bit and find the daily/hourly progressions, but you don't really care about that. Our days have kinda run together a bit. We do not have 3am crying babies at home just yet but Britt is doing an excellent job with her motherly duties every 2-3 hours. I do not make milk, but I do dishes so I get to wake up too..

So.. the babies went from TPN IV (Total Parental Nutrition) to a clear IV to no IV. That is all great. Less wires and machines is awesome.

They checked Cullen's bilirubin and his levels were up a bit so they put him back in the tanning bed for a couple days. Elevated levels of bilirubin could indicate certain diseases and yellow discoloration (jaundice) and somehow the light helps fix that. Or something along those lines... They were both checked again today and came back great so no more free tans (hopefully). 

Mom and Presley cuddling. 


They initially thought Cullen's elevated levels could be due to a lack of a BM (poop!) however, since they told us that he has apparently dissentegrated a number of diapers. TMI? Nah, way to go boy.  He also leaked a little hersey kiss on daddy during kangaroo time.  Which I think is probably the true source of the smile in the video above.

Yes my wife does like Twilight but no Cullen was not named after Edward Cullen. But thanks for asking.

They are both up on feedings. It seems like every day it gets more. Good thing they have such a great mother! They both started off on 3 cc's every 3 hours. As of last night, they were up to 22 cc's for Cullen and 20 cc's for Presley (it is calculated by weight). Speaking of weight, Cullen has passed his birthweight! 2 lbs 12 ounces. You beast! Presley is back to her birthweight. 2 lbs 7 ounces. Today they start getting "fortified" breastmilk. Basically they add 2 calories to the milk just for a little boost. Kinda like their daddy's protein shakes.

Cullen trying to get comfy


They have both had a little trouble maintaining their body temps, which is apparently normal at this stage. They do a great job of warming up during kangaroo care and their parents are absolutely willing to help out there :).

They have also both had a few significant heartrate dips. This is also normal as they start having their IV's removed and cannula's lowered. I don't like it one bit, but so far nothing has been of concern so we trust that everything is indeed normal. Cullen actually blamed his HR dips on the conference realignment. I told him that the Aggies were not able to SECede from the Big 12 and his little machine almost blew up.



Grandma (still working on the "name") gave them some really soft lovey's. Lovey = something that their mama sleeps with and then puts in their cage (Britt gets mad when I call it that, but it just kinda comes out.. that and "Kennel".. I don't think it bothers them yet thought). Anyways, yesterday Cullen had his leg out of his swaddle and was rubbing his foot back and forth on the lovey. So cute. And yes a man can say that.

More big news.  They took out Cullen's nose cannula and moved his feeding tube from his mouth to his nose!  I happened to be standing right there when they changed it and caught a mask free photo.  His poor little cheeks are rosy and wrinkled from the tube being taped there for the past 10 days but he is a handsome little devil. 


They have both started peeping at us more. I try to pretend what they are thinking. Right now I am thinking Presley will probably write children's books with a primary focus on sock monkey's and Cullen will be a professional athlete.. like his father.


At home we have continued working on the nursery. It reminds us how blessed we are to be preparing for these two gifts with 100's of other gifts. We'll get more pics of the nursery up soon.

Several of you have said you wanted to meet them but didn't want to intrude. Don't be bashful. We are up there several times a day and would love to show them off.. I mean introduce you. So schedule a visit sometime.

Presley peeping at the camera.

Babie's mama is doing really well. She is setting records of her own. You would never know she gave birth to twins 10 days ago! Lucky man. She is obviously a bit bummed that our babie's do not get to come home just yet, but she is also really excited about not being pregnant with twins on bedrest all summer long :). Until we get to bring these babies home, she may take a leave from maternity leave and open up a few more photography sessions. (shameless plug) http://wwww.brittanilouise.com So.. need photos this summer? Shoot her an email. And I may be in trouble, because I have not talked to her about this yet... love you!

confession:  Cullen didn't really laugh at my joke.  When I told the joke he started crying so I switched the audio :)

3 comments:

Melissa said...

I love that they are sharing the crib now...wow! It is amazing how well they are progressing...such answers to prayer I am sure. Great job on the updates Corey...we love hearing what's going on with those two precious babies.

icenhower-family said...

Glad to hear things are going well!! They don't lie when they tell you life in the NICU is like a roller coaster. Thanks for the updates...it helps is make the prayers more specific!

ChelseaSalomone said...

It's just amazing and SO incredible to watch how they're growing!!