Merry Christmas 2010!

First of all, a huge THANK YOU to all our friends and family that have given the boys Christmas presents. Let’s just say we are missing the basement in our old house right now… their room is busting at the seams! 🙂 It has been so much fun. And of course, a huge thank you to the friends and family that gave Adam and me gifts too. Not necessary considering everything the boys have been given, but definitely appreciated!

On Thursday, 12.23.10, Jack was moved to a crib! He looks absolutely adorable in there. Itty bitty. Jack has also progressed in breast and bottle feeding. Once he is up to 7-8 times a day, he can go home! Right now he’s at FOUR! So exciting. He’ll either nurse or take the bottle, and the other four feeding sessions he is still fed through the nose.

Sam has been doing amazing! Right now his only issue is breathing too fast. Our guess is that when he was intubated, the ventilator messed up his lungs. They’re not damaged, it just set him back in terms of his lung/breathing abilities. Just as an example, a typical preemie/newborn breathes about 40 times/minute (Jack). Sam will breathe normal, and then shoot up to 120 breaths/minute. We don’t want this, because breathing this fast burns a lot of calories, and little Sam needs all the calories he can get!

Santa came to visit the NICU a few days early. Jack did not enjoy Mr. Claus too much, and yanked on his beard a few times. So cute! Sam was just perfectly content. Their personalities are emerging and it’s fabulous. Jack is just a chill, relaxed “dude” who hates to be bothered when sleeping and is really independent. If he’s tired of being held, he’ll let you know. Sam is a little fussy, and a huge cuddler. He is the sweetest little thing. When he’s being held, he instantly calms down and just stares at you with his big beautiful eyes.

Adam and I wish we were able to be in Fargo and see all of our friends and family this holiday season. Right now we’re hoping to make it back the end of March or early April. We’ll set up a big “homecoming” party! Must-haves: Extra large bottles of hand sanitizer, surgical masks, and quiet voices. 🙂 Our nurses have been repeatedly telling us how careful we’ll need to be once the boys are home and people start coming around. They’re coming home smack dab in the middle of RSV season, which can be horrible for all babies, but especially preemies. Really, anything that would be bad for a newborn is 5 times as dangerous for a preemie. We know everyone will want to hold and touch the boys, but I’m just putting this memo out right now that we would love that too, but we’re going to be very cautious! In the words of one nurse, “Don’t be afraid to be a jerk!” Have to laugh at that one.

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas. We’re off to celebrate with the NICU babies and staff! 🙂

Love,
Adam, Trish, Sam and Jack
(Mya says “hi” too!)