Merry Christmas
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Doing well
The doctors are very pleased with the progress. Feeding tubes are gone and they both are nursing and bottle feeding quite well. Also their weights are up and they have been apnea free since arriving. So if this progress continues they should be released early next week. Sure would be nice if they came home Christmas day.
Friday, December 21, 2007
One step closer to home.
Well the babies just arrived here in Nashua. The transfer via ambulance went smoothly and the babies seem to be adjusting to their new environment. The plan now is to get them off their feeding tubes, show some weight gain and to go several days without any signs of apnea. The doctors says they should be home before New Years.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Weather delay
Due to this wonderful New England winter weather the transfer has been delayed till friday morning.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
New plan
Turns out the NICUs at the hospitals in Concord and Manchester are all full. However it seems that the Southern NH hospital in Nashua NH can take the kids. The plan is for the transfer to happen tomorrow. Nashua is still a good hour plus from home, but we have a greater support system in that area versus Lebanon NH.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Joy & Frustration
I am sitting in a hotel in Lebanon NH where the current temp is -13. Yes 13 degrees BELOW zero, though it's not the cold that is on my mind. The emotions are very mixed. It is a joy and a true blessing that the twins have finally arrived. However there is a great deal of frustration in the poor communications we're experiencing with the people in the intensive care nursery. Let me explain.
Sat 12/8 5pm We arrive in Concord NH where Kathy is having contractions.
Sat 12/8 8pm Kathy is transported by ambulance to Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Lebanon NH.
Wed 12/12 11am The babies arrive.
Fri 12/14 10am We ask about having the babies moved to a hospital closer to home. The 3+ hour round trip to Dartmouth is getting old quickly. We are told that could happen on Monday.
Sat 12/15 4pm Kathy is discharged as a maternity patient however they allow Kathy to "room as guest" in the birthing pavilion. Since Kathy's accommodations are set I head home for the weekend with Nick.
Sat 12/15 9pm Kathy is told by a nurse in the ICN that there is an opening at David's House (similar to the Ronald McDonald Houses) and that she should move there because she maybe asked to leave the birthing pavilion. She told that if she doesn't take it immediately then it will go to someone else. This all takes place while breast feeding Anya and she is moved without being able to feed Zach.
Sat 12/15 10am I get the a phone call from Kathy who is crying and terrible upset about being moved away from the babies.
Sun 12/16 4am Nick & I hop in the truck for a ride to Lebanon to be with Kathy. A noreaster storm is coming through the area so we pack a bag just in case we need to stay.
Sun 12/16 8am After having breakfast together we decide it's best for us Kathy, Nick & I to head home to ride out the storm. We figure we'll be back to see the babies on Monday and hopefully take them home on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Sunday 12/16 12pm I check in on the kids and am told all is well. I also called Concord to find out the status of the transfer request. They tell me they have not received any request for a transfer.
Sunday 12/16 7pm I speak with the nurse who is caring for the kids. She said they are doing feeding well and both have had their IVs removed. I asked that she reiterate our desire to have the kids moved to Concord so they will be closer to home.
Monday 12/17 6am I call to check on the twins and again I'm told they did great through the night. No issues to report. I am also told we should know about the transfer request after 11am.
Mon 12/17 1pm The three of us head out on our family "vacation". The plan is to spend the day at the hospital with the babies then spend the night at a nearby hotel (with a pool!!). When the babies were born we were told they would spend a week to ten day in the ICN before they could go home. The criteria for discharge was the needed to breath on their own, maintain their body temp in an open bassinet, breast or bottle feed and have 7 straight days without any apnea. As the babies had met all these goals, except the apnea which they only needed 2 more days apnea free, we figured they would be coming home on Wednesday. The finish line was in sight.
Mon 12/17 2:30pm We are greeted by nurse Ratchet who asks us if this is the first time visiting the babies!!
Monday 12/17 3pm We are told by the discharge nurse that Concord cannot take the babies as they are full. Also she tells us that Zach had an episode of apnea on the 15th and Anya had an episode on the 16th, so the soonest they could go home would be next Sunday! WTF?
Tue 12/18 5am Kathy heads over to feed the kids. Nick sleeps in at the hotel while I sit at the desk venting my frustrations! I can't wait to have everyone safe and well at home.
Sat 12/8 5pm We arrive in Concord NH where Kathy is having contractions.
Sat 12/8 8pm Kathy is transported by ambulance to Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Lebanon NH.
Wed 12/12 11am The babies arrive.
Fri 12/14 10am We ask about having the babies moved to a hospital closer to home. The 3+ hour round trip to Dartmouth is getting old quickly. We are told that could happen on Monday.
Sat 12/15 4pm Kathy is discharged as a maternity patient however they allow Kathy to "room as guest" in the birthing pavilion. Since Kathy's accommodations are set I head home for the weekend with Nick.
Sat 12/15 9pm Kathy is told by a nurse in the ICN that there is an opening at David's House (similar to the Ronald McDonald Houses) and that she should move there because she maybe asked to leave the birthing pavilion. She told that if she doesn't take it immediately then it will go to someone else. This all takes place while breast feeding Anya and she is moved without being able to feed Zach.
Sat 12/15 10am I get the a phone call from Kathy who is crying and terrible upset about being moved away from the babies.
Sun 12/16 4am Nick & I hop in the truck for a ride to Lebanon to be with Kathy. A noreaster storm is coming through the area so we pack a bag just in case we need to stay.
Sun 12/16 8am After having breakfast together we decide it's best for us Kathy, Nick & I to head home to ride out the storm. We figure we'll be back to see the babies on Monday and hopefully take them home on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Sunday 12/16 12pm I check in on the kids and am told all is well. I also called Concord to find out the status of the transfer request. They tell me they have not received any request for a transfer.
Sunday 12/16 7pm I speak with the nurse who is caring for the kids. She said they are doing feeding well and both have had their IVs removed. I asked that she reiterate our desire to have the kids moved to Concord so they will be closer to home.
Monday 12/17 6am I call to check on the twins and again I'm told they did great through the night. No issues to report. I am also told we should know about the transfer request after 11am.
Mon 12/17 1pm The three of us head out on our family "vacation". The plan is to spend the day at the hospital with the babies then spend the night at a nearby hotel (with a pool!!). When the babies were born we were told they would spend a week to ten day in the ICN before they could go home. The criteria for discharge was the needed to breath on their own, maintain their body temp in an open bassinet, breast or bottle feed and have 7 straight days without any apnea. As the babies had met all these goals, except the apnea which they only needed 2 more days apnea free, we figured they would be coming home on Wednesday. The finish line was in sight.
Mon 12/17 2:30pm We are greeted by nurse Ratchet who asks us if this is the first time visiting the babies!!
Monday 12/17 3pm We are told by the discharge nurse that Concord cannot take the babies as they are full. Also she tells us that Zach had an episode of apnea on the 15th and Anya had an episode on the 16th, so the soonest they could go home would be next Sunday! WTF?
Tue 12/18 5am Kathy heads over to feed the kids. Nick sleeps in at the hotel while I sit at the desk venting my frustrations! I can't wait to have everyone safe and well at home.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
They're Here!!
Born today at 11:06am was Anya Eve Arenstam. She as 4lbs 8 oz and 16 1/2" long.
She was closely followed by her younger brother at 11:07am. Zachary Aiden Arenstam was 5lbs 5oz and 17 3/4" long
She was closely followed by her younger brother at 11:07am. Zachary Aiden Arenstam was 5lbs 5oz and 17 3/4" long
Today's the day!!
The doctors just checked Kathy and things are changing so they are scheduling the delivery for sometime today! Since the babies will be less than 35 weeks they will have to spent a period of time in the Intensive Care Nursery. Hopefully not too long.
Still no arrivals
I'm sitting in the hospital room here in Dartmouth on Wednesday at 6:30am and still no babies. Kathy is still having contractions but no change in the cervix, which is what they are waiting for.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Update
So now that I have some time here is an update on what's been happening.
The first sign that something maybe up was on Friday when Kathy said she had a feeling the babies would be coming this past weekend. The second sign was just after lunch on Saturday when Kathy was having contractions. She spoke with the doctor on call who suggested she wait two hours and to call back if the contractions continued. Well, three hours later the contractions were now 4 1/2 minutes apart and it was time for a ride to the hospital in Concord NH where the other boys were born and where we were planning the birth of these babies. Once at the hospital they found that Kathy was 3 cm dialated and still contracting. They decided to administer some steroids to help the babies development quicken and some other meds to slow down the contractions. They said that since the babies were less than 34 weeks (they were 33w, 6d, 18hrs at the time) they decided to move her to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center via ambulance. Dartmouth has the best Intensive Care Nursery in the state. We thought the babies would be coming late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
On Sunday it became clear that the meds to slow down the contractions were working well so they decided to do a second does of steroids and continued administering the meds to hold off the contractions. We were now thinking the babies might arrive late Sunday night or early Monday morning.
Well it is now Monday night and the babies are still in the belly. They have had 48 hours with the meds to help their development and the plan is to do the final dose of anti contraction medication (for lack of the real name) tonight at 10pm and then wait and see what happens. If the contractions stay away without medication then we just sit and wait. If strong contraction start again then they will go ahead with the c-section delivery.
btw..Dartmouth Hitchcock is where Aiden was airlifted to 16 months ago when we lost him. So it is bittersweet to be here again.
The first sign that something maybe up was on Friday when Kathy said she had a feeling the babies would be coming this past weekend. The second sign was just after lunch on Saturday when Kathy was having contractions. She spoke with the doctor on call who suggested she wait two hours and to call back if the contractions continued. Well, three hours later the contractions were now 4 1/2 minutes apart and it was time for a ride to the hospital in Concord NH where the other boys were born and where we were planning the birth of these babies. Once at the hospital they found that Kathy was 3 cm dialated and still contracting. They decided to administer some steroids to help the babies development quicken and some other meds to slow down the contractions. They said that since the babies were less than 34 weeks (they were 33w, 6d, 18hrs at the time) they decided to move her to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center via ambulance. Dartmouth has the best Intensive Care Nursery in the state. We thought the babies would be coming late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
On Sunday it became clear that the meds to slow down the contractions were working well so they decided to do a second does of steroids and continued administering the meds to hold off the contractions. We were now thinking the babies might arrive late Sunday night or early Monday morning.
Well it is now Monday night and the babies are still in the belly. They have had 48 hours with the meds to help their development and the plan is to do the final dose of anti contraction medication (for lack of the real name) tonight at 10pm and then wait and see what happens. If the contractions stay away without medication then we just sit and wait. If strong contraction start again then they will go ahead with the c-section delivery.
btw..Dartmouth Hitchcock is where Aiden was airlifted to 16 months ago when we lost him. So it is bittersweet to be here again.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
So things are a happening...
No babies yet, but we're getting close. I'll try to provide some details tomorrow. Below is a picture taken earlier today.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Coming down the home stretch
Well we're into December and the babies are at 33 weeks today. Generally twins show up around the 36-37 week. This is going to be one busy month. We have Nick's birthday on the 23rd, Christmas on the 25th and the newbies anytime now.
Two weeks ago we had a bit of a scare. I had just headed to work when my phone rang. It was Kathy calling to say that her water had just broke. A quick U turn and I was back at the house in no time. I called the doctors office while Kathy got some things together and got Nick dressed. The nurse I spoke with wanted us to come directly to their office in Concord, not far from the hospital where the babies will be delivered. During the ride down we realized that at 31 weeks things could be ok, but another 5 or 6 weeks would be better. So once we got to the doctors they took Kathy in to check on the babies. Heart beats of both babies were strong and things looked great as Kathy's water had not broken. It seems that the little girl was pushing on Mom's bladder and...well you can figure out the rest.
So we drove home realizing that even though we're planning on a late December delivery, these babies could decide to come at anything.
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