March 11, 2010 (Originally Sent)
Forgive me for sporadic updates. The last week has been crazy so I thought I would send out updates to everyone all at once. Sorry it is so long.
For those of you I might have missed the boys made their debuted last Thursday morning at 5:02 and 6:01. I was able to deliver everyone safe and sound and in just a few pushes with a nice hour of rest in between so that Daddy could run around taking pictures and video and generally gushing over how beautiful little Wolf is before Tyr (pronounced tier)arrived.
I also delivered (ok, it was removed, but we were in the delivery room) a cyst about the size of a golf ball. It came back as benign but not what the doctor originally thought it was. For those who were aware of this, thank you for the extra prayers. We will have some follow up checks and will need to watch in the future but it isn’t cancer.
Thor wasn’t too interested in the babies at the hospital but loved the truck that Grammy gave him and the hospital has wood floors so he was a happy boy. He did check out the babies a couple time and announced “Mommy’s babies” but they were not his. Friday we had a little party for Thor at the hospital to celebrate his second birthday. I believe Grammy even got the nurses to sing.
Dave got food poisoning at the hospital on Friday so he and Thor went home Friday night so Thor could sleep in his own bed and Dave could be home and sick instead of at the hospital. So the boys and I were on our own through the night and we had some mommy baby bonding time. The boys passed their car seat test and although their Billi Ruben numbers were high we were allowed to go home. They had lost the typical 8% of their body weight and no one was concerned. Tyr passed his hearing test however, Wolf only passed in his right ear. We go back next Thursday to retest. The doctor assured us that this was typical and not to be concerned. 37 weeks cramped and crowded and in fluid will tend to get gunk built up in your ears.
So home we went.
Bedstemore and Aunt Andrea and Uncle Paul came to visit right away and signed off on everyone, so they have the seal of approval from the Holst side of the family.
Apparently the sucking reflex is developed in week 37 and 38 and us being right at 37 weeks didn’t have it down real well. We started having issues as neither boy seemed real interested in eating. Dave and I struggled to get them to eat and did everything we could think of including bottle feeding breast milk, formula, massaging cheeks and feet and Daddy offered to buy them a car.
Grammy and Grampy came on Sunday to help for a few hours and Nana Sorenson came Monday.
Monday afternoon we had a follow up check at the doctor and the Billi Ruben (jaundice) numbers were VERY high. 13.4 Wolf and 12.6 Tyr and weights were down again. The doctor recommend not trying to get them to breast feed but give everything from a bottle so they didn’t have to work so hard. We talked about different ways babies burn calories and what we can do to keep them from burning any more. (no crying, no baths, extra bundled up, change clothes as little as possible) Dave and I went home and kept working with them to get them to put the weight back on.
Meanwhile Thor has become mega big brother. He runs and gets everything that he thinks they need, including his pacis for them. He sits between them and kisses them in the evening and worries about “my brothers” and what they need and what they are doing. He comes and peeks over the top of the bassinet at the babies in the morning. He has even started mimicking what he sees Dave and I do with the babies with his dinosaur stuffed animal he got for Christmas. It is too cute to see each of the boys in their little bouncy seat and Thor drag the car seat over and wrap up the dinosaur and put him in the seat so that all three are side by side by side. We also rock the dino and put him in the cradle when it is his turn to nap.
So Tuesday back to the doctor. Billi numbers are going down. The boys aren’t AS yellow but the weights are down more. At this point Dave and I are worried they are going back to the hospital and they would have to go to the general pediatrics wing not NICU or nursery. General pediatrics is full right now with RSV patients so we are worried that if they go we will be contracting that as well. The doctor gives us even more strict instruction on feeding and tells us to come back on Thursday to check again. Both boy’s feet are bruised from the amount of blood that has been taken in the last week.
Dave and I have been in lock down mode since Tuesday. Babies eating at least every 3 hours and it could take up to an hour to feed as Wolf just will not eat. We have been syringe feeding him 6 ML at a time special high calorie formula. Tyr on the regular formula and breast milk will at least take from the bottle. Thor was such a hearty eater right away we just measured everything in ounces. We have literally been feeding the boys out of the bottles that I carry my cream for my coffee to work in. It can take us all night to get Wolf to drink 2.5 ounces which is about the size of a Tupperware midget if you remember those. Tyr it could take 3 hours. But they are taking it and growing.
Grammy came and got Thor last night as pre-school started spring break this afternoon and we decided we needed to concentrate on eating. Grammy and Aunt Melisa have all sorts of things planned for today and tomorrow and Grampy has been reading to Thor out of his tractor magazines.
So back to the doctor we went this morning. Holding our breath at weigh in Wolf was up 4 oz and Tyr 6 oz. Tyr has started eating like there is no tomorrow in the last 12 hours and the doctor has OK’ed him starting to feed from the breast. Wolf decided he liked eating too and has been gobbling up both the high calorie formula and breast milk which he got by accident but seemed to kick in his taste buds and got him eating. Tyr has decided no formula for him. The doctor also OKed them getting baths this weekend. Their color was so good we didn’t even run the billi test today. They go back next week for their regular 2 week check up and we are praying that by then we are all back to birth weight although the doctor said as long as we are close she is happy with the progress we are making.
So we will finally celebrate Thor’s birthday this weekend and celebrate everyone being home and healthy and happy. Daddy even thinks he will go back to work next week. (Grammy and Kaitlan will be here during spring break.) Tonight we will sit down and figure out what other days we will need help and start taking people up on offers so I will be bugging you soon.
I am attaching a couple pictures of the boys. So you know Wolf is baby A and a complete Daddy’s boy (and looks just like Daddy) Tyr is baby B and the spitting image of big brother Thor. Thor’s is streaking at the doctor’s office. He loves taking his clothes off and running around yelling “I am naked!!” He got loose at the doctor and surprised everyone. (Thor got a glowing report from the doctor for his 2 year check up, by the way. Great iron levels and exceptional verbal skills. Boy likes to talk. Wonder where that came from.)
I am also attaching a link to some information on Tyr’s name as we have had a lot of questions about where it came from. It is one of the oldest Scandinavia gods and he even transcends into German mythology. http://www.timelessmyths.com/norse/aesir.html#Tyr
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