12 Weeks Old

Cade smiling while Nanny is holding him. Maybe he just had gas, but it looks like a smile to me!

Cade showing us how big he is. He is in a newborn sleeper instead of a preemie one. Notice how the sleeves are rolled up though and his feet only reach just past the knees of the sleeper.

Cade holding Daddy's finger at just a few days old above, and Cade holding Daddy's finger at 12 weeks old below.

Camdyn sleeping so sweetly. She just got rid of those tubes in her mouth when she was moved to 2 liters on the cannula. I think she is going to be so much happier without those in her mouth.

Brenna looking into Cade's crib. He was looking at her too. So cute!

Brenna helping take Cade's temperature.

This was supposed to be a cute picture of my 3 kiddos, but it didn't really work out. I thought it was too funny, so I had to post it. Camdyn is sticking out her tongue, Cade is looking off to the side, and Brenna has a fake smile. I think this may be an indication of what is to come. I hope they will all cooperate for a picture at some point.


Update -

Both Camdyn and Cade are doing remarkably well. We are so thrilled with all the progress they have made. They prove to me every day how strong they are. They are both in the low 20s on oxygen. Tonight when we visited, they were both on 21%! (That's the best you can be; it's what we breathe.) Cade has been lowered to 1 liter on his nasal cannula, and Camdyn has been lowered to 2 liters on hers.

At 2 liters, she was able to get rid of the feeding tube and vent tube in her mouth. They both now have the feeding tubes in their nose which sounds really bad, but it is actually much more comfortable for them. This also allows them to breastfeed/bottle feed. Cade is doing better with breast and bottle feeding. He now gets 2 bottles per day and breastfed once a day. He is still not taking all of the bottles, so he will not be given more bottle feeds until he does. The rest of his feeds are given through the tube. Camdyn will not be able to start breast and bottle feeding until she is back to bolus feeds (feedings at interval times). Right now she is on continuous feeds. She was put back on continuous feeds after having the big brady/apnea episode. They don't want to stress her tummy. She really needs to grow and get stronger before they will put her back on bolus feeds.

Cade now weighs 5 lbs. 3 oz, and Camdyn weighs 3 lbs. 10 oz. When they stopped her feeds and put her on the IV as a precaution for a possible infection, that really set her back on gaining weight. Luckily, she did not have an infection, but they had to work their way back up to full feeds with her. Even though it was hard to see her not gaining weight, I know that the doctors know what's best. She is now getting breast milk with 24 calorie formula added to help her gain weight. Cade is on a 22 calorie formula added to the breast milk. Camdyn is still not in an open crib. They have to be 4 lbs and able to maintain their temperature to get moved to an open crib. So, that is her next goal.

Our babies are almost into the "feeder/grower" category of NICU babies. That is actually what they call the babies who no longer need ventilators, CPAP, or high flow cannulas. They can still be on a low flow or low oxygen. These are the babies who just need to learn to take all their feeds by breast or bottle and grow. Cade is pretty much a "feeder/grower", but Camdyn is not quite there yet. Doesn't "feeder/grower" sound like raising livestock? Although it sounds terrible, it is a title we will gladly take!