Update Monday 2/23

We went to the NICU around 10:30am when Dylan was at preschool. This was Jen's first time back since being discharged. I'm sure the boys were happy to hear Jen's voice. We met with the social worker that gave us a good overview of what to expect in general with premies - lots of two steps forward one step back. She also gave us a load of good reading. Then we met with the doctor and he gave us our semi-daily update...

• Jared is still on the oscillator - they had to turn the settings up a bit. They lowered his dopamine level from 10 to 8. This means his blood pressure is doing a bit better. Chest x-rays still cloudy. He's still being given the diuretic to get some of the fluid out of his body. They don't know when he'll be off the oscillator... could be days could be weeks. His infection was more severe than Blake's. They put some ear muffs over his ears so he's not so bothered by the sound of the oscillator... pretty cute - I should take a picture.
  
• Blake is doing a bit better. However, a chest x-ray revealed that the upper lobe of his right lung is collapsed. They started some drug that's the more dilute cousin of the drug they give people with asthma to get the crud out (technical term). By the end of the night the drug seemed to be somewhat effective.. they'll continue this till the condition resolves. The ventilator settings are coming down so he's doing more breathing on his own. He's also on the diuretic and so looks less bloated today. The nurse says that "he's doing pretty well... and should tell his brother Jared how its done." The nurses are cool.
  
• Both will need to get a peripheral arterial (???) put in... which is a quick way to draw blood for the numerous blood tests they both receive when monitoring there blood gases - they've been using an umbilical arterial but it gets all gross as the umbilical cord dries up... both are anemic and are getting blood transfusions... both need to start some feeding when they're 10 to 14 days old. Blake's getting some drops of Jen's milk in his mouth to stimulate enzymes and prime the gut (technical term). Jared needs to get off his oscillator before this can happen. Go Jared Go!
  
• There's a couple of other things but I need to start bringing a notepad to write down everything the doctors say - its a lot to take in. We're starting to get to know the different personalities of the doctors and nurses. Some love to talk... some can't tone down the jargon... some are more serious.
  

That's it for today.