Nate is coming home!!

So this is one of the days we have been waiting for! Nate will be coming home on Saturday or Sunday! They switched his formula today so they have to make sure that he is tolerating it and then he can come home! Hallelujah Praise the Lord!!!

Aiden is doing well. They took him off of oxygen today and he is tolerating it just fine. He is still not gaining weight and he is also not maintaining his temperature. They had to bring in a heat lamp to put over him to help with that.

I am not sure if I am going to be able to keep in contact too much the first few days because it is going to be a bit chaotic trying to figure out how to balance Aiden being at the hospital and Nate being home. But as soon as I can I will get new pictures out of him here at home tube wire and hospital free!

Wordless Wednesday

Transitioning to home

November 27, 2007

Aiden and Nate

The old RCNIC

New private room

Amie (one of the best nurses we have had) moving them to their private room

HEY there! The boys are doing great... so well in fact that they moved them into a private transitioning to home room today! So we have our own little private room where we can even stay the night and take a shower if we would like! Nate is coming home very soon! Starting today he is on cue feedings, so he gets fed every 3 hours, but if he wakes up and seems hungry before then they will feed him. In the nest few days they should be able to take his feeding tube out as long as he is gaining weight and taking his feeds just fine by bottle. Aiden has had some troubles trying to gain weight. They have upped his calories and we are hoping with not having any distractions since we are in a private room will also help his weight gain.

We are praying for poop again. Nate has been having problems with pooping. He was given a suppository in hopes of some return. They are going to also start him on prune juice to help with his stools. Poor little guy can't catch a break!.

SO we are closer and closer to coming home! I plan on taking the car seat in for Nate so we can do his car seat challenge (that is where he has to sit in his car seat for 20-30 min to make sure he can handle it). I also need to do my infant cpr and watch a few videos. One of my little men could be home by the end of next week maybe sooner!!!

Homeward Bound!

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great turkey day! Things are great at the Wilkinson/McLane/Clark house! Today they moved them into a regular crib! I got to feed both Aiden and Nathaniel from a bottle :) Nate is taking 4 of his feeds from a bottle and the rest will be in gavage feeds by gravity. (they put the feed in a small syringe and let it drip down his feeding tube) Aiden is now taking 1 feeding a day with a bottle, today being the first day, and the rest of his feeds are going to done with a pump that is hooked up to his feeding tube that will go over a half hour. They bumped up Aidens calories so he can gain some more weight since he is behind in his weight gain. Aiden weighs 3lbs 2oz (which is 1lb 4 oz more than when he was born) and Nate weighs 4lbs 1oz (which is almost 2 pounds more than when he was born). The Resident doctor told me today that as long as Nate does well on his feeds today and tomorrow that he will go to on cue feedings. That means when Nate wakes up and seems hungry, they will feed him, just like here at home. The doctor also said Nate will be home in 2 weeks or less! It is time to freak out! Aiden will be only a week or 2 after him. Their goal is to get them both home by Christmas. Exciting news! I will keep everyone updated and I will make sure I have some new pictures tomorrow!

Our Hollywood Debut

November 18, 2007
So the boys and I had our Hollywood debut today lol. Seriously though. There is a new reality television show coming out called Clash of the Choirs. It is going to be airing on NBC starting Dec 17-20 starting at 8pm. Basically they have picked 5 stars to go back to their home towns and start a choir. Michael Bolton, Patti LaBelle, Nick Lachey, Kelly Rowland and Blake Shelton. Since Nick grew up here in Cincinnati and his brother was a preemie I guess he felt moved by the work Children's Hospital does. I mean look at my boys and how well they are doing for kids who were not supposed to make it who wouldn't be moved by the work they do? Any who, the 5 choirs will compete against on another to win $250,000 to go toward each starts charity or cause. Nick picked Cincinnati Children's Hospital. The beds that our boys are in and most preemie babies start in is a Giraffe Omni Bed. They cost $45,000 a piece! So with having an over populated RCNIC sometimes, they can be in need of extra beds, so that is what Children's is going to us the money for if Nick wins! They needed a family to be filmed to not only show these beds but to show the good that these beds can do for preemie babies like Nathaniel and Aiden. So he asked me questions about what the hospital means to me and my family and what they have been able to do for us. Nick was on Aiden's side of the bed and I was on Nate's side of the bed while we talked about them and the struggles our family has been through since I was pregnant up until the obstacles they are over coming now. It was very emotional and Nick was a very nice guy and we talked about the boys and our family before and after shooting which was pretty cool. I am posting a picture with this, but you will have to watch the show and vote for Nick to win so that Children's can get this money to help out other preemie babies!!!! Plus you can see my beautiful boys!!

The boys are doing great! Aiden is going to be coming off of his oxygen by tomorrow and they have both been gaining weight pretty well. They now are just working towards taking their feeds over a shorter period of time and then eating from a bottle. The surgeon said Aiden will come home with his colostomy bag and will have his second surgery late January early February. I spoke to the resident doctor today at rounds and he said that the boys will be home the 2nd or 3rd week of December! CRAZY TALK! I am so happy for them to come home but scared at the same time! Please keep us in your prayers!

Exciting stuff here people

November 15, 2007
SOOOO..... Nate is no longer on oxygen and they are now sharing the same bed!!!! I have pictures here for everyone of Kyle and I holding them together. I got to hold them for about an hour and a half and I feel asleep twice lol. Kyle got to hold them for about an hour.

Amazing pictures, Amazing babies, Amazing news!

November 14, 2007
Today was another amazing day with the boys! So Nate is going to be off of the nasal canula by tomorrow! And tomorrow morning... they are going to co bed the boys!!!!! Finally they will be right back where they need to be!!! TOGETHER! I am so excited! God is truly amazing!

Erin visited with us today, and she took some wonderful pictures of the boys and I. True art.

Aiden is in the stripes and Nate is in the blue