5/6

It is so hard to believe that the boys are 1 week old today. In a way,it seems like the fastest week ever, and at the same time I feel like I can replay every moment in slow motion.

William and Luke are such fighters; they are so strong we are sooo
proud of them. We have been blown away by the whole medical staff at
Presbyterian. They allow us to feel comfortable leaving our babies
there because we know they are in the best hands. The doctors
communicate so clearly with us, and the nurses are falling in love
with William and Luke. That's exactly what you want, and praise God.

The updates for today:

Luke- Cole got to hold Luke for the first time today!! I kept telling
him to say, "Luke, I...am...your...father.". But instead, he whispered
to him, and he held him with such confidence. Luke looked and felt so
safe, secure and in love. Luke is such a champion. His lungs are doing
great. The doctor told us we might, maybe, possibly (get the
picture...) get to take him off the CPAP breathing mask next week.
That would be incredible because he would be breathing totally on his
own. Plus, we would be able to see his whole face, with no mask and
no snowman hat. I can't wait!

William- Mr. William had a stressful day. Yet, the highlight of mine
(and I'm sure his) was I got to hold him in kangaroo care (skin to
skin). It was beautiful and I'm so glad I got to hold him. It brings
tears to my eyes even thinking about it. I sat with him for over an
hour and could have stayed all day.
William received his Picc line last night and we are thankful this
wasn't too traumatic to his veins. Thank you for praying for that.
Also, the doctors reviewed his ECHO of his heart and felt that his
heart was enlarging and working too hard. His left ventricle and
atrium were enlarged, and he needed intervention for his PDA (patent
ductus arteriosus) to close. He started indocin, a medication which
can close this valve. Please pray that this is successful. It is a
very tough medicine, it is hard on his little body and has the common
side effects of tearing intestines and decreasing his urine output. We
pray the medicine does what it is supposed to do, and that he only
needs one dose. I think you can have up to three doses, but obviously
that is scary. They will repeat an ECHO tomorrow to see if it is
working.

As I mentioned, both boys will get ultrasounds of their heads tomorrow
to look for brain bleeds. Although small brain bleeds can be harmless,
any size will be scary, and I know this would be defeating to Cole and
I. We pray they are clear of a bleed.

Thanks for everything. These boys are already proving to us that they
are so strong, and they are already teaching their mommy and daddy to
be strong as well and trust in our almighty God.

Xoxo
Me:)