a guy and a bee

For those of you used to our blog, we are taking a turn . . .

The twins arrived on Thursday, July 2, 2015 – at 36 weeks and 3 days.  They had been doing well up until Thursday, but at a routine pre-natal appointment, the doctor had significant concern for aggressive onset pre-eclampsia, kidney issues, and concern for the twins movement (they were very much out of space).  BP was sent to the hospital for testing and it was decided quite quickly that it was time to get the twins out.

Baby A (BBA) arrived at 2:53pm weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce and measuring 18.5 inches long.  Baby B (BBB) followed at 2:54pm weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces and measuring 18 inches long.  There was immediate concern for BBA due to several factors including muconium in his lungs impeding his ability to breath, exceedingly high blood pressure, and undocumentably low blood sugar.  BBB initially appeared to be ok, but his blood sugar quickly dropped.  Both were taken to the NICU.

BBA was transferred to John’s Hopkins NICU at 4:00am on Friday when it was determined that his health needed additional specialty care.  BBB remained (and remains) at Howard County General Hospital’s NICU for care.

Now to individual updates on what has happened with each since Friday . . .

BBA: On Friday, BBA was placed on a ventilator at 100% oxygen (normal is 21%), his blood sugar continued to be astronomically low, his blood pressure was too high, he was retaining all liquids (and not excreting), and his platelet level was very low.  He received a feeding tube to begin to provide nutrients.  Over the course of the next four days (Friday through Monday), he had many steps forward and back, but he was taken off the ventilator and breathing tube, which was inserted when the ventilator was off, the feeding tube was removed, his blood sugar was remaining more stable, and he was excreting which was significantly reducing the amount of fluid on his person.  He, therefore, was using less energy to breathe and his blood pressure was going down, signaling less stress on his heart.  He was still receiving platelets and they were repeating his eccocardiogram to reassess concern for his right ventricle.  He will remain in the NICU until he can come off of all of the machines and eat consistently; he could potentially start taking “real food” by the end of the week.

BBB: While seemingly fine at birth, shortly after BBB’s blood sugar also plummeted, granting him a direct pass to the NICU as well (and a look at his brother).  BBB has had a difficult time keeping his blood sugar up and consistent and as a direct result, cannot maintain his body temperature – he is using so much energy on blood sugar issues that his temperature keeps dropping.  He was placed on an IV and after two attempts to wean him off of it over the next four days, as of Monday he was IV free and being tested to see if he could maintain a consistent body temperature and blood sugar level while in an isolette for 12 hours before being moved to a crib.  He will need to stay in the crib in open air for 24-36 hours without any dips in blood sugar or temperature before consideration of discharge (so not before Wednesday).

We want to thank everyone for all of their support and offers to help.  We are doing ok now – just trying to spend time with the boys and @littlepund who is a bit confused by all of this.  We will keep everyone updated via our blog and let you all know how you can help.  Generally we are spending mornings with BBA, afternoons with BBB, and evenings with @littlepund.  We will post updates throughout the day as we get them.

Thank you.
ZP, BP, @littlepund, BBA, and BBB