lördag 21 januari 2012
On the up again :)
Emilia is doing so much better. She is sleeping and eating well and we have been able to take away her oxygen again; hopefully for good this time.
Us all sleeping downstairs as a family is also working out really well and in this phase of our babies lives, they are sleeping during the night and only waking up for feeds. I am not sure if it is because of our bedtime routine but whatever the reason we feel really lucky.
I feel like we are finally able to get to know our little Emilia, who seems to be thriving (I still don't dare to count those chickens!). I keep thinking back to the two weeks when my family were here visiting. I didn't get to document much of what was going on and I don't want to forget how it was. My Mum got up at 04.00 am everyday (my Dad did the same most of the days), which meant Jens could go to bed earlier and I could have a lie in. It felt great to know my babies were in the hands of people I trust as much as my own. It was a tough two weeks for Emilia and everyone involved as it was so clear that she was in pain. To sit with a baby who cannot relax and to hold her still while I had to re-tape her nasal cannula and put her feeding tube back in place, is not an easy thing to do, but as a family we all just got on with it and gave her everything we had. It seems to have worked :)
The twins got a pandora bracelet each from Grandma and Grandad Brown for Christmas. I know they are going to love collecting the charms and it will be something special for them to treasure forever.
We took the twins down to our local lake yesterday and it was so beautiful :) I sang a little song to them while they were in the hospital and a small part of it was:
So lets go out to the water's edge, where we can finally be alone.
It was a very special experience. :)
And now we are going to do something that feels a little bit naughty. It is snowing outside and for the past 2 months we haven't been able to light our fire. All the oxygen tubes are safely in our outside storage so to celebrate our beautiful family and Emilia's and Eva's fight for life we are going to light our fire!
HOORAY!
Us all sleeping downstairs as a family is also working out really well and in this phase of our babies lives, they are sleeping during the night and only waking up for feeds. I am not sure if it is because of our bedtime routine but whatever the reason we feel really lucky.
I feel like we are finally able to get to know our little Emilia, who seems to be thriving (I still don't dare to count those chickens!). I keep thinking back to the two weeks when my family were here visiting. I didn't get to document much of what was going on and I don't want to forget how it was. My Mum got up at 04.00 am everyday (my Dad did the same most of the days), which meant Jens could go to bed earlier and I could have a lie in. It felt great to know my babies were in the hands of people I trust as much as my own. It was a tough two weeks for Emilia and everyone involved as it was so clear that she was in pain. To sit with a baby who cannot relax and to hold her still while I had to re-tape her nasal cannula and put her feeding tube back in place, is not an easy thing to do, but as a family we all just got on with it and gave her everything we had. It seems to have worked :)
The twins got a pandora bracelet each from Grandma and Grandad Brown for Christmas. I know they are going to love collecting the charms and it will be something special for them to treasure forever.
We took the twins down to our local lake yesterday and it was so beautiful :) I sang a little song to them while they were in the hospital and a small part of it was:
So lets go out to the water's edge, where we can finally be alone.
And now we are going to do something that feels a little bit naughty. It is snowing outside and for the past 2 months we haven't been able to light our fire. All the oxygen tubes are safely in our outside storage so to celebrate our beautiful family and Emilia's and Eva's fight for life we are going to light our fire!
HOORAY!
tisdag 17 januari 2012
2 steps forward, 1 step back.
We have been forced to re-connect Emilia's oxygen :( She got so tired and would not eat anything at her bedtime feed last night. Then again in the night it took a long time to get her to eat only 75ml and this morning she only ate 30ml. So I called the neonatal ward and was ready to take her in to get her another feeding tube. The night shift was just ending and they asked me to call back in half an hour. During this time Emilia woke up and starting crying for food and subsequently ate 70ml. Since then she has eaten a full 100ml feed.
In the past, when she hasn't eaten properly, she has actively refused food, but this was something different. She was too tired to eat. She had been on the borderline with her oxygen saturation and this is the only reason we can think of as to why she was unable to eat. We have learnt a valuable lesson. The next time we test her without oxygen we will not hesitate to re-connect it. Emilia putting on weight and having the strength to eat is the most important thing. It is easy to loose sight of that when we see her without her nasal cannula. We just want her to be able to be like every other baby, not restricted by an oxygen tube that has to follow her around everywhere.
On a more positive note, we all slept down in the basement, as a family for the first time. The twins were each in their own bed, in their own rooms. We have started with a bedtime routine and they both slept really well, as did we. It just felt so right being in their little frog room :)
In the past, when she hasn't eaten properly, she has actively refused food, but this was something different. She was too tired to eat. She had been on the borderline with her oxygen saturation and this is the only reason we can think of as to why she was unable to eat. We have learnt a valuable lesson. The next time we test her without oxygen we will not hesitate to re-connect it. Emilia putting on weight and having the strength to eat is the most important thing. It is easy to loose sight of that when we see her without her nasal cannula. We just want her to be able to be like every other baby, not restricted by an oxygen tube that has to follow her around everywhere.
On a more positive note, we all slept down in the basement, as a family for the first time. The twins were each in their own bed, in their own rooms. We have started with a bedtime routine and they both slept really well, as did we. It just felt so right being in their little frog room :)
måndag 16 januari 2012
Is Jens psychic?
Emilia got the all clear on her hips :) Hooray!
She is still eating well, without extra oxygen. Looks like Daddy Lindqvist is a bit of a psychic.
She is still eating well, without extra oxygen. Looks like Daddy Lindqvist is a bit of a psychic.
söndag 15 januari 2012
Still good :)
Emilia had a bit of a tough night but today has been really great again. We have been able to take away her oxygen and we had to take away her feeding tube as it started to come out. We have not needed to use it anyway for the last 13 feeds so I hope it all keeps going so well. If not, all we need to do is go to the neonatal ward and they will sort another one. She is sleeping really deeply and after every feed she is active for a little while but then goes really calm and wants to sleep. It feels like her body is finally trying to heal itself. Sleep, after all, is the best medicine :)
I feel a little bit anxious about tomorrow, we want the all clear on her hips so much. Jens said by the 16th her feeding tube and oxygen would be gone and her hips will be good. Are his predictions going to be correct?
I feel a little bit anxious about tomorrow, we want the all clear on her hips so much. Jens said by the 16th her feeding tube and oxygen would be gone and her hips will be good. Are his predictions going to be correct?
lördag 14 januari 2012
Things seem to be looking up
We have not needed to use Emilia's feeding tube for her last 6 feeds :) We are now using a different bottle and it seems to be working much better. She has also been a lot calmer and has had good quality sleeps during the day. I feel so relieved :) :)
Here is a picture of Eva cuddling Leicester the second:
Here is Eva sitting up on the sofa with Daddy:
Here is a picture of Eva cuddling Leicester the second:
Here is Eva sitting up on the sofa with Daddy:
torsdag 12 januari 2012
Toni has left
I just took my sister to the airport after her lovely two week visit and I am devastated. The past weeks have been non-stop baby action, interjected with stolen moments of joke sharing and catching up. I cannot believe it is all over and that I have no idea when I will see her again :( Why do I live in Sweden and her in USA, what were we thinking?
Getting to know my giant niece (hehe) has been very special. I have been showered with smiles, drowned in her teething drool and watched her learn to clap her hands. I fell in love with her instantly and it has just got stronger and stronger. I know I should feel happy that I got to meet her but right now all I can think about is how much I am going to miss her.
Eva is now over 5kg and is doing great. Both the twins have had colds and it affected Eva quite badly to the point where I took her to the hospital. She has made a full recovery! She has started to smile a lot more and Jens saw her laugh this morning. My little Eva is adorable.
Emilia is doing OK. We were forced to get her another feeding tube as she wasn't putting on enough weight and feeding her was really tough and stressful. She has also needed oxygen again and when she had her cough and cold she needed quite a lot. On one of the days her cough was a lot worse so I had to take her to the Dr's. She is now being sick a lot more too and at times just cannot seem to relax. It breaks my heart to see her like that. It really has been non-stop and it is very difficult for me to see light at the end of the tunnel.
I am taking her to the hospital this afternoon to get her feeding tube re-taped and then she is having an appointment with a lung specialist. It is a routine thing for all babies with extra oxygen. She is getting her hips checked on Monday and we are hoping so much for an all clear. Her hip brace just makes caring for her even more stressful for her and us.
Getting to know my giant niece (hehe) has been very special. I have been showered with smiles, drowned in her teething drool and watched her learn to clap her hands. I fell in love with her instantly and it has just got stronger and stronger. I know I should feel happy that I got to meet her but right now all I can think about is how much I am going to miss her.
Eva is now over 5kg and is doing great. Both the twins have had colds and it affected Eva quite badly to the point where I took her to the hospital. She has made a full recovery! She has started to smile a lot more and Jens saw her laugh this morning. My little Eva is adorable.
Emilia is doing OK. We were forced to get her another feeding tube as she wasn't putting on enough weight and feeding her was really tough and stressful. She has also needed oxygen again and when she had her cough and cold she needed quite a lot. On one of the days her cough was a lot worse so I had to take her to the Dr's. She is now being sick a lot more too and at times just cannot seem to relax. It breaks my heart to see her like that. It really has been non-stop and it is very difficult for me to see light at the end of the tunnel.
I am taking her to the hospital this afternoon to get her feeding tube re-taped and then she is having an appointment with a lung specialist. It is a routine thing for all babies with extra oxygen. She is getting her hips checked on Monday and we are hoping so much for an all clear. Her hip brace just makes caring for her even more stressful for her and us.
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