A better day

Despite the struggles of last night, Kate and I were both able to get some sleep.  Kate woke up every three hours to pump, but I slept through at least one of those, which was nice.  We woke up and called for an update on the boys and heard that they had a good night.  The doctors and nurses made a couple of adjustments to their vent settings, but it was a pretty quiet night.  Kate and I ran a few errands this morning.  Kate cannot drive for a few weeks because of the C-section, so I got to chauffeur her to Target to purchase some "nursing mom" specific apparel.  It was a great experience for me and I was able to explore some departments at Target that I didn't even know existed.  We got Kate one of those super cool motorized carts to get around in, and I was really jealous.  I have driven them before, but she had a legitimate medical reason for using it, so she was able to drive around guilt free.  I think the doctors need to change their limitations to specifically preclude women recovering from C-sections from driving motorized carts.  That girl about brought that store down.  I could not stop laughing.  She was looking for some more comfortable clothes to wear around the house and hospital, and she would be cruising along, see something she liked, hit the brakes, throw it in reverse, decide she didn't like it after all, and continue to the next rack of clothes.  So many people were staring at us because I was wiping happy tears out of my eyes while she was yelling at me to stop laughing because it was making her laugh, and that hurts her abdominal muscles which are very tender right now.  With out a doubt the most fun I have had at Target ever.

We came home from running errands and headed out to the hospital.  We got an update from Max's nurse that he was having a good day.  The doctors have decided to back down the frequency of his blood gas draws, so that is a good sign.  They did say that he was having a little more "stuff" leftover in his stomach after they feed him the breast milk.  They said this is very typical but might mean they need to hold off on future feedings for a little bit.  The amount they are giving both boys is so small and they call it "gut priming" and is not proving really any nutrition, but just getting the digestive system off to a running start.  Wes apparently got a little bug up his rear late in the morning and decided he didn't need any help from the ventilator to breathe, so he just dislodged his vent tube.  This is the second time he has done this and he often sleeps holding on to the tube like he is trying to suck his thumb, but this time he pulled it out far enough that they had to re-intubate him with a new tube.  This apparently caused quite a stir and required a large number of nurses and doctors to get the tube placed back correctly.  His nurse Cathy (who is a wonderful lady and a great nurse) said that after all of this stimulation and commotion, he opened his eyes and glared at her.  You might remember that we had been hoping that Wes would have a BM because he had been fed for almost 48 hours with no dirty diaper.  He had one.  Nurse Cathy had never seen anything like it.  She said that a normal BM for a kid his size is 2-4 (can't remember the unit of measurement they use), and Wes' registered on the Richter scale at an Earth shattering 14!! That is 3.5 times the normal amount.  I washed my hands up and gave him a little high-five...he makes his dad so proud!!  Cathy said it was everywhere and just another way he was "getting back" at her for not letting him breathe by himself.  

Kate and I continue to struggle with the physical distance between us and the boys, but we really enjoyed sitting at their bedside for a few hours today.  We want to say thank-you to everyone who has gone out of their way to help us.  We are just so overwhelmed.  We have received so many thoughtful cards and gifts that we don't even know where to start.  So I am going to use this blog to say thanks.  Thank-you to all of our neighbors in Esker Creek (yeah Drenthe!!) for the gas cards...such a thoughtful and generous gift.  Thank-you to our small group from Haven CRC for all the things you have done for us, the gift cards, the nursing supplies (at least I think that is what they are), etc.  To the person or group of persons who edged our landscaping an laid down all new bark.  To the food fairies that anonymously dropped of a fridge and freezer full of food (my parents were kind enough to offer to do some grocery shopping and ended up taking most of it home when they got here because there wasn't any room!!).  To the Commercial lending group at Macatawa Bank for the generous gift and thoughtful card, as well as the card we received from the retail group too...what a blessing to work for such a great organization.  These things all mean so much - thank-you so much.  Kate and I have begun to pray that we will be able to graciously receive these gifts and use them to further glorify the name of God.   As we have been blessed by so many people, people we do not even know, we too hope that we can be a blessing to others.  Last but certainly not least, a HUGE thank-you to everyone who has offered up prayers on behalf of myself, Kate, and especially Max and Wes.  The road ahead is long, but with the support of our family and friends, we are prepared to walk the path to the glory of our Father in Heaven.

As an aside, you may notice that I have elected to add some advertisements to this blog.  My entrepreneurial spirit just couldn't resist.  I will report my findings to those of you that may be interested in how this whole Google AdSense thing works, and for the rest of you, I hope it does not provide too large a distraction.