Two 5-pounders (8 weeks, 1 day old)

Both boys have now reached 5 pounds! Quinn just hit 5 lbs 0 oz tonight, while Corbin is up to 5 lbs 4 oz. Everyone has decided that Quinn is gaining weight slower than Corbin because he typically gets less than Corbin when he eats, and he probably burns more energy with his manic eating tactics! No other big news tonight.

Mom and Dad are probably staying in the hospital both tomorrow and Thursday night due to Quinn's surgery, so this may be the last new posting until Friday night.

That being said, here are 3 pictures of the pair with their pumpkin hats back on, followed by a short video in which both little men managed to give a good 'bearing down' for the camera turning their faces red! Corbin is on the right in the first two pictures, and then he is on the left in the last picture and in the movie.

Two very different peas in a pod (8 weeks old)

Corbin and Quinn are still working on feedings. Corbin is very relaxed about the whole thing - he takes his time and usually does a nice job. In fact, he no longer uses oxygen when eating. Quinn, on the other hand, is very frantic. He roots like there is no tomorrow and needs to be paced so that he remembers to stop and catch his breath. He is still on oxygen when eating by mouth. There are times when he paces himself, but he needs to be watched closely. Both are doing a nice job for their age, they are just going at different rates. Each of the boys has his own personality, which comes through in how they approach feeding!

No pictures today - there will be more tomorrow!

Weight watchers (7 weeks, 6 days old)

Corbin and Quinn are still working on oral feedings. Not much else is new at this point. The head surgeon did take a peek at Quinn today, and said that yes the surgery is still on for Thursday AM, but he wasn't concerned by what he observed.

Today's measurements are...
Corbin: 5 lbs, 2 oz & 17-3/4" long
Quinn: 4 lbs, 15 oz & 17-1/2" long

Here are two pictures of Dad holding Corbin followed by two of Mom holding Quinn. Both boys were very content after their evening feedings!

Pumpkin heads (7 weeks, 5 days old)

Both boys made strides with bottle feedings today. Corbin has taken his entire feeding by bottle in 4 of his last 5 attempts! Quinn also took one whole feed by bottle last night! Today though, Quinn decided to make things difficult by planting his tongue on the roof of his mouth during his last two feeds. Mom and Dad and the nurses know what to watch for with him now, so it hopefully won't be a problem any longer.

Here are the two boys snoozing side by side after their evening feedings. Quinn's on the left side.

Got milk? (7 weeks, 4 days old)

Corbin and Quinn are both still doing well with nursing and bottle feedings. Corbin took his first whole feeding (32 mL's) from a bottle today! Quinn didn't do as well with the bottle, but did well with nursing.

The only change today is that the nurse discovered that Quinn has at least one, and possibly two, hernias. One of the surgeons verified it, and he is scheduled for surgery next Thursday. Mom and Dad are nervous about it, but it sounds like it's a routine procedure for male preemies. More details should be given early next week.

Still "parkin" in the big crib (7 weeks, 3 days old)

Today was another day that the boys worked on feedings and enjoyed each other's company in the same crib. Oral feedings are still every other feed (every 6 hours), and everything else is also still unchanged at this point. Hopefully Corbin and Quinn will continue to improve at the suck-swallow-breathe motions and reflexes.

Quinn is on the left, Corbin on the right.

Roommates (7 weeks, 2 days old)

The awesome nurses finally found a crib so Corbin and Quinn are now roommates! They are getting to co-bed and everyone is very excited. If either one has trouble with reflux on the flat bed, then they may have to be moved back to separate quarters - but hopefully all will be ok!

There was more feeding work done today. During the session with the feeding team, the boys worked on bottles again. At that time Corbin took 15 mL's and Quinn took 24 mL's! Tonight Corbin took 20 and Quinn took 10 mL's. Dad got to feed Quinn for the first time and was pretty pumped. The boys still have to wear oxygen when feeding but are beginning to pace themselves more. Like everything else it seems like a slow process, but is going well.

Here are pics of Corbin and Quinn bunking together for the first time!

Open-air exposure (7 weeks, 1 day old)

Corbin and Quinn are finally hanging out in open cribs! They're in separate cribs for now, but hopefully at some point a larger crib will become available for them to share. Mom and Dad enjoyed hearing all of the little squeaks and chatter that they constantly make.

Both little guys also improved on their bottle feeding trial today. Corbin took 19 mL's and Quinn took 10 mL's. Quinn is still having some breathing and heart rate spells (Corbin hardly has any spells anymore, knock on wood), which make Mom and Dad worry. The nurses keep reassuring them that it's "just a preemie thing" that he will grow out of sooner or later.

Pictures: Corbin, Quinn, then a group shot.

Title #50 (7 weeks old)

Today was yet another good day for the boys. They both did well on their feedings, and Quinn even started to show signs of pacing himself while during oral feeds for the first time. Mom is crashing at the hospital again because she will be getting up to nurse at 2 AM on Tuesday morning. Not really anything else changed today. The feeding team will be trying bottles with the boys again tomorrow.

For the promised photos, as they appear...Corbin showing some chest in the morning sunlight, Quinn content as can be with his binkie, Corbin stuck in a 'squatting' position as it became obvious that he is now way too long for his first outfit (!), and last but not least Quinn saying his prayers after a good feeding with Mom.

Sleepover (6 weeks, 6 days old)

Sunday night Mom and Dad both crashed in the parent room so that Mom could help out with feedings at 2 AM. Both boys had good days and are still working hard on oral feedings. Corbin is holding steady at 4 lbs 11 oz and Quinn is catching up at 4 lbs 9 oz.

Sorry, still no new pictures. Hopefully by tomorrow!

Same old song and dance (6 weeks, 5 days old)

Another good day for Corbin and Quinn. They each had 3 nursing attempts with Mom today and will have 4 tomorrow. Mom is spending the night at KUMed tomorrow night because of the timing of the feedings. As they keep progressing on bottle feeding and/or nursing, Mom (and Dad sometimes) will spend quite a few nights in a parent room for those late night and early morning feedings.

The nurses are starting to hint at the boys being ready to share an open crib, but the doctor would still like to wait until they're a little older. Mom and Dad are ready for that day to come (when the boys are ready, of course)!

More pictures tomorrow.

Workin' for the weekend (6 weeks, 4 days old)

Today was another decent day for the boys. They are now getting to work on breastfeeding 3 times a day. Corbin seems to be having fewer spells overall, but the number of spells Quinn is having isn't worrying the docs. They are also still both doing a good job keeping up their own temperatures.

Here's Corbin napping away and Quinn trying to get a handle on his pacifier.

Binkie time (6 weeks, 3 days old)

Corbin and Quinn had a fairly quiet day. Quinn didn't seem to have as much reflux today, and the doctors reassured Mom and Dad that it's nothing to worry about. The speech path suggested giving the boys some oxygen support while they work on oral feedings. This way they don't have to work as hard breathing while they're working on coordinating all movements for feeding. It worked well this afternoon.

Corbin is up to 4 lbs 9 oz and Quinn is up to 4 lbs 7 oz! From the pics below, it looks like both boys might end up liking their pacifiers - whether Mom and Dad like it or not!

Nausea, heartburn, indigestion... (6 weeks, 2 days old)

Today was a mixed bag. Both boys got taken off their caffeine, which is a good thing. Corbin had a pretty quiet day. He took 7 mL's by bottle with the speech path. Quinn seems to be having a lot of trouble with reflux. He has been dropping his heart rate and they believe it is because he is trying to swallow the reflux and not breathing consistently. The doctors said they would keep a close eye on him. Hopefully it is reflux and it gets better.

Here are a couple pics of each of the guys. Corbin seems to be out-growing his outfit and Quinn's actually seems to fit!

Group photo (6 weeks, 1 day old)

As of tonight, Corbin is weighing in at 4 lbs 7 oz, while Quinn is 4 lbs 5 oz. Corbin still seems to carry all of his extra ounces in his cheeks and Quinn is storing his around his midsection. They each took a few more ounces by bottle today. Their eyes were checked since it had been 2 weeks since the last checkup, and nothing new or abnormal was found. As usual in the NICU, no news is good news.

Here are Corbin and Quinn during their afternoon naps. For the group photo after their baths, Corbin was sawing logs and Quinn was about half awake.

Knock on wood (6 weeks old)

Corbin and Quinn continued to breathe without assistance today. They also did more practicing with eating by mouth. There is no other new news today - just more eating and growing. Mom forgot the camera again, but will be sure to remember it tomorrow.

Double double chins (5 weeks, 6 days old)

This morning the doctors removed the boys' nasal cannulas. They are keeping things close for the next 24 hours in case they need help breathing again, but the hope is that they'll both be breathing on their own from here on!

Corbin and Quinn both had extended periods (7 or 8 minutes) of sucking and swallowing while working on breastfeeding. Mom and Dad got to successfully burp the boys for the first time afterwards!

Here are pictures of Corbin and Quinn showing off their newly developed double chins. Corbin seems to be further along in the chubby cheeks area, though!

Heavyweights (5 weeks, 5 days old)

Today was (thankfully) another day with not much new news. Both boys had a little reflux and spitting up throughout the day, but nothing too major. The biggest news was that when they were weighed tonight, Corbin was 4 lbs 4 oz, and Quinn was 4 lbs 1 oz!!

Hopefully more pictures tomorrow...

Bottles up (5 weeks, 4 days old)

Today both little guys were able to take 3 mL's of food by bottle, with help from the speech pathologist. It's a slow process making sure that they breathe while eating, so the speech path controls how much milk they get from the bottle. Nonetheless, it's neat to see and a good start.

Everything else remains the same while they keep growing and getting stronger. Here's two pictures of Corbin followed by two of Quinn.

Chuggin' along (5 weeks, 3 days old)

More of the same today. More work on gearing up the feeding reflexes. Both little guys are still getting 32 mL's of food through their NG tubes every 3 hours. No changes were made today by the doctors.

Here's Corbin being snuggled by Mom, then Corbin wide awake after his bath. Next is Quinn sucking on his pacifier while Dad was holding him, and lastly is Quinn snoozing after the pacifier work.

Little men at work (5 weeks, 2 days old)

Corbin and Quinn continued to work on eating by mouth today. It was mainly more getting familiar with it and experimenting for them. They are making small gains with feeding and everyday there is something new that they are able to do. Corbin and Quinn, as always, amaze their Dad and Mom.

Quinn is also up to full feeds through his NG tube, which is 32 mL's (like Corbin). Dad and Mom and the nurses like to joke about how the boys are in competition with each other. There are no pics today...but will be more tomorrow.

Suck, swallow, breathe (5 weeks, 1 day old)

Corbin and Quinn continue to experiment with eating by mouth. Quinn took 1 mL by bottle today! Both boys began work on getting familiar with breastfeeding, too. They each did a great job. Their vitals (respiration rate, heart rate and oxygen saturation) all remained within normal limits during the trials, which is important. Just like with everything else, this will happen in baby steps but the boys had a good start.

The first and last picture are what each of the boys are known for in the NICU: Corbin for his crazy, fuzzy hair and Quinn for wiggling so much he managed to get himself halfway out of his clothes. The middle pics are the guys in their matching outfits (and neither were looking happy about it).

Clothes for all (5 weeks old)

Last night, Quinn was given the all clear to wear his first outfit. So now both little guys are working on keeping their temperatures up on their own in the isolettes.

Today the feeding team evaluated the boys. A speech-language pathologist worked with both of them to determine their readiness for bottle and/or breast feeding. Quinn showed off a little bit more than Corbin, but they both did a good job for their age. An oral stimulation program was given to help progress towards feeding. They're at the age when the suck-swallow-breathe reflex starts to develop and become coordinated.

Corbin is up to 3 lbs 13.5 oz and he is 17 inches long. Quinn is 3 lbs 9.5 oz and 16.5 inches long. Here's Quinn fully dressed, followed by Dad having quality time with both boys.

Keep on keepin' on (4 weeks, 6 days old)

Corbin is going strong at 32 mL's of food and Quinn moved up to 30 mL's today. As of Saturday night, Corbin was 3 lbs 10.5 oz and Quinn was 3 lbs 8 oz. Corbin is still holding his temperature while wearing clothes and being swaddled. Quinn's color looked better today since the blood transfusion yesterday.

Here's Corbin kangarooing with Mom and Quinn hanging out with Dad.