Happy Halloween from The Slade Family

Well I had hoped that they babies would still be in my tummy for this Halloween, but since they came early we celebrated by dressing them up in cute little pumpkin onesies with matching pumpkin hats, that their Aunt Lisa gave them.

Caleb has the funniest faces in some of his pictures. In most of his pictures he looks like a cute little baby, but there are some where he looks like an old man. In this one he reminds me of my Grandpa Hacking. Ha.


Owen was wiggling all over the place, so we just decided to go with it. He is doing the Monster Mash. :-)



My Doctor got the results back from the lab on whether the boys are fraternal or identical. And the results are... They are fraternal. We didn't care either way, but it is interesting to know and now when people ask I can tell them.


Here is the update for today.
They are both doing well, but they both have a few things they need to work on.
Caleb needs to learn to keep himself warm, gain weight and keep eating well. We hope that the more weight he gains the easier it will be to keep his body temperature. As I’ve said before, he eats like a champ, so hopefully it won’t take too long to gain the weight. Today he weighed 4 lbs 8 oz, so he is only 2 oz away from being at his birth weight.
Owen needs to learn to eat better, gain weight, continue to keep himself warm and continue to breathe on his own. They took him out of his warming bed again on Thursday and this time he has been able to keep his body temperature up. He hasn’t had to go back in the warming bed, so we hope that is the last of that. He has also been off oxygen for the last couple of days and again we hope that he is done with that for the rest of his hospital stay. He isn’t as good of an eater as his brother, so that will be what we work on with him.
Besides that they are doing fine. They are still on track to get out sooner rather than later. Next week is best case scenario and two weeks from now is the more realistic scenario. We hope they work hard and grow big and strong because the sooner the better for us.


Caleb sleeping.


Owen awake.

The Boys are 1 week old today

The update for today was that I was able to take a nap. :-) But seriously it felt so good.

Caleb is doing good. He had to be put under the bili lights for his jaundice, but the Dr. thinks he should only have to have them for a day or two. He weighed 4 lbs 7 oz, so he is slowly making his way back to his birth weight. He still has a feeding tube and an IV, hopefully like Owen he will get the IV removed soon. He is such a good eater and is always awake and alert during his feedings. It is fun to interact with him and watch him as he looks around at his surroundings. He is also a wiggle worm. When he wakes up right before his feedings, he loves moving his legs and arms all around.

Owen had to go back on oxygen. He forgets to breath when he is in a deep sleep, so they decided he needed a little more time on the oxygen. He also had to go back and sleep in his warming bed. He just couldn't keep his body temperature up. He's stable though, so we are happy about that. After I feed him, he likes to fall asleep on my chest. He always tilts his head to the side and sleeps with his mouth open. It is really cute.

Both of the boys are calm and mellow, neither of them cry much. I hope this continues once we get them home. :-)


Caleb with Dad

Slade Boys Update

Caleb: 6 Days Old


Owen


We finally got the results back for Caleb on the Hemophilia. His doctor said that his factor level came back in the normal range, it was 126 and we've been told that any level between 56 and 191 are normal. He has been doing so well and didn't have any bruising or problems with all the tubes and wires they have put in/on him, that we figured he didn't have hemophilia, but it was nice to get the reassurance. He has also been eating like a champ, today he was alert and awake during all the feedings I gave him. I'll have to tell him to give some tips to his brother. :-) He is in an isolette because he can't seem to keep his body temperature up, but that will come with a little more growth. They checked his bilirubin levels today and they are a little high, but they decided to hold off on putting him under the lights and are going to check his levels again tomorrow.

Today when we went to visit Owen they were planning on removing his IV later that day, but they ended up doing it while we were there because he was doing so well. This is great because 1. it means he is improving and 2. it will be much easier to love him without that tube getting in the way. They also plan on taking him out of his warmer bed and putting him in a normal crib (no more naked baby, he gets big boy clothes). They will monitor him tonight to see if he can keep his body temperature up.

Mike and I are doing well. My dad is out of town this week, so we decided to stay at his house for the week, since it is closer to both hospitals. Mike went back to work today. We decided that it would be best if he went back to work for the week or two while our boys are in the hospital and then take the time off when they come home. He works about 5 minutes from the IMC, which is great, because he will be able to visit Owen every day. Today during his lunch he came over while I was there and we were able to spend some time together feeding and loving Owen.

My schedule has been a little crazy and I'm sure it will stay that way until these boys are home and then it will probably only get worse. However I think I'm adjusting pretty well. I spend the first half of the morning at Alta View with Caleb feeding him and giving him lots of love and then I head over to IMC around 10:30 where I do the same with Owen, until mid-afternoon. Then it is back over to Alta View for some more Caleb time and then home for a little rest. Around 9:00 we head up to Alta View for one last visit with Caleb so that Mike can see him. It is a crazy schedule but we love these guys and are having so much fun having them in our family that we can't seem to stay away. :-)

Update on the Boys

Owen

I was discharged from the hospital Saturday morning, but Mike and I decided to use the “hotel stay” and spend another two nights here. We figured it would be easier then driving all over the valley to see our babies. This way we could be with Caleb at Alta View and then go and visit Owen at IMC.

I am so grateful to Mike and the help he has given me while I’ve been in the hospital. He has stayed with me every day and night and I love it that we can share this experience together and that he is here for me and the boys. He gets up in the middle of the night to help with anything I might need, he is willing to go run errands for me and he is super cute with the boys and I can tell he loves them a lot.

Here is an update on both of our little boys.

Caleb: He is doing well and we are happy that he is at this hospital where we can just walk down the hall to the nursery and hold him and feed him. He still has an IV and they are monitoring his body temperature, heart rate and oxygen intake. He has lost some weight. His birth weight was 4 lbs 10 oz and he is now down to 4 lbs 5 oz. However, I’ve been told it is normal for babies to lose some weight after birth.
He was eating well when we first started feeding him but yesterday and today, he has taken a few steps backwards. The nurses held off on giving him a feeding tube as long as they felt they could, but he has been getting so tired while eating that they had to make it a bit easier for him temporarily, so they gave him a feeding tube. We had hoped that Caleb would have kept eating because when they have to give a baby a feeding tube the baby automatically has to stay at least another 48 hours in the hospital. The reason being is because once they take the tube out they will have to monitor the baby for another 48 hours to make sure he is eating right.
Caleb is a sweet boy and we love it when he is awake and we can look into his big, bright eyes. He likes to wiggle and move his arms and legs a lot. He likes to fall asleep when I’m feeding him, so if anyone has any tips on how to keep a baby awake during feedings, please send them my way.

Owen: He is doing a lot better. Saturday when we went to visit him, he was off the CPAP machine and on oxygen. Today, when we went to see him, he was off oxygen, so that means he was breathing on his own. He is on a feeding tube, but the nurse told us I could try breast feeding him. I got him to latch on, but he fell asleep within two minutes. Oh well, I was able to hold him the rest of the time and he just slept in my arms. It was so nice to hold him.
At birth Owen weighed 5 lbs 11 oz and he is now weighing 4 lbs 12 oz. He got as low as 4 lbs 9 oz. This little guy had a tough couple of days at the beginning, but he is starting to make a great turn around.


Caleb

Owen and Caleb Update Part 3

We figured it would be time for another update because we know you have all been waiting on the edges of your seats about our two adorable babies.
First again Sue is recovering nicely she has been super mobile and gaining strength by the hour. Her doctor is planning on having her released upon the world again on Saturday afternoon.
As for the boys we have been putting things in a positive light, mainly because they are stable. However, they are still very young in development standards. A typical baby is born at 40 weeks and these guys were born at 35 weeks so they have some catching up to do. With that in mind there are no major problems, but it is expected that they will both be in their respective hospitals for a week or two.
We’ll start with Owen this time, he is still at the NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit) at IMC and as we have been told by his team the average baby in his state will stay at the NICU for about 3 weeks. We visited him yesterday afternoon and he was kind of struggling on the CPAP (assisted breathing) machine so the nurses and doctors were keeping an eye on him to see if he would stabilize or if they needed to move him to a ventilator (full breathing machine). Eventually they made the decision to administer a type of medication called surfactant, this type of medication allows the lungs to become lubricated. In Owen’s case his lungs were sticky and he basically had to exert himself just to push his bad air out as well as breathing in. So this medicine helped to keep his lungs open to circulate the air better. As a result he is once again back off the ventilator and back on the CPAP with hopes of going onto enriched oxygen later tonight (no more machines breathing for him). Also with the help of the kind nurses Sue was able to finally hold him for about 20 minutes even with all his hoses, tubes and wires. Long story short he is improving slowly but surely.
With Caleb even though he is medically stable and has eaten a few times, he will probably stay at least for a week. With that said he has been such a good eater. His tummy is starting to get out of womb phase and into baby phase. Sue has fed him now 4 times.
As a side note in regards to their blood tests, most of you know that Sue is a carrier for hemophilia. As such the hospitals have been very gentle with both boys until they have firm results on whether or not they are hemophiliacs themselves. It looks good for Caleb because he has already had blood drawn twice and it has clotted both times before it made it to the labs. He had another sample drawn today that should finally give us an official result. Owen’s blood however has been tested and has come back with a clotting factor percentage of 39 which is an extremely mild case of hemophilia (normal clotting percentages for most people range from 65 to 100).


Dad, Mom and Baby Owen

Baby Slade News: Part Two

Caleb is still doing well, but Owen had to be taken to the NICU at Intermountain Medical Center.

Here is an update:
First, the momma - Sue is recovering from her operation the doctor has already taken her off of her IV and other tubes and wires. In addition to that, she has been up and about walking. It looks like her great pregnancy is carrying through to a great recovery.

Second, the second born (Caleb Stephen Slade) - It looks like all the abuse that he took in the womb making him the smaller baby has ended up turning him into the stronger fighter. Caleb has been breathing room air unassisted since yesterday (not a small feat for a 35 week old baby.) more importantly the nursery nurses have given him a full evaluation to test his reflexes, heart, respiratory and oxygen levels and all came back good. But more surprising than anything else, being a pre-mature baby is usually synonymous with being a picky eater, not in Caleb's case he has already had two feedings once taking 17 ml and then polishing off a 20ml bottle. All signs are pointing to a good baby here.

Third and definitely not least, the first born (Owen Michael Slade) - Owen has already had quite the adventure he has already been on his first ambulance ride, his first CT scan and his first X-ray. This has all been to his benefit, the x-ray showed his lungs needed a bit more development so he needed to get transferred to the IMC in Murray where they have a bit more technology. In order to transport him they had to sedate him first so he wouldn't tire himself out just trying to breath during the ambulance ride. When he got to the IMC they were worried about the shakes that he had as a side-effect of the sedative, so they decided to give him a run through the CT scan. But it all ended up fine no head trauma and now he is on a ventilator getting a bit of help breathing but everything else seems good such as his reflexes, heart rate and respiratory rate. We are planning on visiting him tomorrow and as soon as we know more we will let you know.

Again we appreciate all the love and prayers that everyone has given us and we will do our best to keep you up to date.

Love,

Mike, Sue and babies two


Owen and Dad


Caleb and Mom

Baby Slade's have arrived!

Sue's water broke at 4:30AM this morning. At 6:00AM she and Mike arrived at the hospital and were admitted and monitored till around 8:00AM. She was having major contractions and at 8:15AM she went into the operating room. She delivered c-section because one baby was feet first and the other was sideways. Once Owen made his appearance at 8:53AM Mike passed out as well as a nurse. At 8:55 Caleb was born. Both babies are doing ok. They still considered premature, so they are going to keep an eye on them for the time being. They were born at 35 weeks and Owen is 5lb 11oz and 19 inches long and Caleb is 4lb 10oz and 18 inches long. Both Sue and Mike are doing great and so excited for this new adventure.
35 Weeks

Owen

Caleb

Maternity Pictures (Very Cheesy)

Ok you've been warned. These are very cheesy, but what the heck it's my blog, so I can post them. I wanted a few maternity pictures to remember my tummy by, but I didn't want to pay to get them done, so I had my sister, Mariah, take some for me. I thought she did a pretty good job. Here are a few of my favorites.

33 Weeks

Here is what I look like at 33 weeks. If all goes well I have about 4-5 weeks left. I talked to my Doctor and he said that all looks well. We'll keep you posted if anything changes.

Beesley Family Shower

As you can tell, I've been busy with lots of baby showers. I've been "showered" with lots of great gifts.

This is a picture of all the pregnant Beesley Girls at the moment. (Well, Tori just had her baby a month ago, so we still let her be in the picture. :-)


From R to L: Tori & Sadie, Angie, Me, Jenn (all due in November), Heather (due in February) and Alicia (Due in March.)