Latest updates

James has discovered the sailboats on his blanket and is making daddy very proud.

Emma's doctors are running out of options now so they have decided it is time for a pediatric cardiologist to take a look at her. They have tried thickening her food, switching reflux medication, and elevating her bed and she is still having episodes of her heart rate dropping. Her case will be reviewed this week and she will have additional monitoring to see if the can detect why she is still having issues.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent the morning with Emma at the hospital and the afternoon and evening with our good friend and her family. They hosted Thanksgiving dinner and it was wonderful. James spent most of it sleeping but made a few brief appearances for his afternoon snack and dinner.

Here is our sweet Emma today. Unfortunately she had a few more spells last night and today so it looks like she has extended her stay.

Latest News

Emma weighs 5lb 9oz now. Sean met with the doctor this afternoon and he wants Emma to have 5 good days before he will release her. It looks like the earliest she could go home is Friday, but again, we aren't counting on it.

James has been enjoying all of his grandparents and is looking forward to his first Thanksgiving dinner.

This is James in his rapper pose.

Discharge postponed

We did our heart rate monitor training, Emma passed her car seat challenge, and we picked up her prescriptions and yet we left the hospital empty handed. The doctor reviewing her case tonight for discharge felt that she wasn't ready yet. Emma had an episode yesterday that required vigorous stimulation. We are not sure why the doctor this morning felt it was ok for her to go, but the doctor tonight said there was no way she would release her. The earliest she could go home is Wednesday, if she doesn't have any major episodes.

We are completely disappointed and emotionally exhausted, but grateful that the doctor was paying attention to her file. We would rather she be with the knowledgeable nurses and doctors who can make sure she is safe and sound.

A day in the life of James

James is loving his life as the center of attention at home, but that is about to all change. We received word from the hospital this morning that Emma is most likely coming home today! We have to complete a few things before she can be released, but we have been working on getting everything in line so she can come home tonight. Stay tuned......

Another day in the NICU

Just when we think we get one step closer to Emma coming home, it seems to be taken away again. I still have a glimmer of hope that she will be home by Thanksgiving, but I am not counting on it. The doctors and us are in definite agreement about one thing - Emma needs to be stable before she comes home. Yesterday was a little bit of a tough time and she scared her mommy by having an episode while she was there. Today was much better.

2 week birthday

Happy 2 weeks babies!!

James had his 2 week appt with the pediatrician yesterday and he now weighs 5lb10oz, which puts him in the second percentile for his age. The doctor was very happy with his weight gain. He has grown a quarter of an inch since his birth. We had to rerun one of the federally mandated blood test he had when he was born since he had an abnormal result, but the doctor told us that it is not unusual to have a false positive, especially in preemies. James also lost his umbical cord so we started tummy time exercise yesterday. As you can see, he wasn't taking to it at first.

We met with Emma's doctor yesterday and they have decided that it is time for her to go home on a heart rate monitor. Sean and I will have training on the monitor and hopefully we will bring her home before Thanksgiving. She is still having spells but is very healthy other than that. She was very alert on our visit and loves to watch everything that is happening in the NICU. Maybe we have a future doctor or nurse on our hands.

Latest and Greatest

Sean and I have been juggling time to spend as much as we can with both Emma and James so that hasn't left much time for posting. Here is the latest.





Emma - She is still having her spells but self-corrects 95% of the time now. She is growing leaps and bounds and is now 4lbs 9oz. They did a cranial ultrasound to check for proper skull fusion and brain bleeds and everything looked good. The nurse feels that the earliest she will be released is next Monday or Tuesday. I try not to get my hopes up because we have been given dates before that have long past.





James - He gained 6oz as of Monday's weigh in and the doctor said that was well in the normal range. He goes back to the doctor for his 2 week wellness visit tomorrow. We received a call from the hospital that one of his PKU tests came back abnormal so they will retest him again tomorrow. We are not sure what all of it means, but hopefully it is just a false positive and we won't have to worry about it. We have scheduled his kidney test for December 8th.

Another bad day in the NICU

Emma had another episode today that required intervention of the nurses. We met with the doctor to discuss her condition and prognosis. They still believe that she will grow out of it as she gains weight - which she is doing like a champ. Essentially she is a very healthy baby with the exception of these episodes. The doctor is recommending that she now go 5 days without an episode so it looks like the earliest she will be home now is Thursday.

Emma was in a bad mood today.

Day 7 - One week old

I can't believe it has been a week already. We had a great visit to the NICU and took our mandatory CPR class. Emma was moved to a different room in the NICU that is for babies to be monitored right before they go home. I can't explain how happy and relieved we are right now.

She is the hit of the new room as well. The nurses just completely adore her.

Day 6

We had a very relaxing morning at home with James and spent the afternoon with Emma. James decided to give the swing a try and lasted about 5 minutes before he started crying.




Emma's day was a little stressful for her parents. She had another episode while we were there. It is really scary and completely frustrating knowing that she has now extended her stay until at least Sunday. Sean and I are required to take a CPR class before we can take her home so we will be doing that in the next couple of days. We also have a few things to do in the nursery to make it "tiny" Emma friendly.

James said it is time to go home from the hospital now


Emma is doing so well she can wear her own pajamas

Emma telling mommy everything that is going on in the NICU

Sorry for the delay in updates

It has been a roller coaster ride the past couple of days, so I am finally able to post some updates about James and Emma. Sean, James, and I came home from the hospital Monday night. Emma had to stay in the NICU for additional monitoring. It was probably one of the hardest days of my life leaving our little one at the hospital while we headed home. After saying our goodbyes, we came home to a home cooked meal and a mini celebration with Grandma and Grandpa Reilly.

Tuesday was spent adjusting to our new lives. James was excellent and spent most of the time sleeping and eating, giving his parents some needed rest. We ended our day with a trip to the NICU and wonderful visit with Emma.

Today we took James to the pediatrician for a follow up. He is doing very well but a little light in weight. He is back to the 5lb mark and eating like a champ. We have to go back again early next week just to make sure he is gaining more weight.

Emma is making huge strives in the NICU and is now off the IV and out of her isolette into a regular crib. Her temperature is stable and she is no longer jaundice. She does have an issue where her oxygen levels are dropping out and is having daily episodes. Each day she has an episode it costs her three days in the NICU, so as of now, she won't be coming home until Saturday. It is a little scary when her alarm sounds, but we are working with the nurses to identify when it might start and how to fix it. They hope the more weight she gains and develops that she will grow out of it.

We have some great video and pictures to post and I will try to get to that later today or tomorrow.

Day 3

Today started as a tougher day for both babies. James had his circumcision this morning and spent most of the day sound asleep recovering. We received the results from his renal ultrasound and everything was as expected - one good kidney and one bad one. They started him on his antibiotics and we will continue it until his appointment with the pediatric urologist in 4 weeks. He now weighs 4lb15oz, which is still within the acceptable weight loss after birth to go home. He was refusing to eat early in the day, but apparently he loves his new (young and very cute) night nurse because she was able to get him to eat a whole bottle while we were visiting with Emma.


Daddy and James having a bottle and watching the Giants Game

Emma started bottle feeding last night but struggled a little. The doctor decided to put in a feeding tube so that she gets the nutrition she needs. It is really heartbreaking to see her in the NICU with the tube. It is even harder to think that we will be going home from the hospital and she will have to stay. By the end of the day, Emma was taking a bottle on her own and they were going to increase the amount at her midnight feeding. She has jaundice so they are putting her under the special lights to help clear it up.



Mommy and Emma spending quality time together


Emma wearing her special eye gear for her tanning session under the special lights.

Day 2

Today was a wonderfully, busy day. It started early with a visit to the NICU to see Emma. She was wide awake and we were able to hold her for a few minutes. She spends most of her time staring at us with disgust that she has to be there. It is hard to believe someone so young can have a look of such disdain. As tiny as she is, she is one of the bigger babies in the NICU. It is such a hard place to go to with all of the tiny preemie babies. Her neighboring babies only weigh 2 pounds.


Emma in her isolette

Sean spent the day going back and forth between our room and the NICU. We tried out our parenting skills with James. Thankfully, he is very patient with us and has been an angel. He tested out his lungs a few times when they came in to do his physical exam and blood work.


James getting his supplemental bottle feeding

James also had his ultrasound for his kidney issue. No word yet on the results, but he has gone through several diaper changes so that is a great sign that he definitely has one functioning kidney.






Tonight we are headed back down to the NICU to feed Emma. It will be so nice when she gets released. They estimate that she will be in the NICU for 3 days to a week.

Pictures from the day

Getting prepped for the c-section. This was our OB and nurse. Both were really great,

We are both ready to go.

We are here - somebody get us some clothes!!

Mommy and Emma

Our new family

Emma hanging out in the NICU

James is ready for nap time

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABIES

James Thomas and Emma Elizabeth were born at 12:24 and 12:26 today by c-section. Everyone is doing very well. Emma is in the NICU right now for body temp and weight issues. James is hanging out with us in our room.

James weighed 5lb5oz and was 18 1/4 in
Emma weighed 4lb3oz and was 17 3/4 in.