Anthony Joseph DeMaria

I held Anthony last night because he didn't get held during the day. He is a night owl like his mom. He was wide awake and so happy. While I was holding him he wrapped his legs around my waist like a little frog. He got the hiccups for a minute and it made him toot. He is learning his boy skills early.


Mom I just want to sleep. Leave me alone!







If you look closely you can see him holding on to his nasal canula tubing. All of the babies are learning how to pull things off. The boys will stick their little fingers under their noses and pull the canulas out of their noses. Jaileigh pulls her goggles off constantly. She will pull them down under her chin and then she grins.






He LOVES his pacifier!







Sorry about the upside down pictures. I don't know why they are like that because that isn't how I took them and they aren't like that on the computer.

Feeding Protocol and Weights

Jaileigh and Jakob are on feedings of 1.5 cc/hr and at 4:00 am they will go up to 2.0 cc/hr. At this point milk fortifier will be added to the breast milk. They fortifier gives them more protein and calories. Every 12 hours they will increase by .5 cc/hr until they reach 4.0 cc/hr at that point they will change their feedings to bolus feedings. They will receive their feedings every three hours in bolus form. Instead of increasing every 12 hours they will increase by 1 ml every 6 hours. This will continue until they reach 20 ml or what the protocol is for their weight.

Michael and Anthony are about 48 hours behind Jakob and Jaileigh. They are still at 0.8 cc/hr. On August 20 they will increase to 1.0 cc/hr and then they will be increased every 12 hours and continue the above protocol.

So far all of the babies have been tolerating their feedings. The nurses check for residual in their stomachs every 4 hours and they all have little to none. The tricky part they explained to me is when they start adding the milk fortifier. They said some babies have a hard time digesting that extra protein. So they said they will be praying for the babies to digest it (we will be praying as well). I thought that was cute of the nurses to say.

Mike and I get to kangaroo the babies every day. That is such a neat experience and so beneficial for the babies. We are very lucky to have such supportive primary nurses. I was talking to another mom here at the RM House and she has not been able to hold her baby yet. Her baby is a lot older than ours too. I really don’t know her situation but I feel really bad for her. It is such a bonding experience to hold your baby that closely.

Here are the new weights.

Anthony- 1255 g 2 lb 12 oz
Michael- 1446 g 3 lb 3 oz
Jaileigh- 1231 g 2 lb 11 oz
Jakob- 1145 g 2 lb 8 ½ oz

Michael Huston DeMaria

Our chunky Monkey!

Working on those abs- a washboard tummy!


OOHHHH I am so tired now.

Hi mom and dad!



Michael always sleeps with his arms up. The nurses try to put them down and swaddle him and he always fights out of it. This must have been how he was squished inside so it is comfortable to him.

BIG yawn.

Jakob Thomas DeMaria

Jakob with Dad





Jakob after his nightly bath. He is trying to suck on his thumb but hasn't quite figured out how to get it in his mouth.




He is filling out now. He is still the smallest at 2 lbs 6 ozs (1085 g).

Jaileigh saying hello

Michael in his favorite position.



Little Mike being kangarooed. 8/14

You can see how small they really are next to the $5. Jaileigh 8/15

Little Jakob with his goggles still on. He doesn't wear the goggles anymore and he can wear clothes. We are still trying to get a picture when he is awake. He is awake quite a bit we just keep forgetting to take one. 8/13



Anthony wide awake. He's ready to play ball. 8/16

Lets get ready to Rumble!!!!

Michael Buffer states:
In the Pink Corner weighing in at 2lbs 9.5oz Jaileigh Addison DeMaria
In the Blue Corner weighing in at 3lbs Michael Huston DeMaria
In the Other Blue Corner weighing at 2lbs 10oz Anthony Joseph DeMaria
In the Last Blue Corner weighing in at a "ripped" 2lbs 6oz Jakob Thomas DeMaria

Overall the health is good, Jakob and Jaileigh are eating a whopping .8cc/hr and Michael and Anthony are eating at a pace of .5cc/hr. They are starting to say "And don't forget the Brett". That is for my sister Diana and family friend Vasen.

Bily Lights: Jaileigh back on for now.
Jakob is off
Anthony is off, just on the wallaby
Michael is on one but supposed to go off on Sunday.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Quick Update- 2 Weeks 1 Day

Yesterday we celebrated another birthday- 2 weeks.

All babies are on feedings. They feed them through a tube that goes from their mouth to their stomach. Jakob and Jaileigh are on .2cc/hr and Anthony and Michael are on .1cc/hr. Jakob and Jaileigh are tolerating their feedings better. They are getting breastmilk. Mike calls me the Schwan Woman.

They have been stooling. Jakob and Michael will stool on their own sometimes. They receive glycerine suppositories every couple of days until they figure out how to really do it on their own all the time.

Michael is back on CPAP. He was intubated for his PDA surgery and was extubated 2 days after surgery.

They have all had their artery lines removed. They are losing some if their lines finally.

All of their bili levels are below 3 except Jaileigh and hers was 4.0 this morning. She also received a blood transfusion this morning. The other hematocrits were good.


I had my 2 week doctor visit and passed the exam with flying colors. The day I was discharged I was not given any discharge instructions. The next day I was driving and doing normal things. The nurses in the NICU recently found out and let me know that I should have received instructions on things I shouldn't do. I was a little worried that I had done something to my body that wasn't good. So I was very happy that the doctor said I was doing an excellent job of mending.


We have seen many miracles in the last 7-8 months and have been so overwhelmed with everyones love and support. Thank you again!

Michael Huston opening his eyes and waving to the world.

Anthony Joseph saying hello too.



Amber and Grandma Kolleen- We Love Her! She flew in to help out and has been taking very good care of me!

Weight Milestone

We have reached a new milestone- Michael now weighs 3 lbs 2 ozs. Hip hip hooray. He is the first to reach the 3 pound hump. Despite just having surgery he is continuing to progress.



Great grandma Kolleen holding Anthony.

Baby Pictures

Today Michael had his ligation on his PDA in his heart. We were hoping that the Indocin would close it but it didn't. He came out of the surgery quite well. He didn't have any problems and doesn't even look like he went through surgery. Dr. Leonard Bailey was his surgeon. He is the heart surgeon that replaced Baby Fay's heart with a baboon heart in 1984. A famous surgeon! We felt very lucky and blessed to have him.

The rest of the kiddies are still doing great. Jaileigh is now the smallest she weighs 2 lbs 5 oz. Jakob is 2 lbs 6 oz, Anthony is 2 lbs 9 oz and Michael is 2 lbs 12 oz.

When we go into the NICU we have to scrub in for three minutes, remove all jewlery, have hair tied back, and wear a gown over our clothes. We can't bring in food, drink, or other personal belongings.

Anthony and Mom

Michael and Daddy- He is starting to get chubby cheeks- so cute!


Jaileigh in her pink princess palace.

Jaileigh rebelling against wearing a bow in her hair. We glued it on and she immediately reached up and pulled it off.



Jaileigh- Her Artery line was removed today. That is the big splint looking thing on her left arm.

Mike and Baby Michael- Kangarooing

Daddy and Jaileigh- he's already shopping for some ruby earrings for her. She already has him wrapped around her little finger.

Jakob and Mom- He doesn't have that big contraption on his head anymore. He loves to suck on his thumb.

Cute Baby Jakob

8 and 9 day Updates

I tried to upload pictures for the last 30 minutes and it isn't working so I am done. The babies are doing really good. Here are a few quick notes. Tomorrow I will work on the pictures again.

Jakob is off his Hudson CPAP and on nasal canula like the rest of his siblings
They are all eating breastmilk except Michael
They have all stooled or "pooped"
Jaileigh is completely off phototherapy
Jakob only has is wallaby for phototherapy (that is the little pad that he lays on)
Michaels PDA is moderate and they are giving him another round of Indocin

Happy Birthday!

The babies were one week old yesterday. What a week it was too! There are still doing great.

We started feeding Jaileigh, Anthony, and Jakob yesterday and took them off of feedings today. The food was just sitting in their tummies.

Michael's night and day nurses heard a heart murmur and because of them we were able to catch it before it was symptomatic. It turns out he also has PDA and they are treating it with Indocin. I am so grateful for the nurses. These babies are being watched over very carefully thanks to all the prayers.



Jakob and mom Kangarooing

A good day-

All babies are off ventilators HOORAY!

It was a very good day. We are happy!

One more off vent . . .

Jaileigh is off her ventilator and on CPAP. They think that by tonight she will be on the nasal canula CPAP.

They are trying to get Jakob off of his ventilator by this evening.

The other two are still doing the same.

Michael with his goggles off.

Michael opening his eyes. (Mike says its the Jack Sparrow look- saaaaavvy)

Michael on his belly, sicking his thumb. He didn't like me changing his diaper.

Famous Babies!

We were interviewed by 2 newspapers Thursday. This article was the best of the 2. The other one was the San Bernardino Sun on Friday, if you want to look it up. The Press Enterprise did a better job and tied everything into baseball.

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_N_babies01.45104bc.html

5 Days Old

Here is the quick update for all of you who have been waiting so patiently. I am exhausted and not functioning correctly so I am going to keep it short and I’m not going to explain. I will try to explain later. Key word is TRY.



Jakob
Had PDA treated with Indosin (same stuff they gave me to stop contractions). The indosin closed the PDA.
Was reintubated, on ventilator again. He was working too hard and used all his energy to breath. When he was being reintubated he was throwing such a tantrum that they had to sedate him.
Loves to stretch out his legs and arms. Very determined to have things his way.
He has a sense of humor. Today I was changing his diaper and he starting peeing again as soon as I got the old one off. He filled the new diaper so I had to change it again.
Received blood transfusion.
On bilirubin lights.
Received PICC line Friday.

Jaileigh
Jaileigh has been a very strong girl. She is such a fighter. She ran out of energy and had to be intubated (can’t remember what day maybe Thurs).
Received blood transfusion.
She is very determined to have things her way. Will throw herself out of her bunting when she is mad. HATES wet diapers and will let you know when hers is wet.
Had PDA treated with Indosin. The indosin closed the PDA.
On bilirubin lights.
Being weaned off her ventilator.
Received PICC line Friday.

Michael
Threw a tantrum for the first time yesterday. I think our children are going to be very stubborn and determined.
He was bruised so badly in the womb that he has been on bilirubin lights the whole time. The bruises are faded now.
When he gets mad he holds his breath so that he brady’s (heartrate lowers).
Pulls his Hudson CPAP off so today they put him on nasal canula and he is doing great.
Loves to have moves his arms all over and often gets his lines tangled.
Received PICC line early Friday morning.
Has scratches on his eye because he was opening them while he had his goggles on. They are treating the scratches with ointment

AnthonyHe has been our sick child even though he was the 2nd largest.
He had PDA surgery on Wednesday night. After he was born we found out that he was the one that was really stressing inside and he has been suffering for it since.
Received blood transfusion.
Yesterday he finally started to feel better and the sibling trait showed up- he is determined and stubborn too.
Being weaned off his ventilator.
On bilirubin lights.
Had glucose problems because of his high stress level but once he received his PDA surgery the glucose went down to normal again.
Received PICC line Friday.

Mom- I was released from the hospital Saturday night and was not happy about it. I have grown attached to the place and even more attached since my babies are long term residents. Yesterday was probably the hardest day of my life because I had to walk out empty handed. All I had was the 4 bracelets on my wrist stating to the world that I did have babies somewhere. I am staying at the Ronald McDonald house across the street from the hospital. Our commute turned out to be long and hard enough that we were able to stay here.

Dad- He has been holding up for moms sake I think. He is exhausted physically and mentally but keeping it all together so we both aren't messes. He is staying at home with the dogs. Tomorrow he has to return to work. He will take paternity leave when the babies come home. He loves his little boys and little girl. He sits in the NICU for hours with them. He is such a sweet man and I love him more everyday! I feel so blessed to have him for a husband.



Aunt Rori and Michael. He is trying to pull his CPAP off in this picture and he usually succeeded. They took him off of it this morning and he was much happier about life today.





Jakob and his Scalp-Hawk. They shaved the side of his head when they were trying to put in his PICC line.




This is baby Anthony Joseph he is learning how to not get tan lines while tanning. His nurse undoes his diaper so that his skin can be exposed to the bilirubin lights.





Michael taking a break from the lights. His goggles are removed. He is still on a ventilator but is being weaned off. You can see how small he is next to my hands. He was our biggest at 2 lbs 11 oz.




Mike and I- the proud parents. Anthony again. We love his primary nurse. She takes pictures for us and when we are too tired to recognize picture moments she reminds us of them.





Jaileigh in action. . . . . . .


She is grabbing her left foot with her right hand and then . . . .



decides to stretch and . . . . .

stretch alllllll the way out. Her nurse has the hardest time keeping her in her bunting. She loves to stretch out.