Here's Lookin' At You Kid(s) - Day 5

Another day of improvements and changes for the boys. When we went in today, we were pleasantly surprised to find that both boys had received an upgrade in accomodations - from the warmers they've been in since birth to the "houses" or isolettes where they will stay until stabilizing enough to be placed in the cribs, where they will remain until discharge from the ICU.

Needless to say it was a great day. To say that little Dylan looks better is the understatement of the year. As I said previously, he was always a little hunk of perfect to us, though I could understand others' reluctance to agree with my jaded assessment. Now he looks, as Michelle put it, like a "real baby." Look for yourself:
All I can say is WOW. Here's Dylan being held by his Mom:

Ok, since we didn't get any pics of Shane yesterday, I'm going to make sure I give him ample space today. The NICU doctor informed us that Shane will be checked tonight by a cardiologist, since there is some concern about a murmur they have found. We're taking this in stride and trying to have faith that everything will be OK. We haven't been let down yet, it seems.

Shane looks WONDERFUL. Granted he didn't have quite the tough birth that Dylan had, but still...

It's been decided that Shane has the "Grier" look - lucky little devil:
Shane once again got the holding treatment from his proud Daddy:

As proof that these two are, in fact, their Daddy's boys, here's a picture of Dylan enjoying some gas:

And, finally, here's the boys first family visitor besides us parents - my Mom. She was amazed at how little they were, though I'm sure the boys were happy to meet one of their three Grandmothers. We'll get the rest of the family in there soon.

Ok, that's all for now. We'll see everyone tomorrow and hopefully we'll have some good news about Shane. Love ya.

Keep That Good News Coming!

OK, we visited the boys today and Dylan has been making HUGE improvements over the past 24 hours. I was lucky enough to watch him have his first intake of breast milk, something nobody figured would happen for awhile. We also saw his eyes for the first time - which we probably the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen.

Tonight, they're taking Shane off the Bili Lights, with Dylan to follow tomorrow. Then they will start removing all the other apparatus from both boys, since they are making strides. The nurses seem to think that the boys will make it into isolettes ("houses" as the nurses refer to them,) which is the next step, sometime in the next couple of days. After that come the cribs.

I love good news.

Unfortunately, I only managed a couple of pictures today, courtesy of a dead digital camera battery - all were of Dylan and I will share the most beatuiful one of all: Dylan with a minimal amount of wires and other intrusions.

I know that to most of you, he still looks rough - but to us he's absolutely perfect. Tomorrow, I'll get some video of both boys, especially since they're moving around quite a bit.

Thanks to everyone for their words and thoughts and prayers and everything else good that's been sent our way...

Day 3 (Improvements All Around)!!

MUCH better day today...Michelle came home from the hospital, Dylan was taken off the respirator and is doing much better and Shane had breast milk for the first time. Also, I finally got to hold my little Shane, which was one of the best things I've ever experienced in my life. Quite a day, indeed. Here's some pics so you can all share in the joy.


First is me holding my oldest son, Shane. This makes me quite happy and still amazes me at how small he is:
Next is Dylan fresh off the respirator. Though he may not look it right now, you can trust me that he looks 100% better than he did at this time yesterday:



And, so he doesn't have a complex about being left out, here's a couple of Shane. The first is him being held by his mother. The bottom one is me rubbing his back while he receives treatment from the bili-lights to help with a touch of jaundice:


That's all - we;re going to enjoy our first night together as 4/6 of a family. See you soon.

Dylan's Doing Better

The early report for the day is that Dylan is doing a bit better this morning. Apparently, they may be removing him from the ventilator as early as today, which is as good a report as I could ever have hoped for.

I'm going in today and will update afterwards.

Shane With Mommy And Eyes Open(ing)

While Dylan is having some issues, Shane seems to be doing very well. Here he is in his mother's arms and another pic with his eyes beginning to open. He still doesn't look happy to be out in public, but we hope he'll get used to it eventually. I, unfortunately, couldn't hold him yet because I have the beginnings of a cold, courtesy of my youngest girl.

Dylan's Having Troubles

Tough day. It appears that something is going wrong with Dylan's lungs, a circumstance which isn't totally unheard of in preemies, but one which is difficult to handle for us. Although we've been assured tha DYlan is comfortable, MY comfort level is at an all time low because I realize exactly how helpless I am here. Anyway, they have put him on a ventilator for now and, as difficult as it was to look at and see, I took some pictures of the whole thing, so that WHEN he makes it through this, we'll be able to look back and remember how difficult this was...

I also took a short (though longer than the ones below,) video. Though the sound on the video doesn't really pick up the constant 'click click click' of the ventilator, trust me when I say it's one of the most horrendous sounds a father could ever hear. I hated it and it made me sad and afraid and everything else that comes with it. It also made Dylan take many short breaths instead of normal ones, which looked inhuman and painful (though the nurses insisted he was comfortable.)

The Boys' Video Debut

Here's some very short and unexciting videos of the Boys' first filmed moments, taken a few hours after birth. Shane's is exceptionally boring, as he does nothing and Dylan's is more disturbing than anything else, because of the groans he's emitting:

Shane:


Dylan:

Dylan And The Bili-Lights

Here are some pictures of Dylan receiving phototherapy treatment beneath bili-lights in the NICU. Dylan got so bruised during the "extraction" that the NICU staff thought it best to give his body a little help in recovering from the bruising. Phototherapy apparently helps the body adborb the bilirubin, which causes the jaundiced color. Medical science is amazing.

The Boys

Ok, here's all the information people are always asking and I never remember...

Both boys arrived on Saturday November 25, 2006. They were welcomed at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Brighton, Massachusetts.

Shane David Grier (baby "A") was born at 7:12pm. He weighed 1600 grams, or 3lbs 8.4oz and was 16 inches long.

Here's Shane:

Dylan James Grier (baby "B") was born at 7:16pm. He weighed 1480 grams, or 3lbs 4.2oz and was 16 1/4 inches long.

Here's Dylan:

As you can tell by the pics, Dylan had a rough birth and fought being taken with all his baby might. He's a bit battered and bruised, though we're confident that he'll make a full recovery once he gets the treatment to absorb the bruising.

It is difficult to believe how tiny these boys are right now...a little over 3 pounds each. To give a little perspective on how little that really is, here's a picture of me touching Shane's belly:

Amazing, isn't it?

Welcome To Twindom

Hi. This blog has been created for the benefit of our family and friends to share in the joy of the birth of our new twin boys, Shane David Grier and his slightly younger brother Dylan James Grier. By using this blog as our primary means of communication, we will be able to share pictures, anecdotes, laughs and (hopefully not many, if any) tears. I'll do my best to update this and add to it frequently, though procrastination has always been a buddy of mine...

We'll see y'all soon.