First Birthday Party and our stay in the PICU

Yes, you read that correctly, we spent last night in the Pedi ICU. More on that later.
The birthday party was a blast. Although S&E were still fighting their colds and slept through the cake and other events, everyone had a lot of fun and the weather was gorgeous. We are so thankful to all those who came to celebrate with us. Thank you all for your wonderful gifts.
S&E looked so cute and their hair is getting so curly! When you thought they couldn't get any cuter check out their curls!!!











So onto Sat night. After the party, which was at my mom's, we came home and put the kids to sleep. I had been having to turn them up while asleep for the past 2 nights before but was hoping with the oral steroid and Flovent things would be better. Unfortunately, it took a lot of O2 to keep them stable. I was up to a liter with Serena and Edwin and their sats were still low 90s. As the night progressed I was able to wean them back to down to a halk liter, but that is still way more than Serena usually needs, so in the am I called pulmonary oncall. The Dr on call said we should bring them into the ER to be safe.





They were tested for RSV, they did blood work, and chest x-rays. They decided to admit them just for observation based upon my report of their difficulties while asleep at night. RSV was neg, blood gas was decent, and chest x-ray showed mild inflammation from whatever virus they have. they did well overnight and even though S required 700ccs and sat at 92-93, they were okay with it and we were able to come home this afternoon. So it wasn't terrible and they seem better today and hopefully will do well tonight.
In exciting news Serena is offcially pulling to stand...on EVERYTHING! Edwin has been sitting up by himself fpr short periods even though he is sick, and everyone went on and on about how cute and friendly they are. Some of the residents in the PICU were doing their residency in the NICU last year while S&E were there. One Dr in particular came in to see us and couldn't believe how well Champ was doing. She said "I didn't think he was going tomake it...he is my miracle baby."
It reminds me how critical they were when I see how well my cousin's girls are doing. They are already on CPAP and doing well. My kids could not get off the vent and because of their lung issues we continue to seethe effects today. 2 weeks makes such a difference, and although I feel bad my cousin and his wife are going through this, it is good to know she held off for those precious 2 weeks to give her girls a better shot.
So we're home now and we are doing okay. Let's hope tonight goes well!!!