{"id":236,"date":"2010-06-05T20:58:16","date_gmt":"2010-06-06T04:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.wordpress.com\/?p=236"},"modified":"2010-06-05T20:58:16","modified_gmt":"2010-06-06T04:58:16","slug":"one-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/one-week\/","title":{"rendered":"One Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It\u2019s been one week since the twins arrived. The time has passed by in the blink of an eye and taken forever at the same time.<\/p>\n

The routine we have developed is as follows:<\/p>\n

9 a.m.:<\/strong> Pump milk for the boys.
\n9:30 a.m.:<\/strong> Morning visit to the NICU. Quiz the nurses on Search and Destroy\u2019s progress and spend some family time with our boys.
\n12 p.m.:<\/strong> Pump milk for the boys.
\n12:30 p.m.:<\/strong> Attempt to run errands and eat lunch.
\n3 p.m.:<\/strong> Pump milk for the boys.
\n3:30 p.m.:<\/strong> Afternoon visit to the NICU. Call the NICU, letting them know we\u2019re in the lobby and would like to be let in to see our boys. Kangaroo Kare! (Depending on how the boys are doing.)
\n6 p.m.:<\/strong> Pump milk for the boys.
\n6:30 p.m.:<\/strong> Pause to see if I will have a stress breakdown about how unfair life is for my babies.
\n7 p.m.:<\/strong> Attempt to clear items of household to-do list. (Usually a futile attempt.)
\n9 p.m.:<\/strong> Pump milk for the boys.
\n9:30 p.m.:<\/strong> Dinner-ish (Cereal counts.)
\n10 p.m.:<\/strong> Crash on whichever soft furniture item happens to be closest. Think about trying to muster energy for a blog post.
\n11 p.m.:<\/strong> Get ready for bed.
\n12 a.m.:<\/strong> Pump milk for the boys.
\n12:30 a.m.:<\/strong> Nap.
\n3 a.m.:<\/strong> Pump milk for the boys. Try in vain to remain upright and awake for said process.
\n3:30 a.m.:<\/strong> Nap.
\n6 a.m.:<\/strong> Become very confused about why an alarm is going off. Fall out of bed and pump milk for the boys.
\n6:15 a.m.:<\/strong> Discover Scout has been eating apples from our tree again by way of the doggie vomit on the nursery rug.
\n6:20 a.m.:<\/strong> Clean and curse.
\n6:30 a.m.:<\/strong> Nap.
\n9 a.m.:<\/strong> Rinse and repeat.<\/p>\n

The boys routine changes slightly depending on their daily interaction with the neonatologist. The vast majority of their day is spent sleeping, although recently they\u2019ve taken to opening their eyes quite a bit more. Today during Kanga time, Search would try to lift his head and look up at me with his eyes wide open. I know all they can allegedly see are out-of-focus hazy shapes, but I prefer to comfort myself with the thought that my boys are already little geniuses.<\/p>\n

They also eat (via their feeding tube) every three hours, and an hour after mealtime is the standard coffee break. (Yes, the boys get dosed with caffeine. After all those months that moms spend avoiding it, it\u2019s the first thing a preemie gets.)<\/p>\n

Search and Destroy are doing very well. All the doctors and nurses warned us, as par for the course in a preemie\u2019s development, parents should expect to see two steps forward and one step back. During these first weeks, the lesson is breathing.<\/p>\n

Due to their young age and tiny size, apnea and bradycardia are very common. Medically, this means an interruption in breathing and a slow heart rate, respectively. In reality, this means they forget to breathe on their own. Each of the twins is currently dealing with the aforementioned problems. Destroy currently has no air assistance, while Search has gone forward and back needing a little extra aid. Apparently, their lungs work fabulously but the extra help is a bit like a personal trainer helping them to strengthen the muscle tissue.<\/p>\n

We are very focused on this lesson right now \u2013 breathing is very important. The NICU staff assures us that they fully expect Search and Destroy to pass Lung Functionality 101 by simply growing. Growing is to be expected when they start tolerating more and more milk. We expect eating to be heavily involved during the next phase \u2013 they need to convince their tiny tummies to process food. Multi-tasking won\u2019t take place until NICU graduate levels.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Destroy: One Week<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Search: One Week<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s been one week. We\u2019re hoping the next 7-11 weeks go smoothly. Then we can finally all be together as a family. And I can make the boys read this post when their teenagers and confident that they know everything \u2013 reminding them that at one point they didn\u2019t even know they should keep breathing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been one week since the twins arrived. The time has passed by in the blink of an eye and taken forever at the same time. The routine we have developed is as follows: 9 a.m.: Pump milk for the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[5,23,21,24,10],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Sbzi-3O","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":810,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/to-the-man-in-the-mothers-room\/","url_meta":{"origin":236,"position":0},"title":"To the Man in the Mothers Room","date":"November 3, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m not going to lie \u2013 pumping sucks. It is zero fun, and has been for the past five months that I\u2019ve been doing it. But, I\u2019ve decided I want the muppets to have breast milk \u2013 and producing milk is the one part of becoming mother that has gone\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Work"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/11\/photo-e1288842704667.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":535,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/got-milk\/","url_meta":{"origin":236,"position":1},"title":"Got Milk?","date":"August 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The muppets take a bottle when they\u2019re hungry. And they are hungry a lot. Destroy\u2019s night nurse in the NICU used to call him \u201cthe alarm clock\u201d because he\u2019d wake up and scream every two hours and 45 minutes without fail. As a friend of mine discovered with his little\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Home"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":507,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/507\/","url_meta":{"origin":236,"position":2},"title":"Triple Threat","date":"August 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Our baby boys aren\u2019t so little anymore. Today\u2019s NICU update revealed that the muppets are six pounds. I shall repeat that. Our tubby little muppets are six pounds. I actually asked one of their doctors if they were getting a bit swollen \u2013 water retention perhaps. \u201cNo,\u201d came the reply.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Baby Photos"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/08\/brothers_caden-logan_08-02-10.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":191,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/191\/","url_meta":{"origin":236,"position":3},"title":"Press Release: Birthday Boys","date":"May 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"And Babies Make Six\u2026 The Stream Family Welcomes Twin Boys \u00a0 SANTA CLARA, Calif., - May 29, 2010 \u2013 Yesterday, Jonathan and Tricia Stream, parents, welcomed twin baby boys into the world at Kasier Santa Clara. Search Welker and Destroy Anthony were delivered at 27.4 weeks by a stellar medical\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birthday"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":270,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/postpartum-pounds\/","url_meta":{"origin":236,"position":4},"title":"Postpartum Pounds","date":"June 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Every morning I get up and get ready for the day. These days each morning is spent preparing to visit the muppets. And it\u2019s getting harder and harder to decide what to wear. I\u2019m certainly not trying to get dressed up for them. Just trying to find clothes that fit.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Baby Photos"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/06\/caden_15days_6-12-10.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":253,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/nicu-101\/","url_meta":{"origin":236,"position":5},"title":"NICU 101","date":"June 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The other day I was sitting with my little muppets while I spoke with the nurses about their development. I ask them about breathing, heart rates, feeding, weight and general attitude on a daily basis. But as you\u2019ve seen, the boys were also both born with full heads of dark\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hospital"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}