Caring For Quads Includes Taking an Infant CPR Class!

Yesterday was another informative day in the NICU with the quads. I changed diapers and gave bottle feeds, burped and loved on the babies.

 As soon as we arrived in the early afternoon Amber began feeding Harrison - who is wolfing down his bottles in record breaking speed now! -

and I fed Trystan.

Later that afternoon I did another two feedings back to back......

Kailey Lee.....

and Miss Logan!

Logan has been the super star from the beginning!

Weighing in at 2 lb 6 oz and being the smallest - she seemed to fare the best!

She has been on full 8 feeds for a good while now and if she hadn't had a Brady earlier this week she might well have been sent home by now. As it stands - they are counting down 7 days from the last Brady and then see how things look. It would not surprise me one little bit if Logan was the FIRST to come home!

I was comforted by the fact I could do three bottle feeding yesterday - UNTIL it dawned on me that each baby gets 8 bottles in 24 hours. That's 32 bottle feeds PER DAY!! I need all the experience I can get!!

Dinner was served in the Ronald McDonald House last night making it easy for us to get a bite to eat before heading up to the 8th floor and the Infant CPR class.

I was a bit nervous since I can't even blow up a balloon - but I PASSED!

It was a valuable class and I will be much more confident now that I know what to do in an emergency! *NOTE TO SELF* do NOT wear my fake fingernails when the babies come home!

Here's what I learned......

Infant CPR

1. Make sure the area is safe.

2. Stimulate baby (by flicking the bottoms of his feet and looking for a response.) Yell for HELP and have someone ELSE call 911.

A - Open airway

B - Check for breathing (look, listen and feel) and give 2 breaths.

C - Start compressions (30 compressions then 2 breaths.)

If alone do CPR for 2 minutes (5 cycles of 30:2) then call 911.

CONTINUE CPR until professional help arrives.

Infant Foreign Body Airway Obstruction

Conscious baby:

1. 5 back blows

2. 5 chest thrusts

Repeat these two steps until baby gets better or goes unconscious (limp).

Unconscious baby:

Do infant CPR (as above) but always check the mouth for objects before giving a breath. If you see an object in the mouth, carefully remove it before giving a breath.

All good things to know whether you have ONE baby or FOUR!!

I'll close today's post with a picture of Grandma's HERO!!

Harrison is doing SO well! They ALL are!!

Today's my last day of training in the NICU with Jane - the nurse who walks on water!

Jane has been such a blessing to Amber and Mike and these quadlings.

Amber loves her to death - everyone does!

Jane has seen to it that Amber and Mike are about as educated as they can be in the care of these preemie quads. People like Jane in the NICU and Amby in Labor and Delivery - where she cared for Amber MANY of those 57 days she was in there - make ALL the difference in the world.

I can't wait to get back up there and see these munchkins this morning.

They are constantly changing.

I don't think the 'new' will ever wear off of them!

At least not for this Grandma!!