Progress News

So, what's the latest on the Bodger clan? Well...

Phoebe continues to do well at home. She now weighs 5 Lb 1 Oz and is feeding well. She's pretty sick after most feeds, but the SKBU nurse tells us this is quite normal for premature babies as the muscles in the stomach haven't yet formed properly. Someone needs to adjust her body clock, as she's pretty good during the day, but at night she's awake most of the time. She's got a bit of colic just like her brothers had, but as the sun comes up so Phoebe starts to settle down! I'm not complaining though as I'm just grateful to have her home with us - even if I do look pretty wrecked most of the time!

Lydia now weighs 3 Lb 12 Oz, which was Phoebe's birth weight, so it gives you a good idea just how far behind she is, given she's already over 6 weeks old! She was moved out of her incubator yesterday into a cot, so that's another big step. She's had two sets of swabs back clear of MRSA, which again is excellent news. She just needs one more clear set of results to be moved back into the High Dependency ward (she's currently in an isolation ward, bless her)! The cardiologist saw her again yesterday morning and was pleased with progress on the weight front. They will hopefully be contacting the surgical team in Bristol next Wed to arrange the heart operation. She still has a hole in her heart, but they will be scanning her later this week to see how that is doing. They have increased her feeds again to try and bulk her up, so she's now on 40mL of Helen's milk every 3 hours (which probably doesn't sound much to you, but for someone as small as Lydia that's a massive amount, believe me)!!

Sam loves having his sister Phoebe at home and loves telling her what he's been doing at school. He has his first school "class assembly" coming up next week, which he's really excited about. He still loves anything associated with numbers, and is starting to enjoy telling us jokes (most of which he has pinched from his Uncle John, and are pretty poor I can tell you)!

Daniel was excited to get his very own school T-shirt yesterday in preparation for him starting in Big School in Sept! His 4th Birthday is on Sunday, so he is having a party with his nursery friends on Friday at Jump (somewhere to avoid if you haven't got children)! We've also got most of the family over for tea on Sunday, so he'll enjoy spending time with his cousins and uncles, aunties, great aunt, nanny, grandad, grandma and bamps! It should go OK as long as Uncle John doesn't bring along too many more jokes!

So, that's about all the news from us at the moment. Will post more as it happens!!

As promised, some new photos

Here is a photo of Lydia taken yesterday afternoon. You will see she now has her food tube up her nose. This is good news, as it will let Helen have a go at feeding her....at last! She is off her flow-driver full time now, is putting on good weight and the last set of MRSA swabs were clear. She needs another 2 sets of clear swabs before they certify that she is free of it, but it's yet another step in the right direction!

And here is Phoebe sitting in her rather pink bouncy seat! Her brothers keep her well entertained as you can imagine!

News on Lydia's progress

The chromosome blood results came back yesterday and were clear. We thank God for answering our prayers yet again! She is putting on weight and is now at 1.5Kg. The cardiologist team will contact Bristol to arrange her heart surgery in the next couple of weeks, and the actual operation is likely to be in about 4 weeks time. The microbiologists are not planning to treat the MRSA at this stage, as Lydia is fighting this on her own at the moment. It feels like we are now beginning to get to the "start of the end" of this rather protracted stressful period! Phoebe is doing well at home and I will never complain about the sleepless nights, it gives me more opportunity to be thankful for the birth of the girls! Thank you so much to those of you who have prayed and thought about us during this time, it has been much appreciated I can assure you! I will try and get some new photos uploaded soon, when I get a speare minute.

The Latest on Lydia

Lydia continues to concern us. She was diagnosed with MRSA (the hospital "super bug") a few days ago and we have just received the results of a number of swab tests. They confirm she has it active in her eyes, nose and throat. They seem to think she is fighting this infection on her own at the moment, so they are not planning any medication at this stage. They are also concerned about her chromosome make-up, so they are taking bloods tomorrow (Fri 16/06). The results should be back by the middle of next week. We wait anxiously for the results. On the positive side, she is putting on weight and is fighting to take her oxygen prongs out of her nose most of the time, which are encouraging signs. You can imagine how Helen and I are feeling!

Phoebe is let out for good behaviour!

Phoebe had her first taste of Daddy's wonderful driving on the way home from hospital....and she loved it!

It's great having her home, and her brothers think she is fab! She's been very good and makes some lovely noises, particularly when she fills her nappy!

Maybe the last photo of Phoebe in hospital!

The nurses have now confirmed that subject to satisfactory blood results tomorrow (Monday), Phoebe may well be discharged tomorrow evening. This would be excellent news, but also very scary bringing a 4lb 6oz tiny baby home to face all the "loves" from her brothers!!



Lydia continues to make slow progress, and she is now 2lb 15oz, so she is making small steps in the right direction! She seems so frail compared to her sister and remains in her incubator in the high dependancy ward.

Quick Update!

Apologies I haven't had a chance to update the blog for a few days. Life has been a bit manic with the boys back in school after half term and I have now started back at work.
Phoebe was moved into the nursery on Monday 05/06, which is a step closer to the exit door of the neonatal ward! She is putting on weight and feeding well, both from Helen and from a bottle. I gave her her second-ever bottle yesterday night and she gulped it down!! She has pulled the feeding tube out of her nose herself, so the nurses have decided not to re-insert it again - this is a big step forward. She is now free from pipes and wires and may be home in the next couple of weeks!
Lydia is also putting on weight. She is now up to 1.28Kg, which is still tiny, but it's good progress for her with her heart condition. The cardiologists scanned her again this morning and confirm that the drugs are working well in reducing the blockage in her aorta temorarily, until she is strong enough for surgery. They also thought the hole in her heart had reduced slightly, which is also encouraging news. Lydia remains in the High Dependancy ward and still has lots of pipes, wires and monitors, bless her!
It's tricky balancing the visits to the hospital to feed Phoebe, change nappies, have cuddles, bath Phoebe, wash Lydia, etc. Helen is doing really well in keeping on top of this, as well as making sure the boys are in the right place at the right time! We're not sure how we will cope when Phoebe comes home and we still need to visit Lydia, but I'm sure it will all work out if we take it one day at a time!

Phoebe won't appreciate this photo!

More progress again today. Phoebe has moved out of her incubator and is now in a "normal cot". They are trying her off her flow driver constantly now to see how she does, and the early signs are encouraging.
She needs a couple of blankets to keep her temperature up, as well as this very fetching bonnet - she won't appreciate this photo later in life!
They are both putting on some weight, and are both now on 3-hourly feeds. Phoebe is guzzling 40mL at a time and Lydia just 28mL. They are also trying Lydia off her flow driver for a couple of hours during the day as you can see on these photos, and she is coping OK. It is great to be able to see her head and face properly without all the pipes in the way!
The nurses are talking about moving Phoebe into the nursery in the next few days, so this is a step nearer to the exit door! No doubt her sister will miss her being next to her, but it'a a good opportunity to socialise with her new neighbours!!

"What a life"!

No major updates today, so I thought you'd appreciate seeing a couple of stunning photos of the girls chilling out earlier this afternoon with the warm afternoon sun shining through their incubators!