Hello everyone! I apologize for the lack of updates recently. As

Happy 4th of July!

William and James are now two weeks old. They are both continuing to do really well. They are still at Wentworth-Douglas hospital in Dover, NH. Gwen and I have been spending most nights with them, to help the nurses look after them and work on their feeding ability. They are both doing well at that for babies their age (36 weeks now!), but William is doing a little bit better than James at the moment. There is a chance that William might be ready to be released by the end of the week if he keeps up his progress! However, they won’t come home until they both are, so it might be a bit longer than that before we bring them home.

I also went back to work this week, so naturally I had a lot of stuff to catch up on (my email in-box had over 1,000 messages in it!). Thanks to that, and the fact that my sister Sarah and brother in law Chris were here visiting, meant that the last week has been a bit of a whirlwind. Still, Gwen and I were able to make time to visit with Sarah and Chris, and to see the fireworks show in Portsmouth last night. I even got to spend a couple of hours at a game store near the hospital! All in all, we are having a very blessed 4th of July holiday.

As always, here are some more pictures:

It’s hard to believe, but William and James are a week old already! And what a whirlwind week it as been, too. The boys were safely transferred to Wentworth-Douglas hospital in Dover, NH on Thursday, which is a MUCH easier trip for Gwen and me to make. More importantly, the environment at WD is much nicer; the boys are in a private room, meaning it is quieter and much more private. Plus, Gwen and I can even sleep there in the room with them.

William and James are continuing to do great. They are both gaining weight, and are off all support with the exception of a feeding tube. They are also still being kept in isolettes to help regulate their body temperatures. So, the biggest hurdles between them and coming home are their ability to feed on their own and stay warm without a climate controlled box. Gwen and I have been working with them daily towards these goals, and they are making progress. However, it is impossible to say when they will be finally ready; probably another couple of weeks at least. Here are some more pictures:

Hello everyone!

William with Mom & Dad

The last few days have been hectic, but overall things have been going very well for William and James. James came off of his CPAP machine on Monday, and has stayed off of it since. They have both been getting a little jaundiced, but are improving after spending the day under a UV light. Even better, both of them have been able to keep their feeds down, meaning that they no longer require IV fluids. This means that they have improved enough to be safely transfered to abother hospital that is closer to Kittery! Gwen and I are really excited about that, as it means it will be much easier for us to visit William and James. They will be moved to one of two hospitals tomorrow morning; we don’t know which one yet for sure. The final decision will be based on bed availability at each one in the morning.

My Mom and Dad, as well as Gwen’s Mom, have been out here to support me and Gwen through this whole process. It has been great to have their help, as well as to watch them meet their grandsons for the first time! My Mom and Dad are heading back to Indiana today; their visit seemed like it was over before it began! However, their return will allow my Sister and Brother-in-law to come out, so that’s good. Aunt Sarah is chomping at the bit to see her new nephews ;).

I’ll leave you all with some more photos:

Happy Fathers’s Day!

Yesterday, Gwen gave me the most amazing Father’s Day gift I could ever ask for; our sons! Without further ado, allow me to introduce the newest additions to the Rucker family:

Baby William

Born: 20 June 2015, 1000

Weight: 4 pounds, 5 oz.

Lengthe: 17 and 3/4 inches

Baby James

Born: June 20, 2015, 1020

Weight: 4 pounds, 4 oz.

Lengoth: 17 inches

Path Ahead

William and James are both doing well, but are going to be in the Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for a while. This is due to the fact that they were born at 34 weeks, and still need help breathing and eating (the small mask on James’ face is a CPAP machine that aids his breathing some). We don’t know how long the boys will have to stay in the NICU; most likely they will be there until their original due date, which is 29 July. For now, that is what Gwen and I are planning on. If they are able to come home earlier, that will be a bonus! In the mean time, the will be at the hospital in Boston. That will make it a little inconvenient for us, as Gwen will be released from the hospital tomorrow. After that, we will be on or own for lodging and transportation. Rather than try to commute all the way from Kittery each day (which is about an hour and a half each way) we are looking into staying at a hotel. As one might expect, the hotels close to the hospital are quite expensive, so we will probably stay at one that is about 30 minutes away instead.

Additional Pictures

Here is a gallery of pictures I’ve taken the last couple of days. Until next time!