You Go Girls!

Mady took her bottle last night like she's been doing it for weeks! She finished the whole thing before Emma finished hers. I fed Mady while Christian fed Emma. Something so simple that other parents may take for granted... something just so amazing to us. Mady was even looking for more when she was done. Emma did great too and only had 5 cc's left in her bottle and neither one had any de-saturations in their O2. Mady did have a brady after her feeding, but that is pretty normal for just starting out! They are now in real clothes as well. They look so sweet. Emma is now over the 4lb. mark and Madelyn is 2 ounces away. We can't wait to head back in today to feed them again. Emma is still a little puffy, and they are keeping an eye on her. They don't want to give her a diruetic unless it's really necessary since her lungs sound great. They are doing so well we can't help but hope that they'll be home in 2 weeks. There's been no mention of it, but that's what we're hoping for!!

Our little girls are growing up

Emma had her first bottle yesterday! She took the whole bottle with the nurse and with me she got about 1/2 way through. It was such a great feeling to be able to feed my little girl. They'll alternate bottle with the tube feedings. We don't want to push her too hard as she still has plenty of time to get it figured out. She has been a little "puffy" the last 2 days and her O2 was up a little today (38-40%), so we're thinking they may give her a diuretic to help get rid of excess fluid.

Madelyn will be trying her first bottle feeding today. We know she has the sucking part down, but throwing swallowing into the mix is a lot for them.

They are now both allowed to wear clothes, so I'm going to make them up some shirts this weekend when I get some free time at home (which is very scarce). We seem to miss them more and more every day as they become more aware and we get to handle them and bond with them more. Since the girls can't be in day care for about a year, we are looking for an in-home nurse to take care of them on Thursday's. One of the nurses at the NICU is already interested! We just have to figure out how much we would be paying her, etc. We only had her once as a nurse, but she seems very nice, knowledgeable and loves the girls.

Back at Work

I am now back at work part-time until the girls come home. Yesterday was my first day back and it was difficult. Pumping twice while at work is definitely interesting. I was exhausted when I got home last night at 8:30 after a full day and visiting with the girls. It's going to be a hard 3-4 weeks. My blog posts may be a little more sporadic, but I will try my best to get updates up as often as I can... not only for my readers but for us to have on record and to help us remember our journey!

Happy 3 Week Birthday Girls!

Snuggling with Mom

Emma

Madelyn

The girls are now 32 weeks, which is their 3 week birthday! No changes at rounds today except that they will continue to TRY to ween the girls down on their O2. We are starting to really see differences between the girls. Emma definitely has a fuller head of hair and it's also darker. Madelyn has a birth mark on her shoulder and thigh. Emma always has her mouth open. Madelyn loves to be swaddled and LOVES her pacifier. She loves to look at us while she eats. Emma loves to make cute little noises and pull out her canula. They are both more and more alert every day. It's amazing when you think about the fact that they should still be in my belly for another 4 weeks!

This post is a little late, but we want to pass on congratulations and good luck to Emma and Madelyn's new friend, Gianna, that they met in the NICU. Gianna and her family are originally from Erie and were life-flighted to Magee. Gianna is now doing so well that they were able to head back to the NICU in Erie. They are a wonderful family and we wish them nothing but happiness! Hopefully Gianna will only have a few more weeks before she can be at home with Mom and Dad.

Amazing

The girls are now only ounces different in their weights. Mady is determined to catch up and surpass her sister. They are competing already! Emma: 3lbs 7.8 oz, Madelyn: 3lbs 6.4 oz. Their feedings have been up'd to 30ccs!

Yesterday we bathed them both. It's fun and stressful! They seem to do okay during bath time and it's adorable to see their eyes open the whole time staring at us. Emma had some incredible poops yesterday! Christian was changing her diaper and it was still coming out! The poor girls are in that closed, heated isolette, so when their diapers smell, they suffer.

I'm going back to work in just a few days. I'm hoping it's only for 3 weeks and that the time will fly past. It's going to be VERY hard to work all day and then go see the girls and somehow still rest and finish the nursery. I have no idea how Christian has been doing it all this time. I guess you just find the strength when you know it's your little girls. I will be returning part time, which means I will be losing all my benefits, BUT I'll be getting time for the girls and that is the single most important thing right now. I'm feeling a little better today. I did have a slight fever again last night, but it's gone now.

Growing!

Last night Emma weighed in a 3lbs 7 oz and Madelyn at 3lbs 4 oz. Our little girls will be 5 lbs before we know it! They are both doing great. Right now we are just working on them growing, feeding and breathing. The nurses are trying to wean them both off of their oxygen, but it's a slow process. They are getting there though! We are hoping they'll be introduced to bottles next week to try to get down the complicated process of breathing, swallowing and sucking. Most babies don't really "get it" until 34 weeks. One of the nurses did tell me that they may be able to move to the E pod soon, which is where they will be reunited again. Again, it's just a matter of getting their o2 level down a little. Christian got to weigh Madelyn Friday and was so happy! We are now both able to get them in and out of their isolettes. :)

I have mastitis. This is the 3rd time since I started pumping that I've had a fever and a painful breast. This time however, my temperature hit 101.4 and I was quite miserable yesterday. We both caught up on sleep most of the day and went in to see the girls last night. The doctor gave me a prescription for an antibiotic and 800mg of motrin. She said I should be better within 48 hours.