25 Days

Well...I'm a few days late on this update. Try as I might, I just can't seem to get the update posted on the weekly anniversaries of the girls births. Oh well...we do the best we can.

We were told that the NICU experience would often feel like a roller coaster ride and we have definitely felt that the past few days.

Morgen started PO training (e.g., learning to feed by mouth) last week. She started slow taking only 7ccs from a bottle. The next day she took 10 and then 13 and on Sunday she jumped up to 28ccs. Her therapist Jean was quite pleased with her progression. She is now "cue ready" which means if she's awake and alert she can try feeding from a bottle or the breast. She gets to do this once per shift for two days and then twice per shift for two days, until she's getting all feedings from the bottle or breast. The nurses also expect her to be moved to a bassinet in another day or two. All in all, great steps towards coming home.

Sonne, on the other hand, has had some tough days. She had some apnea episodes on Sunday which were incredibly scary. She was put back on VapoTherm to aide her breathing and, after a rough night Monday, was moved another step back onto the CPAP device. On Monday she received a transfusion to help her hematocrit level as her CBC showed a significant decrease in red blood cells (apparently we don't start making our own red blood cells until a month after birth so premies often need help). She was also put on antibiotics and had cultures drawn to see if she has an infection. At this point we are waiting, but the doctors believe she might have a UTI. On the upside, both yesterday and today she had nonnutritive practice and both times, despite my having pumped dry, she latched and sucked and my milk let down so she was able to do a little bit of nutritive sucking. Both our lactation consultant and occupational therapist have said she is a natural and believe she will progress easily once she is cue ready. However, until she is past this infection and back off the more heavy duty breathing devices, they aren't going to formally assess her and advance her.

So we've had one baby taking strides forward and the other taking steps back. The doctors and nurses assure us that Sonne's set backs are normal for premies with low birth weights and tell us we shouldn't worry. Of course, that is easier said than done. They have also cautioned us that while Morgen is doing great, often times premies have set backs when they advance quickly as it is often a bit of an overload for them to have to do so many things at once. We are still hopeful that Morgen might be discharged in a few weeks (e.g., before her full term date), but we are still being told to expect them to be here until term. We shall see.

The last bit of news is that the girls had their first eye exams today and every thing looks great. The vascular system in the retinas is 95% developed for both girls. They will be reexamined in two weeks to see if the remaining 5% has developed and, if not, they can be treated for it. The eye doctor was very pleased with their results. And, while neither girl enjoyed the exam itself (and I have to admit I wasn't a fan of the device used to keep their eyes open), both settled down right after the exam was complete and have been resting comfortably ever since.

Best of all, both girls are growing. Morgen is now 4.5lbs. Sonne is 3.5lbs which is a mere three ounces shy of her sister's birth weight. And with each ounce they gain the more they look like healthy babies, even if they are still small.

And that's it from the NICU for now.