We have been adjusting to our new schedule...

We have been adjusting to our new schedule and life change along with trying to recover. Trying to divide our time between our two daughters at home and our two daughters in the NICU. So I do apologize. I know it has to be like you are reading a book and it just stops all of sudden and you need to read the rest to see how it ends. Or like at our house, when you are watching a movie and your cable goes out. : )

It has only been one week and we are already feeling the roller coaster. You can have a day with an emotional breakdown when things are fine. Then you have days when you feel strong and they might not be doing as well, but you are able to look to tomorrow and feel positive. It is the hard times when you feel helpless, when you just look at their face or their lungs that are working so hard to breathe and you know there is nothing you can do. It is moving from Emma's bedside to go to Olivia's bedside and realizing that Olivia could probably eat Emma for breakfast. : ) Both girls are still on a c-pap so you can barely see their face. They have recently been taken off of the jaundice light so you can now see their eyes. They haven't opened them yet but it is nice to see a little more of their face. They are doing way better than expected but are still fighting normal premature issues. Olivia has episodes of apnea of prematurity where she forgets to breathe. Emma is on about 25% oxygen through her c-pap. They are both struggling to digest their milk. They are in a phase right now where they are priming their gut. It is a testing phase where they see how much they are processing without overdoing their little bodies.

Emma is doing really well as far as healing from her collapsed lungs. Both girls had an echocardiogram today. They were basically looking to see if their PDA has closed. I'm not sure how to explain it but it is something in the heart that needs to be closed. Most babies close within 24 to 48 hours after birth. Premature babies have a hard time closing theirs and usually need some help with medication. Emma and Olivia both need help. So they were started on this medication tonight and will have 3 doses - tonight, 12 hours, and 24 hours. The great news is that this should help a lot with their respiration and with their digesting their foods. They have to watch when they give them these meds that it isn't too hard on their kidneys.

Olivia has been taken off the humidity. Emma is still at 80% humidity inside their incubators. The nurse said tomorrow if Olivia has behaved all night and tomorrow morning that I might be able to Kangaroo Care with her tomorrow. This is when I would put on a hospital gown and have her lay on my chest. It can only be done for an hour. It all depends on how she does with her oxygen and apnea episodes. I think the nurse was trying to encourage me because I wasn't having the best time tonight. So we'll see. I definitely don't want to do anything to set her back.

So I guess that is the sum of how the girls are doing. They are both around their birth weight.

These pictures make the girls look much bigger than they really are. Let me see if I can let you imagine how big they are. Mike could hold Emma in the palm of his hand. Emma's hand is the size of my fingernail. Olivia is over twice the size of Emma. Their diapers are smaller than a deck of cards. The pictures might look a little blue from the lights.

I am having my appointment tomorrow with the urologist to see what the next step (consultation) is for my cyst on my left kidney. I will write and let you know what they say and if anything changes with the girls.

Keep praying for their respiratory system, their growth and their feedings. Thank you all for keeping up with our girls!!!!