FINALLY an update

I know this post is long overdue, but things have been a little busy around here lately. The girls came home with us on Friday (Nov 14).

Abby in her car seat


Emily in her car seat


Their first night was pretty rough. They woke up at least every 20 minutes all night. Saturday was a busy day for all of us. They met their great-grandparents on Byron's side, their Great-Aunt Polly and Great-Uncle Jon, their second cousins Harrison, Molly and Gertie, their aunt Christine and they finally got to meet their uncle Jacob who was too young to visit them in the NICU.

Meeting Byron's Family


Abby meets Uncle Jacob


Sunday night was just about as rough as Friday night and I was sick, so Byron stayed up with the girls all night. I think by the end of the night he was happy that he wasn't the one staying home and waking up at night for the next 8 weeks. We did discover that they seem to keep each other awake when they sleep in the same room so for now they have been moved to separate rooms.

On Monday Abby and Emily had their first checkup with their doctor who said that they are doing very well. Abby gained 4 oz between Friday and Monday and now weighs 4lbs, 4oz and Emily gained 6oz since Friday and now weighs 4lbs!

I was still pretty sick when Monday night rolled around so my mother stayed over and took care of the girls and let us catch up on sleep.

On Tuesday we made our first trip Target, which was their first time going somewhere other than the hospital or the doctor. They seemed to enjoy being pushed around the store all wrapped up in their nice warm seats. They drew quite the crowd. Every time we passed someone we would have to stop so people could take a quick look and talk about how cute they are. Someone did ask if they were boys or girls. I politely said that they were girls, but really I thought it was quite obvious from the pink on the car seats, the pink outfits they had on and their pink hats but maybe it just wasn't enough pink?

The girls also had a little play time on Tuesday. They had their first tummy time on their play mat and their first time of being together out in the open. Emily wasn't too fond of tummy time and was so uninterested in playing with Abby that she fell asleep on her (it was cute to see her doze off on Abby's arm though). Abby seemed to be perfectly happy on her tummy and was interested in checking out what Emily was up to when they played together.

Emily trying to decide what she thinks about tummy time. She refused to have her head turned sideways


Emily decided that she doesn't enjoy tummy time


Emily asleep next to Abby. Abby looks like she's going to haul off and slap Emily.


Abby was very interested in checking Emily out.


Abby's Tummy Time


Abby enjoying her play time


I was curious to see if the 0-3 month socks would fit Emily...I think she has a few years of growing until she fits in them.


Last night (Tuesday night) the girls slept for about 4 hours between each feeding, which meant I only had to get up ONCE during the night! We fed them right before bed time, they woke up at about 2:00 and then the next time they got up was in the morning at 6ish! They seem to like the more upright position of their swings, so once we found out that it was OK to let them sleep in there (with the swing turned off) we decided to give it a try and sure enough they had a great night. Hopefully they keep this up.

Emily fast asleep in her swing (yes I know she has loose blankets...yes, I was right there watching her).


I think that's it for now. I'll try to post a bit more frequently now that the girls are trying to be a bit more agreeable.

The girls' doctor decided that Emily hadn't gained enough weight over the last few days so he changed the new coming home date to Friday. On Friday Abby will definitely be coming home and Emily will come home as long as she continues to gain weight. If she doesn't gain over the next day or so, they'll bump her discharge back until the weekend.


Today Abby took her carseat test and Emily was supposed to take it after I left tonight. During the test the baby sits in her carseat and is hooked up to monitors to confirm that she is able to safely breathe in the seat for one hour. Abby passed without any problems. Emily shouldn't have any problems either, but I'll know for sure in the morning. Below is a picture of Abby during the test.



Emily had her evaluation with the developmental pediatrician today to assess her hearing, sight and strength. They test her ability to follow an image that is passed in front of her eyes as well as her ability to hear a voice and look toward it. The doctor said she has absolutely no developmental problems and is pretty much up to speed with a full term newborn! She also learned how to suck her thumb today and seemed to be quite happy with it. I forgot my regular camera at the hospital tonight, so pictures from my phone will have to do.

Babies are coming home!

Here's the quick rundown on the last couple days. On Sunday the girls were moved into cribs and have been keeping their temperatures up well, so they past the test of being moved into room temperature. Then on Sunday night they were very hungry and have been eating ravenously ever since. Their minimum requirement for each feeding is 25mL, but they had been eating 30-35mL. They have now suddenly started drinking 60mL at some feedings! They seem to want to come home with us as much as we do!

Emily in her crib


Abby in her crib



After a talk with the doctor today about how they are doing, he decided that Thursday would be a good day for them to move in with us! We're SO excited to be able to bring them home!

November 8 Update

The girls are still making great progress. As of noon tomorrow (Sunday) they will both be in cribs. This is a big step for them because it is the last major hurdle that they need to jump (other than ongoing weight gain). The biggest change for the girls is their sudden desire to eat. Until Thursday every feeding was a fight. They had to be forced to take their bottles and they were eating only their minimum requirements every 4 hours. On Friday they suddenly got a hang of eating and started to wake up crying for food every 3 hours. Not only have they been eating, but they have been eating much more than they are required to eat. They are both below their birth weights (just about all babies lose weight during the first few weeks), however they have now started to gain weight again. Abby is up to 3 lbs, 12 oz and Emily is up to 3 lbs, 8 oz. The picture below may just look like an angry baby (Emily), but really it shows the great progress that the girls have made. It shows Emily crying for food!




Hopefully this progress means that the girls will be coming home this week. We'll likely have a date on Monday when the doctor is back in the hospital.

Dad with Abby


This isn't a great picture, but I just love the frog feet so much.


Dad with Emily


Dad with Abby


Colleen with Abby


Emily


Mrs. Bowen with Abby and Liz with Emily

Emily goes wireless too!

Today Emily decided that it was time to catch up to Abby. She was taken off the monitors and also suddenly started eating more than Abby. Before this she was lagging behind a little bit, but they really seem to be on the same track right now. Other than that, everything is going well and hopefully they'll be in cribs by the weekend.

The thought of bringing them home sometime in the near future is really exciting. The nursery is all set up and the only thing it still needs is babies. At this point the only thing the girls have left to do before they can come home is consistently gain weight.

Abby

Abby Goes Wireless!

The girls seem to be making so much progress every day...it feels like I have something huge to write here every day. They are doing incredibly for babies born this early. Both Abby and Emily are eating well, maintaining their body temperatures and growing. They are well on their way to coming home sometime next week! Today Abby's monitoring system was completely removed and now she is wireless! She has done so well to date that she no longer needs to have her vitals monitored all day. Emily will have hers removed tomorrow as long as she keeps up the good work (she had to wait an extra day because she had some breathing problems last Saturday). Within the next couple days the girls should also be moved into cribs which will be the last major change before they are released. We are SO thankful that we have such healthy girls who are doing so well.

We want to thank you all for the visits, cards, calls and e-mails we've received so far. It's great to know how much everyone cares about our family.

Moved into a new nursery!

Today was a big day for our new family - Abby and Emily were upgraded to the Continuing Care Nursery which is the next step on the girls' way to coming home! The girls just need to continue to grow and eat in order to be released. At rounds this morning the doctor said that he thinks it won't be much more than a week until Abby and Emily get to move home with us as long as they keep up the good work.

I was discharged from the hospital today, but decided to take advantage of the hospital's free boarding program so that I could stay close to the girls. The hospital has some rooms available to parents of babies in the NICU at no cost to the families in order to allow the parents to be as involved as possible with the care of their children. While I was very thankful for this opportunity I quickly realized that the beds were not going to work for me as my abs are extremely uncomfortable from the surgery and I'm unable to lie flat at this point. Having to leave the girls at the hospital alone was really a really tough decision, but it is nice to know that they are being taken care of by the great nurses at UMass. To help me feeel a bit better, Byron will be dropping me off at the hospital each morning this week so I can spend the day with the babies.

Here are the girls in the awesome shirts that Justin and Lisa bought for them - all the nurses talk about how cute the shirts look! Thanks guys!










Here's a picture of Emily asleep on Byron's lap. She seems to love snuggling with him.



Now that the girls are in the Continuing Care Nursery we are able to hold them together and take pictures - tomorrow I'll try to take some so that everyone can see how surprised we were to find that they look VERY similar!