What a week this has been! A week ago this morning I was on bed rest hoping for a good ultrasound photo of their slightly alien-looking faces (I still think 3D ultrasounds are a little creepy) and today I have hundreds of photos of them doing pretty much the same thing with very slight variation... laying around just looking so stinking cute!
Their one week birthday came with a few awesome presents from the doctor this morning:
Head Ultrasound. Doesn't that sound terrifying? Maybe it is just me - it probably is because I was the only one who seemed to be nervous about it! I try to tell the NICU nurses that I will eventually become a less neurotic parent: it may be an empty promise... Anyway, Sadie had a head ultrasound this morning to check out ventricle sizes and to ensure there were no bleeds. All looked "within normal range". We will be repeating this ultrasound next week to watch her development (because she is so much smaller).
Food and Poop. Until yesterday, Sadie had only been eating 2 mL every 6 hours. Yesterday they increased her feedings to every 4 hours. Today we are eating 3 mL every 3 hours!! This is definitely a positive move forward. The problem? Baby girl needs to poop! She hasn't gone to the bathroom in almost 36 hours - poor girl! If she doesn't go by 5:00 tonight, they will give her a suppository to help out... at that point I think I'll just let Ryan change all of her diapers!!
Big obnoxious lamps. At 8:00 tonight, Sadie will be all done with the phototherapy lights!! This means she won't have the face mask any more to cover her eyes and we can finally swaddle her! Swaddling is so very important because it mimics being in the uterus and is very soothing to the girls.
Head Ultrasound. Like her little sister, Ella's head ultrasound looked good. Because she is a little bigger, she will not have to have another until she reaches 36 weeks (gestational age).
Food and Poop. Sadie is now eating 8 mL every 3 hours (doubling the amount of food she now receives)! This is an increase from 4 mL! So far, she is doing great. Ella has had much better luck in the poop department. She had her first near-blowout last night... I am not sure I am ready for the real thing.
Big obnoxious lamps. Ella will also be done with the phototherapy lamps at 8:00 tonight. Hopefully both girls can keep their bilirubin levels under control so they get to spend more time with mommy and daddy holding them!!
After a week of all "status quo" rounds with the doctors, today's changes were very welcome! More steps forward and closer to getting big and strong and going home!
These girls suck! Seriously - look at them both going to town on these pacifiers! And they make it look so damn cute! I don't want to brag... but they ARE both holding their pacifiers on their own. They are pretty much kicking ass at life!
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