Are We There Yet?

We are starting to get antsy because we want the babes home so badly.

But we know how important it is for them to learn how to feed properly, so we sit patiently and wait.  We visit the babes daily, feed them, and snuggle them in our arms.  It's absolutely wonderful seeing them grow day by day. No longer do they look like the fragile little babes that were born almost a month ago!

The twins have yet again had an awesome week. Amelia's echocardiogram on Monday showed that her PDA valve was smaller!! They are now very confident that it will close on it's own. The cardiologist won't do another scan till just before she goes home.

Madeline hit an amazing milestone on Saturday & is now 5 pounds!! We couldn't be more ecstatic. She is becoming more alert when we feed her & she also likes to have play time with us after. Amelia on the other hand likes to have a good snooze post feeding.  Although she has been on the diuretic for her PDA, she still continues to gain weight & is 4 lbs 12 oz.  I can see her hitting 5 pounds in the next few days!

Both girls have had on & off days with feeding, but as the week progressed, it seems like we are having more on that off.  They are now 35 weeks & apparently that's when a lot of feeding cues kick in.  The girls are now up to 3-4 feeds a day from the breast or bottle.  They have also had their tube feeds lowered from an hour and a half all the way down to thirty minutes.  As long as they can keep the spits away, then they will continue at this rate. The idea here is to make them hungrier for feeds off the tube. Once the tube is obsolete, these babes will be on their way home!

Today I let the girls know that a perfect birthday present to me would be their discharge from the hospital.  But in all reality, I am hopeful that they will be home in the next couple weeks!