Dave's Vlog 4/27

I wanted to start contributing more on the blog & decided that a vlog might be a better way to do that.

Here is the first installment!

Follow me to the girl's hospital room to meet Madeline & Amelia!

- Dave

Mini Update

Fabulous news from the girl's doctor today.  At two weeks old, head ultrasounds showed both girls had possible grade 1 brain bleeds. Yesterday's scan showed that all issues have resolved themselves & they won't need to scan them again!  This is a huge weight off our shoulders!

{Madeline}

Amelia also hit another milestone...she is 5 pounds! Well 5 lbs 2 oz to be exact! She is up to 3-4 bottles or breastfeeding a day & her sister is up to 4-6.

 {Amelia working with the OT}

 {Amelia working with the OT}

The anticipation of having them home is almost harder to handle than all the worry at the beginning of their stay. We know they are so close to making it!

Birthdays

Today is my birthday. The big 3-0. The dirty 30. 

I certainly don't feel 30 & it doesn't feel like my birthday.

Dave took me out to dinner. I ate too much.

And I made a wish when I blew out the candle on my dessert.

You already know what I wished for.

We Are One Month Old!

{Madeline}  

 {Amelia}

{Caught a little smile from Maddie!}

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!

Feeding & Growing

Both girls have had a great week & are really starting to gain weight. Madeline is now up 1 pound since birth! She weighs 4lbs 9oz & Amelia is 4lbs 6oz. Their little preemie diapers are starting to get too small!

Dad on diaper duty

Right now we are really excited that Amelia is gaining weight, since she is on a diuretic for her heart murmur. {This could cause her to maintain or lose weight} Her echocardiogram last week showed that her PDA valve has not yet closed, & in fact looked larger. They will check again tomorrow to see if it has improved at all this past week, as they can still hear the murmur.

caught a little smile

We have been working hard on breastfeeding. Right now they can feed from me or a bottle twice a day, & I'm hoping that this can get bumped up to more sessions soon.  The closer they are to getting their feeding tubes out, the closer they are to going home! Both girls have their shining moments in the eating department, while on other days, they just play around or snooze.

In certain light both girl's hair looks strawberry blonde

We have a checklist of all the things the girls must be able to do/or have done. So far only two things have been checked off. Dave & I have taken the infant CPR test & both girls have passed their hearing exam. Hopefully this week we can really make a dent in that checklist. The Braves season has started & these girls need to be home watching the games with us!!

A week in pictures

The girls have had a pretty good week! We are really working hard on feeding & growing. We want these girls home with us!!