Every day is special

I got to hold David today!! I mean - really hold him - for a long time! It was absolutely wonderful! I walked up to his little incubator and he was flailing his arms about, had pulled his feeding tube out and was fussy. Then he finally found his thumb (his new favorite toy) and sucked away. The nurse came over and got him out for me and I sat and held him. He did so well - maintained his oxygen saturation pretty much the whole time.

Later, Brent and I went back together and I held Mary Louise while he held David. We each fed one and sat next to each other. Amazing how much the two little ones look alike. As I sat and watched us all together, it finally felt real - that we have 2 children - 2 little babies. Everything until now has been so separate. So individual - ha - so emergent. It wasn't really real before.

Amazing, amazing day. I just know Kuylen is sitting there smiling for us.

The babies are doing well. David is tolerating the Vapotherm beautifully and they are weaning him slowly but surely. Mary Louise is doing just fine without any respiratory support. She desats a little after feedings but recovers just fine. There will be concern about her eyes until there are signs that the retinopathy is reversing. David is definitely not out of the woods there either. Although his eyes have shown no changes, they are still classified as immature. They will have eye exams weekly for awhile.

I was told today that the doctor likes the babies to get to at least 4.5 pounds prior to putting them in a crib (rather than a warmed incubator - at 4.5 pounds, they can potentially maintain their temperature). Our babies have other issues, but the weight gain is a big goal. In addition, they must breathe completely on their own and maintain their saturation. Those are I think the largest long term goals. I will address others as they come up (such as the vision problems). I continue to learn as I go.

How wonderful it was to see our babies together for the first time and to be able to hold our little peanut David.

We will sleep well tonight.

Love, Heather