Baby, It's Cold Outside...

Happy Wednesday All.

So, a few weeks ago when the doctors and nurse practicioners were discussing milestones and steps towards coming home, they mentioned a few things specifically that the girls had to do: breathe on their own, eat on their own, and maintain their own body temperatures.

Well, Sydney has accomplished #1. Olivia is almost there. She's still on her tiny bit of oxygen and humidity.

Both girls are working towards task #2. Olivia totally gets the breastfeeding concept but will need to perfect it more. Sydney, well, she's getting there. Improvement is needed on her technique. And they both will have an opportunity tomorrow to learn about eating from a bottle. This is a normal progression for kids that won't be exclusively fed from the breast. Dad will get some time in with feedings and keep Mom from needing to be present at all eating times. So tomorrow I'll be introducing a bottle feed to them both.

Thirdly, as we discussed yesterday, the girls were moved into open-air cribs. This really challenges them to maintain their own temps since there's nothing but their clothing and a blanket to keep them warm. Well, one of the girls made it through this challenge... Back when the doctors first gave us the list of milestones, they told us that the open-air crib step wouldn't happen until the babies reached 4 pounds. Well, it seems this was pretty accurate. Seems Sydney wasn't able to stay warm enough. Since she's really only 3lbs, 10oz, she really doesn't have enough muscle and fat to keep warm. Olivia, on the other hand, did well today in her new crib. So, when I arrived this afternoon, Sydney was back in her old isolette. :( Oh well. Not a big setback, but it does delay the possibility of them coming home by a few days.

Other than this, not a lot new going on with the girls today. As I said, Sydney is now 3lbs 10.5oz and Olivia is 4lbs 8oz. I've warned Sydney that she's falling behind and is about to be passed by nearly a pound by her sister. We'll see how she responds.

Grandpa Gale and Grandma Vicki plan on visiting the girls tomorrow. It's been about 2 weeks since they saw them last, so they'll probably be surprised at how much they've grown. We'll see if Grandpa Gale decides that they aren't too little and actually holds one of the girls...

Until tomorrow!

M

PS..there are no pictures tonight because HORROR OF ALL HORRORS...we forgot the camera today..but we'll make up for that tomorrow night, we promise.