Day 6

Today was definitely an UP day - and having left the hospital last night and being away from the girls for the longest period of time to date - it's exactly what we needed! Both of the girls looked great! They were both taken off of the phototherapy lights, so their eye masks were of (whenever we got to see them with their masks off before, it was either good timing on our part because the nurses were cleaning them up, or it was the nurses being sympathetic to new parents who want to see what their babies look like and they'd take them off for a while so we could get a good look at them and take some pictures). We even got a rare glimpse of Melia with her eyes open! Dr. Kamtorn said that both of their lung x-rays looks significantly better than yesterday's x-rays and that there was a strong possibility that they would both be taken off of the ventilators tomorrow! Whoa! I don't know if mommy is ready for this! As much as I can't wait for them to be clear of all these devices, I'm afraid that they won't be able to handle it and I can't stand the thought of watching them struggle as they try to learn to breathe on their own. I realize it's a necessary evil, but I just don't know that I'm ready - then again, I don't think there will ever be a moment where I believe that I am truly ready. Maddie is still eating every 6 hours and is digesting all of her food. Melia is eating every 4 hours and is digesting almost all of her food. Maddie was doing so good that her nurse rewarded her by letting her wear her beautiful knit hat that one of the volunteers made for her. While we were visiting the babies we were approached by a couple social workers who were running a NICU 101 group in the NICU family lounge. After being approached for the second time, we decided to fall victim to the pressure and attend the group. Being a Wednesday afternoon, there weren't many parents there to attend the group, so it was very small - with the number of social workers outnumbering the number of parents in the room. Others told their stories and we told our story. We found it so awesome that all of the social workers had heard of our babies and were following alone since I was first admitted into the hospital when I was 23 weeks along. We were able to speak one on one with Dr. Sun, the director of neonatology. Dr. Sun knew of our babies as well, since every morning the entire neonatal staff has a meeting where they brainstorm about each and every baby in the unit. It's so great to know that we have so many people dedicated to helping us and making sure that our girls are well taken care of. Dr. Sun also said that he very much wants the parents to be a part of his team. If we have questions, thoughts, concerns, suggestions - he wants us to share them and be a part of the decision making process to come up with the best possible treatment plan for our babies. That is so important and made Mike & I very happy to hear. This group is held every week, with a different topic, and I think we are going to keep going to it. We want to get involved as much as we can to meet other parents and build a continued support system.