So today is July 5th...the girls are officially one month old. And thankfully, my fever broke overnight and I was able to see them today. When I got there this morning the girls were both sleeping. I fed Lia first since she gets more food and her feeding takes longer. She did really well, taking 25ml of her total 35ml feeding by bottle. She had a few rough patches and needed a little oxygen boost, but didn't have any major bradycardia episodes while eating - so she did really well. Then I moved on to Maddie and she took her whole bottle (she's now up to 15ml) without a single problem. Her nurse bumped her up to 30% oxygen before the feeding began just to make sure that she wouldn't have any problems, and sure enough, she didn't. But, as it turns out, she doesn't really need that extra boost since she took her entire night feeding at her regular 21% oxygen. AND, Miss Melia, did the very same thing tonight - she too took her entire night bottle and did so without needing any extra oxygen. This is huge for Melia. She's finished bottles before, but she's never been able to get through a feeding without an oxygen boost here and there. In fact, when the nurse put her back into her isolette she disconnected the tube from the oxygen machine and forget to reattach it right away. Usually she'd be reminded right away by the sound of the alarm going off if she was desaturating or not breathing properly. But this time the alarm didn't go off because her oxygen levels and breathing were excellent without any assistance whatsoever. As the nurse and I kept talking she made mention to how well Maddie is doing with her breathing also and said that she wouldn't be surprised if Dr. Kamtorn gave them a try without their nasal cannulas soon to see how they'd do. As was talked more, she said how great both girls are doing and how the both of them will be home sooner rather than later if things keep going this well. She is Madison's primary nurse and believes that Madison's hard times are over and that she'll be doing all the same things as Melia before we know it. As of last night she's actually maintaining her own body temperature, so she should be able to wear clothes soon too - so it seems that she is in fact on her way to doing the same things as Melia.
I missed the girls so much over the past couple days and it was so good to see them today and have 2 great visits. Tomorrow is supposed to be their eye exam. The doctor and nurses have let us know that the girls may be a bit cranky tomorrow. The eye test is a dilation test just like an adult, but it needs to be done quickly and it can be very stressful for little ones. So the day of the eye exam we're told to expect the girls to be cranky and possibly have more apnea/bradycardia episodes until the effects of the exam wear off. So tomorrow might be a rough day for the girls, but hopefully they'll handle it well.
When I wasn't at the hospital this afternoon I was home with Marissa (Mike's sister) working on the nursery. It's just about done now, just needs a couple final touches, but it looks great (thanks to Riss!!) and it makes me even more excited for the day that I get to bring my girls home! I can't wait!
- Mike and Amanda
- I am a 29 year old mother of identical twin girls, Madison and Melia. They were born at 29 weeks, 1 day gestation and spent 8 weeks in the NICU at St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston, NJ. They hit 40 weeks gestation on August 20, 2009 and are now considered full term. Even though they are actually 11 weeks old, they are just now considered to be newborns. I started this blog as a way to keep friends and family informed on what was going on with the girls while they were in the NICU. It has turned into a keepsake and a therapuetic outlet. I hope that everyone continues to follow along and enjoys sharing this first hand experience of first-time parents of premature twin girls.
Words that I came to live by while on strict bedrest for 6 weeks during my pregnancy, 4 of which were spent in the hospital ~ Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination. Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results.
