Caroline is coming home!!!

Tomorrow is the big day... that is, if she has no brady's between now and 5:30PM tomorrow evening. She passed her car seat test last night and had her Hepatitis B vaccination today, so she is all set to come home. She has been doing so great these past few days. She weighed in at 5lb,8oz this morning and has been eating about 60-65 ml's at every feeding, which is just as much as her sister. I'm so proud of her! So hopefully our next post will show pictures of our baby's homecoming.

The girls are scheduled to have their pictures taken by the hospital photographer tomorrow afternoon. I'll post the link to the site so all can view.

Videos of Livi at home!

Here are some vids of Livi at home.

Here she is right after her first kitchen sink bath:





She eats 8 meals per day, here is #3 from Sunday:

Livi's First Bath and Doctor's Visit

Olivia had her first pediatrician appointment on Friday. She checked out great and weighed in at 6lbs even (so now she is most likely a couple ounces over that, as she should be gaining about one ounce per day). The doctor did faintly hear her heart murmur and we have a follow up echocardiogram scheduled at the Children's hospital in February for that. She also said that her belly button is slightly herniated, which could correct on its own so we'll keep an eye on that as well. She is scheduled for her second appointment in one week, and we tentatively set it up for Caroline to come in as well - hoping that she'll also be discharged from the NICU by then. Yesterday Caroline had not had any brady's in two days so we are potentially looking at Tuesday for her homecoming. They asked us to bring in her carseat today to do her test! We're keeping our fingers crossed. We were also surprised to see that she has started eating as much as her sister, taking about 60-65 mls per feeding! I hope she catches up soon. She was 5lb, 4oz yesterday.

Here are some pictures of Livi getting her first bath at home. She didn't even cry that much.

Olivia's first night home

Last night was Olivia's first at home. We all did pretty well, I think. Rob and I didn't get much sleep at all, but that pretty much comes with the territory. It was wonderful to have her here and to be able to comfort her when she woke up. She loves being held so we spent a lot of time just sitting together. She is still on her schedule of eating every three hours, and just like clockwork she was up right before it was chow time. I had set my alarm for the three hour increments, but didn't need it because she definitely lets us know when it's time to eat.

Here are a few pictures of Livi right before she was discharged from the hospital, and then a couple of her and mommy at home.

As for Caroline, she was not cleared to go home today because she continues to have brady episodes. Although she has not had any while sleeping (the most concerning kind), she has them during feedings where she gets too tired while trying to finish her bottle, holds her breath and her heart rate drops. The past few times it drops into the 40's lasting 10 to 15 seconds. Because of this, the doctors decided to keep her a few days longer. They said today that they want to see how she does over the weekend and then reassess.

Olivia is coming home TODAY!

We are so excited! She just passed her car seat test and is all packed up ready to go. AND ... there is a chance that Caroline might be coming home tomorrow! It will be day 5 for her of no brady's. So if she stays status quo for the next 24 hours we can finally be done with this hospital! Keep your fingers crossed...

Uncle Cliff came to visit us today as he had a layover in Chicago for the day. I'll post a cute picture of him holding his grand nieces later.

Both over 5lbs now!

Caroline has made it to the 5lb mark! She was 5lb,0.8oz today and Olivia was 5lb,9.5oz. No brady's today while sleeping for either. Caroline had a couple with her feedings, but they aren't counting those for the "five day rule". The doctors actually talked to us today about possibly discharging Olivia tomorrow since it will be her fifth day for no brady's while sleeping. So if she doesn't have any overnight and none tomorrow throughout the day she will be free to come home. They gave us the option to keep her there until Wednesday so we feel more comfortable with the fact that she has indeed outgrown having the episodes, and I think we're leaning towards that option. And Olivia's umbilical cord fell off last night. So we'll be able to give her real baths when she gets home. Caroline still has hers but it should fall off in the next day or so.

We'll see what tomorrow brings...

NICU Day 18

The doctor came around this morning and heard a murmur in both girls' hearts. They originally only heard one in Olivia, but today found a soft murmur in Caroline as well. They said that I should not be overly concerned at this time, as the valves could close on their own in time. But both will need to get an echo soon to take another look. Other than that, the girls had a good day. Both had a couple of brady's today, funny how I come to almost expect them to happen every day. I hope they grow out of these episodes soon. This daily hospital routine is really wearing on us. Rob and I have spent every single day at that hospital for the past 8 weeks and 5 days now (including my inpatient stay while pregnant). We miss them terribly after kissing them goodbye each night, such a strange feeling to have to leave your children in someone else's care every day. It's almost like we're not even their parents yet. People tell me to enjoy this time of "free babysitting" and restful nights before we bring two needy babies home, but we actually want the WHOLE experience of having them here at home with us where they belong. I'm their mom and I should be the one there to comfort them when they wake up at night, and we should be the ones taking shifts warming bottles and changing diapers at 3am. We actually want all of that because it's part of being a parent. I know our time for this is coming, but I can't help but feel like we're missing out on some of it.

Here are a few pictures of our visit with Grandpa Richard and Grandma Linda over the past couple days.

Proud GrandpaMommy & Caroline

Livi trying to suck her thumb

Caroline has turned in to a good eater!