The girls’ quick growth and development continues. Brooke graduated from her isolette to an open-air crib a few nights ago, and when Claire gets just a little bigger and is regulating her body temp better, they’ll try co-bedding in a pediatric crib. Both are gaining weight well and steadily increasing the amount they eat. They’ve started learning to eat from a bottle (called “nippling”), which is an important part of the progression from tube feeding, to bottle feeding, to breastfeeding. The meds for apnea and digestion were recently discontinued, without causing any turn for the worse in breathing or digestion.
A couple nights ago, Nurse A. demonstrated with Claire how to bathe our preemies, and then we got to bathe Brooke ourselves. It was a team effort between Kat and me, but I got the easier part. Kate did most of the body wash (while I propped Brooke up as needed), which is the part they fuss and cry about; I then wrapped her up and put her in a “football” hold to wash her hair in the sink, which she seemed to enjoy a lot. She looked at me and looked at me, and I loved her and loved her. It always feels good to get to do those “normal” parent things that most parents don’t have to wait long for after delivery. The thrill of baths and diaper changes will probably fade, but it’s nice to feel like “real” Mommy and Daddy, and not just spectators while paid professionals take care of your baby. (I did decline a changing opportunity for probably the first time last night, when we were just about to leave for the night and Claire had a poopy diaper up for grabs. I let the nurse grab it.)
Kat is recovering well from her c-section. She still needs to take it easy for a while (I keep reminding her), but I don’t insist on a wheelchair anymore for the trip between the hospital entrance and the NICU. She has an appointment coming up soon to hopefully schedule surgery to remove her gall bladder. She was diagnosed with severe gall stones in the first trimester and was hospitalized for them early in the third, but the docs didn’t want to operate during the pregnancy unless there was no other choice. She endured a substantial amount of pain and discomfort, but made it to delivery without gall bladder surgery. Fortunately, she hasn’t suffered any gall bladder type pain since delivering, but we want it out as soon as it’s medically advisable. If we’re really lucky, it can happen before the babies come home, so she can get that recovery out of the way.
Pics are hopefully forthcoming soon. I have a bunch of pics ready and even uploaded, but I’m figuring out how to use a cool gallery/slideshow feature that’s new to me.
