Still Doing Well

I know I haven't even posted yet since our daughters were born (Kristina handled that), but if you are silly enough to just read my blog for info and updates...our daughters were born last Thursday (Dec. 13th) morning!

It's been interesting to see the girls progress a little bit each day. It's also been nice to hear less concern about the girls from the nurses and doctors. On day two, one of the NICU nurses that Kristina and I really like said that Clara was doing "ok" and seemed careful to never say she was doing "well." On day 4, she said Clara was doing well. The doctors also seem to be using more positive words and tone when talking about the girls. With that said, I still get the feeling that the girls are a bit behind schedule. We frequently hear that some form of intervention will be necessary just "one more day" and come to find out the next day that it will be "one more day." Maybe it's just optimism by the staff, maybe the staff is eager to reassure us that the girls are making progress, but I think the "one more day" line really means that the staff's expectations are that the girls should be progressing a bit faster.

All that being said I can see progress being made as outside intervention ends or is lessened. The girls are no longer on a ventilator and no longer under bili lights. The amount of IV fluid they are taking on is decreasing as they are fed more and more breast milk through a gavage (feeding tube). The girls are now deemed fit enough to be held by an outsider (i.e. a parent) once a day. And while Kristina and I would really like to see the end of the use of those CPAPs to help them breathe, we can see that the girls are requiring less of a concentration of oxygen and less pressure as well.

Ok, that's all for now. Thanks for everyone's continued well wishes and congrats and gifts. They are much appreciated!