1 Week Update (a little late)

I know I am a little late for a 1 week update, especially since they are almost 2 weeks old, but just pretend that I am posting this 5 days ago....

The girls are doing GREAT!  And they are certainly acting like identical twins.  The doctors and nurses keep joking about how easy the girls are making their jobs since they are doing everything together.  Here are some of the things that they have done together (without physically being together):

~they both needed a dose of surfactant at the same time (helps stimulate lung development)

~both of their supplemental oxygen levels have gone down from 8 to only 1/2 a liter

~they both came off the CPAP on the same day to a high flow nasal canula

~a couple of days later they both went from the high flow nasal canula to a normal canula

~they both needed to go under the "lights" the same day for the same amount of time (only 24 hours)

~they are both on full feeds (all nutrients coming from fortified breast milk)

~because of the one above, they both got rid of their IV's on the same day

~they both weaned themselves off of the temperature probe at the same rate

~they both started breast feeding on the same day

~they even usually poop at the same time

.  It truly is making it easier for me to keep track of everything.  I am having a hard enough time keeping track of who is who in all the pictures :)  

Speaking of pictures.....

Naomi under the "tanning lights" to help with jaundice.  The nurses called her a sun worshiper this day~ she was loving it!  

Colette extra comfortable while she is getting a full tummy from her feeding tube (in the bottom left hand corner).

Naomi's leg.  If you enlarge the picture you can see how wrinkled her skin is on her thigh.  

Colette's leg~ it is the same width as my thumb!  As you can tell from the picture above, their thighs aren't much bigger.  

Naomi's foot with her IV in.  They had to change their IV just about every single day :(  

Naomi's leg with her ID tag.  They are too small for bracelets, so they have a piece of paper taped to their leg with their ID number on them.  It also identifies them as BabyA and BabyB.  We might be keeping these on for a while after they come home to help us not get them mixed up :)

Colette snuggling with a rolled up blanket.  She loves to sleep all tucked in.    

Naomi, unlike Colette, loves to sleep with at least 1 limb sticking out most of the time.  

Naomi's arm~ the same size as my index finger.  

As of Sunday Naomi was 3.1 pounds and 16.1 inches and Colette was 2.15 pounds and 16.5 inches.  They both dropped weight (which is normal for any baby) but are now gaining again.

As of today (Friday) Naomi is at 3.5 pounds and Colette is at 3.2 pounds.  Both girls are starting to get the hang of breastfeeding.  That may be the only way I can tell them apart at the moment.  Naomi will nurse very slow and steady while Colette will nurse in quick strong bursts. 

They have progressed so much in the last week (almost 2 weeks).  Korby and I are so thankful that they are doing as wonderfully as they are.  However, with every improvement or step in the positive direction Korby gets more and more nervous about them coming home too soon.  

We are pretty much past any of the scary or major problems with preemies, but we still have quite a ways to go before these little girls are ready to come home with us.  I have to keep reassuring Korby of this.  It will be crazy busy when they do finally come home, but it will be so wonderful to finally be together as a whole family.  Since Vivian can't come into the NICU, we haven't been all together as a family since the babies have been born~ one of these days...... just not too soon for Korby's piece of mind ;)