As you can probably tell from the pictures we’ve posted lately, the babies are doing great. The babies are now over 38 weeks or -2 weeks (depending on how you look at it). Monday will be 100 days in the NICU (118 days total in the hospital for those of you keeping score at home). I can’t believe we’ve spent almost a 1/3 of a year in the hospital (and people say I don’t commit!).
The babies continue to pack on the pounds each day (okay, the grams). Cole’s still behind his sister in weight. The ROP surgery really set back his weight development, but he is consistently adding weight and we aren’t going to worry about it because he’ll catch up later (even though he is only a pound lighter, he looks sooooo small compared to Paige). Cole does burn a lot of calories being awake for so many hours each day. Seriously, every nurse we have had has commented how he is awake. He just stares at the room, sometimes fusses, but most of the time he’s looking for something to do. I think we are going to try to get the babies co-bedded again. With the open cribs, we can put a mobile above them so they have something to look at. Paige has started to become more awake as well. Today for instance, she was the most awake we’ve seen her in her short life. Her eyes scan the room trying to figure things out.
Both babies are nippling okay. With the thickener they put in the milk, they have to work extra hard to suck it out. Typically we are nippling a few times a day and the babies are taking down 20 - 40 cc (their normal full feeds are around 50 cc). I can definitely see them improving over the next couple of weeks. We had put Cole on the thickener because he has some choking spells. He has been doing great since we added the thickener, but he can’t take down as much because he gets tired so quickly. We are going to recommend to speech if we can try 1/2 thickened feeds.
The only thing on the agenda this week is Cole’s follow-up eye appointment (Monday). Hopefully he passes and we can just move on.
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Both are nippling okay huh.
Hmmm.
Just out of curiosity…no reason…will they get a car-seat test? A hospital person that test-fits them in a car seat to see if they’re ready for travelling?
I don’t know if they will get a car seat test. I assume they will be big enough to sit in one when discharged. If all else fails I’m sure we could put them in the trunk. Does that make me a bad parent?
Namir–
They do get a car seat test a day or two before discharge where they have to sit in a car seat for an hour. Long ways away…I can’t get excited about the car seat until after Cole’s surgery which no one is discussing yet.
About the trunk, you’re only a bad parent if you don’t use the cargo net to strap them down.
Safety First.
And if no one’s discussing surgery, I’d ask.
Using the cargo net goes without saying. I’ve read up on it you know.
Once they schedule Cole’s surgery, we will be in go mode with prepping the babies arrival.