The girls are all doing really good! They have made so much progress in the past week that we are absolutely amazed. Each of them is getting mommy's milk through a feeding tube and seem to really like it due to the long naps and complete contentment. So far so good with the milk. I seem to be able to produce more than what they are needing, so maybe I could actually build up some reserve for later!! Marly is on full feedings which is about 7-8 ounces per day and her two sisters will be up to full feeds later today. Prior to this they received all of their nutrients via a line that was run through their umbilical cord.
The isolette (or incubators) controls the temperature and amount of oxygen that the girls receive. By the end of the weekend they will all be down to 21% oxygen, which is the same as what we breathe. The girls will all be sporting some onsies by the end of today, which means that they are able to control their own body temperatures without the help of the isolette. So they are making remarkable strides to adjust to their environment! Now we just need to focus on getting big!
The girls are all really long (16.5-17 inches), but still very slender so they are adding additional calories into my milk to help 'fatten' them up. I keep getting teased about how long their fingers and toes are! I never realized mine were so long! Gee thanks mom and dad!! ;)
Mommy got to hold Marly on Thursday (8/11). I realized that they are so much smaller than I had thought before. You can see that they are small lying in their beds, but when she was a few inches from my face she was so much smaller than I imagined. Her little fingers feeling my skin was so amazing. It is crazy how light three pounds of baby feels. But they are all fighters and will be getting bigger in no time! Daddy got to hold Marly and Elia last night and Mommy got to hold Chloe. So now we've held all of the girls and cannot wait to keep holding them everyday until they are able to come home. They say that most babies don't go home till closer to their due date, which would be on October 9th. So we will have quite a few weeks of visiting them in the hospital for now.
Garin absolutely loves his sisters! He begs to go see them and does really well. He likes to touch them and sing his songs to them. They all seem to really enjoy him too! When he sings their eyes watch him and their heads move as if they are trying to listen really closely. It is fun to watch and see the bond between them grow each day. He has impressed the nurses with his sleeping abilities as a couple times now he has napped in a stroller to let Mommy and Daddy spend more time up at the hospital with them. The second day that he was able to see them, he begged so hard to be able to bring them home. Daddy tried to explain that they had to stay in the hospital due to the cords that are hooked to them to make sure they are all doing ok. He responded with, "we can take the cords home too, Daddy!"
Here are some of the more recent pictures:
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| Garin is checking out Elia in her isolette. The girls all had to be under the bright blue bilirubin lights to help prevent jaundice. |
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| Mommy, Daddy & Marly after the first time of holding one of the babies! Yes, you can see the teary eyed Mommy after waiting 5 days to hold her baby. |
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| Our train of Daddy, Mommy still in a wheelchair & Garin sleeping in a stroller going to see 'the sisters.' |
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| Daddy getting to hold Elia. You can see how little she is before she gets all snuggled in and covered with blankets. |
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| Daddy with Elia. Looks like she is loving her snuggle time! |
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| Daddy holding Marly |
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| Mommy holding Chloe for the first time. We are 'kangaroo-ing' them, which means holding them with skin to skin contact. |
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| Garin fell asleep when visiting 'the sisters.' I also added some of the final belly pictures to the belly page: http://bigbrotherx3.blogspot.com/p/belly-pictures.html |
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