August 22, 2011 - Four Pounders!!

Well, the girls are still doing great!  Marly & Chloe have now hit 4 pounds and Elia (pronounced 'e{as in elbow}-lee-a' as we get asked) is a fraction of an ounce behind.  She'll be there tomorrow :)  The big thing for the girls right now is just to grow, grow, grow!!  It will be another week or two before I can start nursing them and work on learning to eat on their own (instead of the feeding tubes).  Other than the feeding tubes (which run through the nose and down to the stomach) though, they are only hooked up to the monitors!  So they continue to do great each day!

We are allowed to hold each girl once a day for an hour.  It may stress the girls out to do much more than that at this point.  We have to coordinate it with their every 3 hour feeding schedule as it causes stress to get them out of their isolettes (incubators) and we don't want to add stress when they are feeding.  Some days it can get a little tricky to get our snuggle times in...but, we appreciate every moment we get to snuggle them as an hour just seems to fly by!  So onto more fun...here are the latest pictures of the girls:

August 17, 2011
Chloe (left) & Elia (right) both bright eyed!

August 18, 2011
Almost the whole family...
Elia (left) & Chloe (right) with Garin, Mommy & Daddy

August 18, 2011
Garin with Nurse B Listening to Chloe's Heart
~ Thanks Nurse B for being so great with our little girls and letting our big boy help too! ~

August 19, 2011
Marly (left) & Chloe (right) with Daddy & Garin

August 21, 2011
Elia (right) really checking out her sister, Chloe (left)

August 21, 2011
Elia looking up at Daddy



August 21, 2011
Marly (left), Chloe (middle) & Elia (right) with Mommy
The first time all 3 have been lying close since birth.


We appreciate everyone being understanding about seeing the girls.  Eventhough they look absolutely adorable in these pictures, we all (including us) have to remember that they were born about 2 months premature and are still very little.  They are still working on developing their ability to maintain their body temps, breathing, and controlling their blood pressures & heart rates (among many other things).  The girls are in the 'Newborn' Intensive Care Unit (NICU) because they need to be watched closely to ensure they are growing properly and do not have any additional health concerns.  We understand that everyone would like to see them, but right now that is not always possible.  The hospital really tries hard to safeguard them from the transfer of germs and disease by not allowing many people into the room where they (and other babies) are located.  They also have a secured or locked down floor that only allows visitors to us or the girls if we are at the hospital.  If we are up at the hospital, we are happy to help facilitate seeing them through the glass windows.  For now, that is the safest way to introduce them to the world of people who are so excited to see and meet them!  We appreciate your understanding during this time.  :)