A Quick Update, with Pictures!

Ian is up to 4 lbs, 3 ozs. He came off the bile lights yesterday, and went into Tory’s crib today. Tory is up to 4 lbs, 10 ozs. It’s a good thing we don’t have very many preemie clothes for them, because they’re going to blow past the 5 lbs weight ceiling on the preemie size before the month is out.

Not only are they sharing a crib now, but they’re in a private room too. No longer will the alarms from every other baby in the NICU wake them. Now when an alarm wakes them, it will be their alarm.

We’re hoping they’ll be home late next week. All we have to do is keep them awake long enough to eat eight times a day. That sounds easy, but keep in mind I can barely eat eight meals a day, and that’s only if I count banana bread as two of those meals. The doctors left orders to bottle-feed them at the designated times whenever they’re awake and ready. For Ellie and me, that means they’re awake and ready to eat every time we’re in the NICU, though sometimes is takes a lot of poking to wake them. Some nurses share our dedication and work hard to train them to bottle-feed at every feeding. Other nurses are willing to bottle-feed as long as nothing more important needs done, such as reading blood gasses or taking phone calls from boyfriends/husbands.

Tory had a bit of a setback today when he ate about three-fourths of his bottle, and then insisted on choking on milk instead of breathing. The nurse brought him back to normal after the first incident, and set him back in the crib after the second incident. The nurses gave him milk a la nasal tube for the rest of the day, no matter how awake he was or how present in the NICU Ellie was.

Less than a week to go. Maybe.



Ian’s last day ever (hopefully) under the bile lights.



Tory’s last day ever of solitude, peace, and quiet.



Reunited at last.



Abbie is reminding us that she won’t be forgotten.