From: JT & Writergrl
Thank you all for the outpouring of support from around the world for these little girls. We are in awe of how quickly so may people have fallen in love with them and their story. Our family is so lucky to have all of you in our lives.
The girls are now one month old, or 30 weeks gestation, and they are both doing splendidly. Our favorite nurse practitioner C (she's a managing nurse who handles day-to-day care for the girls and has been keeping track of them since the day they were born) said: "I'm very pleasantly surprised by how well they are both doing. I'm so proud of them - we're all rooting for them to go home as soon as possible."
Three big milestones since our last update: First, the girls are no longer on a ventilator - they don't have a breathing tube that forces air into their lungs. Instead, they receive a bit of assistance from prongs that are inserted into their nose that provide a small amount of air pressure. They are breathing on their own, but they get a little help to give them more energy for growth.
Second, they are off IV fluids and are feeding on breastmilk. According to their neonatologists, this is THE key to getting them home as soon as possible. They are getting small amounts fed to them every two hours through a tube that runs from their mouth into their stomach - not very pretty, but they don't yet have the reflex down to coordinate breathing and swallowing at the same time. Cricket has become our champion eater and her weight is now up to 1 lb. 15.5 oz! Pumpkin is up to 2 lbs. 3 oz, and she has had a bit of trouble digesting all of her food as well as holding it all down, but lots of babies spit up and have reflux - even in the NICU.
Lastly, the girls have "graduated" to a different room in the NICU - one that is for the more stable babies. They are still receiving the same amount of monitoring and attention, but this room is much quieter and all the babies in it are basically just there to be fed, have their itty bitty diapers changed and be watched by the nurses. They are not quite stable enough to have their heart/breathing monitors removed, but this is a huge step forward for them. They are still two of the youngest and smallest babies of the 50 or so that are in the NICU and all their nurses are thrilled with how fast they are progressing (as are we!). We make sure that they are well taken care of - we visit every day to hold them for at least a couple of hours and make sure to bring in lots of treats for the staff (courtesy of Writergrl's baking habit).
Here are the next two pictures: one is of JT holding Pumpkin - the NICU is a proponent of "kangaroo care" where parents hold their babies on their chest with as much skin-to-skin contact as possible. Their research has shown that this helps premature babies regulate their breathing, heart rate and body temperature better than any other method (and it helps us get our baby fix every day).
Everyone has also asked "how big are they really?" The second picture is Pumpkin's hand grasping Writergrl's index finger. We tried to get pictures of them with a quarter or our wedding rings, but the girls are just too squirmy and wouldn't hold still for a good shot! Pumpkin's feet are about as long as our thumb's first knuckle and Cricket's are a bit smaller - their size difference is still the easiest way to tell them apart, but they look more alike every day
Thanks again to everyone for your kind thoughts - we appreciate it more than we can ever say.
All our love,
JT and Writergrl
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