May 16

The girls are doing great! They passed their second eye exam today to check for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) with flying colors. The doctor said they will need their eyes checked only one or two more times and then they will be home free til they are 1. Their eyes are progressing and growing normally! That is a huge blessing as ROP is pretty common with preemies.

They are doing very well with their current oxygen requirements and seem to have stabilized out a little more on the vapotherm. Mary is currently on 24% and Vivian is on 27% and their oxygen levels stay very consistent instead of having to be adjusted up and down all the time.

They are nursing VERY well! I mean...they don't really have a choice...like my friend Rachel said, their mom is kind of a breastfeeding nazi so they better learn how ;) But seriously, for their age they are doing awesome. Yesterday Mary nursed and took her full feed of an ounce! It happened kind of by accident, I hadn't pumped in awhile before I nursed her so there was a lot of milk! The nurse was very impressed and said that most babies of her age would take a few swallows and then turn blue because their suck/swallow/breathe reflex isn't fully developed. But Mary caught on really quickly and learned how to pace herself. She would swallow and then stop and breathe for awhile and then swallow more. We weighed her before and after and according to the scale she had drank an ounce, and her tummy was all full and round and she was content! We were pretty shocked. Vivian did well too, and according to the scale drank 8 ml, so she got some more milk via her feeding tube after she nursed. She definitely likes to take her time, while Mary is a get it and go type of gal.

If they keep up the way they have been we could be out of here in 2-3 weeks! Although I try not to get my hopes up.

Norah is going to spend next week with my parents in Cedar Falls and then the next week with Kyles parents in Ottumwa so I can focus on nursing the girls. I think that will be good for all of us!

Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers, we will get these girls home soon ;)

In the pics Mary is in green and Vivian is in pink! And that's me holding Mary!