We are all doing well, and have just entered the long slow phase of learning how to eat. Its so tough for the girls because it takes a lot of energy to breastfeed! When I look back at how far they have come in six weeks I am just amazed. We really do expect a lot from them. It is amazing that they can even latch with the tubes in their mouths and the oxygen in their noses.
They are rocking the breastfeeding. The nurse we had yesterday told me that she never would have believed how well they are nursing if she hadn't seen it for herself. She said that 28 weekers like the girls rarely if ever nurse as early and as well as they are. We are nursing two times per day each, Mary nurses at 11 and 5, and Vivian at 12 and 6. They generally take anywhere from 10-20ml, and sometimes take their full feedings! Its a frustrating process, because the scales are rarely accurate, so we probably end up either overfeeding them or not feeding them enough at times. But you can only do what you can do! Every day they get better and better at nursing, and as soon as they are more consistent with their intakes they won't weight them after every feed anymore. They do have occasional bradys with their feeds if they get tired and get a big swallow. Mary doesn't have them very often, but Vivian does at the end of most every feed when she gets tired.
They have started to be more awake around their feeding times and like to be held and look around, or just lay in their little beds and look out. They are very content for the most part. I always feel like I don't have enough time to give to them individually, but then I tell the girls that THEY were the ones who decided to split the embryo, not me ;) Having twins is wayyy different than with Norah. I'm only one person, and there are two of them! Kyle usually comes for their 5 and 6 o'clock feeds and holds Mary while I nurse Vivian. Welcome to the world of twins I guess!
They are still on oxygen, but Mary is down to a flow of 1 liter per minutes, which is basically the lowest they go, and Vivian's flow is 1.5 liters per minute. Mary is on 24% and Vivian is on 23%. I predict they will have the exact same settings in a couple of days ;) I'm hoping for just another week or so on the oxygen. Fingers crossed!!
They are still in the isolettes, but I am anticipating that they will move them to open cribs soon.
Mary now weights 3 pounds 14 ounces; she apparently lost weight yesterday, but I don't really believe it. I think the scale was off or something. She just can't seem to get over that 4 pound mark! Vivian weighs 4 pounds 6 ounces. So big! Mary takes 33ml per feeding, and Vivian takes 36 ml.
Norah is spending the week with Grammy and Gramps up in Cedar Falls. On the way up she asked Grammy if she had a bathroom, a kitchen, a TV and a tablet. I guess we know what her priorities are :)
Mary is in the yellow hat, and the other pics are Vivian.
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