Little Bottle - Little Hat

Yesterday was another Kangaroo day and I went to the hospital by myself because Clint was in need of some rest to make sure he was feeling ok. This means I got to hold both girls! Both girls have grown enough to move up to size 0, from size 00, in their hat for the oxygen machine - big step! They continue to eat well. They are getting personalities. Taya is now the one with an attitude and a bit more fussy. Haylen is fairly calm, but they both have their moments.

Eating!

The girls continue to do well. This is the one thing that Taya has been first at. She is now on continuous feeding and receives a whopping 1.2ml/hour. Haylen's heart murmur is asymptomatic and therefore was allowed to trial feeding last night. She did well enough and is starting 0.5 ml/hour. This is feed in a tube that goes to their stomachs. The first day, they seem to be uncomfortable and fussy, but now they are getting used to it. Their lungs are expanding well and are able to have less help from the CPAP machine.

We were able to hold them again last night - about 2 hours. Pretty cool. We can do this about every other day depending on how they respond.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. My parents brought the meal to us, so that was nice. We could still go as needed to the hospital. We have quite a bit to be thankful for this year including all of you friends and family!

One Week

We both have the IV's out of our bellies so Mom and Dad can finally kangaroo with us. Taya received a new IV for blood that took approximatly 3 hours to get in...was a NICU staff project. We hear that Haylen's went a lot better.

Taya gets to start on 1ml milk every 4 hours today. Haylen will be a day or so later, having to finish some meds. When the meds are complete she will have an echo and this will determine her getting to start on milk or other heart treatments. Haylen sleeps like Dad...arm over head.

Amy Went Home

After multiple attempts, Amy finally went home this afternoon. Glad to be home but sad to be away. The girls' updates are: Taya got her Cadilac just like little sister did yesterday. Quite an advancement from the plastic camping tent. Haylen and Taya got to leave their marks in the world with leaving footprints today. Both Taya and Haylen are off the ventilators and on CPAP now at room air. Head ultrasounds are normal. Both girls have received treatment for PDA (Heart Murmur). Taya is done with treatment, but Haylen has one more day of treatment. Taya will get the umbilical IV out tonight. Haylen will get hers out when the PDA treatment is complete. A few days after they have been out the girls will begin small amount of milk feedings with their nutrition IV's. This also means the Kangarooing begins. Kangarooing is when we get to hold them for at least an hour at a time with skin to skin contact. Very exciting for us.

Now that we are home we will try to keep this updated more.

Taya


Haylen

Pictures !

Can you see Clint's wedding ring?

Arrival !

Welcome Taya Jo and Haylen B. !!!

Arrival Date:
Tuesday, November 17th

Arrival Time:
Taya 2:39PM
Haylen 2:42PM

Weight:
Taya 2 lbs 3 oz
Haylen 1 lbs 13 oz

Length:
Taya 14 3/4 inches
Haylen 14 1/2 inches


Pictures to follow soon!