Guess what we brought home today...

Eli! It happened so fast. Yesterday morning when we called to check in on them the nurse informed Marcus that Eli was being discharged the next day, holy crap. Marcus had to leave work and we frantically ran around trying to figure out last minute details like the carseats, and washing the sheets, clothes etc. Then for the rest of the day yesterday we were at the hospital asking the nurse a million questions trying to prepare ourselves for having our baby home.

Eli was also circumcised yesterday and he was a trooper. He's so laid back. The nurses warned me that I may hear him crying when they put his arms down and when they gave him the local, but nope not a peep out of our little boy the entire time. He seemed pretty unfazed by the whole thing.

This morning we went to the hospital early because discharge is suppose to be at 11. Lucky us got the slowest nurse in the universe (who is computer illiterate and couldn't figure out the discharge papers) so we ended up staying for 6 hours and finally bringing out little boy home around 5 and he was discharged weighing 5lbs 1oz. We successfully got through his first feeding at home. I nursed him for about 15 minutes and then we gave him a bottle of breastmilk and he went back to sleep. So far so good.

This is Eli in his first outfit of the day, he peed all over it so it didn't last long.


Our tiny baby in his carseat.


I still feel a little out of it since all of this happened literally overnight but we finally have one of our babies.



The next good news... Emerson is supposed to be discharged tomorrow morning! Last night she pulled out her feeding tube (because that's what she does) and rather than put it back they decided to see how she would do taking all of her feeds by bottle. Apparently she's doing well enough to be discharged even though as of yesterday she only weighed 3lbs 14oz. Today they were letting her eat as much as she wanted (I think this is their effort to fatten her up).

Emerson without any tubes on her face for the first time (I bet she was happy she's been pulling on them since the day she was born.)


We feel so blessed at how well our tiny 32 week old babies are doing. All of the weeks of bedrest were worth it so that their time in the hospital could be as short as possible. In the end they're going to spend less time in the NICU than I spent on bedrest and I would gladly do all of those weeks of nothing (as hard as it was) again. We are so grateful for their health and growth.

They still struggle with their feeds so we're hoping for a relatively easy time with that even though it sometimes takes them 40 minutes to finish a bottle. We're going to be exhausted (I already am) but soon we'll be done with the hospital and between my bedrest there and the NICU stay we are so over that place.

As I write my little baby is sleeping soundly in his crib (he looks so miniature inside the big crib) but he's content and so are we for the moment. (Although we check on him about every 5 minutes at this point).

Finally Home!

3 Weeks old (35 weeks 1 day)

Weights Yesterday: 5lbs and 3lbs 11oz (Emerson lost an oz)
Weights today: 5lbs 1oz and 3lbs 14oz

Eli updates: They took out his feeding tube this morning which means he now has to take all of his feeds by bottle. He did pretty well today. Some of the feedings took forever because he gets so tired but so far so good. I also nursed him again today and he did really well. The LC said he was the feeding champ of the week...

They've also started talking about Eli's discharge. They haven't given us a specific date but more than likely he'll be coming home sometime next week assuming his feeds continue to go well. His blood tests for von willebrands also came back all clear. And he he finally succeeded in getting his thumb in his mouth and sucking it was so adorable. He's getting so big and filling out nicely.

Here's our cute boy wide awake waiting to eat without any tubes or wires on his face for the first time in his life.


Emerson updates: Emerson also continues to improve. She moved out of her isolette into an open air crib yesterday. She's having a little trouble maintaining her temp, and it doesn't help that she's an escape artist and can get out of her swaddle. When I called to check on her this morning her nurse said she had escaped about 40 times.

The doctors also had to repeat her Von willebrands blood work because her clotting time came back a little slow (one of the signs of von willebrands). Her next set of labs was a little better but still not great and I'm still waiting to talk with hematology to see what they want to say/do about this. They're also having Emerson try and take all her feeds by bottle but she does best about every other time, and many times she's too tired to take all of it so the remainder is given through her tube. She still chokes quit a bit and then we have a blue baby incident which freaks us both out. She work with the OT again today and all in all is doing great. They did add another supplement to the breastmilk that she is fed so that she's taking in more calories since she's still so tiny.



So that's where we're at. The babies continue to improve each day and hopefully we'll have them both home sometime soon, and another family picture because the dad next to us offered to take it and we weren't going to turn him down.

The many faces of Emerson...

Emerson is just a tiny little peanut but she has so much personality (and has since being in utero). She was our uncooperative baby at every ultrasound. I had over 20 ultrasounds during this pregnancy and I think we only have 1 or 2 that sort of show her profile. At our anatomy scan they called in a doctor because they were concerned about her not having a nasal bone because she wouldn't give the tech an opportunity to see if it was there. Every-time the techs would try to get a measurement or a shot of her face she would flip over, put her hand in front of her face or hide. She did similar things during all of the monitoring sessions I had at the hospital on bedrest and really never quit moving. Eli was consistently in the exact same spot, but the nurses always had to go hunting to find out where she had moved to since the last session a few hours earlier. Now that she's here she continues to be a little feisty and is already so expressive and stubborn. Constantly pulling at her wires and feeding tubes. She's tiny but already so expressive and hilarious. The nurses always have stories of the things she has "demanded" from them... funny baby.

Chubby little babies...

Our babies are getting so big. Eli weighs 4lbs 15oz now he's officially a pound over his birth weight and Emerson weighs 3lbs 12oz. They are both gaining steadily now and they increased Emerson's feeds to 34cc and both are starting on vitamins. Eli has chubby little cheeks now that he's starting to fill out a little bit.

They're both taking bottles Eli takes a bottle about every other feeding and Emerson takes a few each day depending on how awake she is at feeding time. We're making progress and as soon as they can take all of their feeds from bottles with ease they get to come home to us.

Yesterday they did the lab work to test them for Von willebrand disease (a bleeding disorder that I have a mild form of). They both did really well with the blood draws and they had to take a lot considering how small the babies are. They just sucked on their sugar water and didn't seem to mind the pokes too much. All of the doctors and nurses compliment us on what easy babies we have. I'm hoping that continues when they come home.

Finally, Marcus and I took infant CPR yesterday which the NICU requires before they'll send the babies home. So we're checking things off and once the babies can eat they can come home. Hopefully that's sometime soon.

Doctor visit...

I had a quick doctors appointment today so the doctor could check my incision since my c-section was considered an emergency. It took all of about 2 seconds but the doctor did manage to share a stupid story about an infertile couple who adopted and then magically became pregnant two months later because the "pressure was off". This story was prompted when he mentioned that at the next PP appointment in 3 more weeks we would discuss birth control. When I said I didn't need any he told me this story. I know he meant no harm, but it's really insensitive to tell a couple who will NEVER EVER have a "surprise" pregnancy a story about a couple who adopted and then they magically conceived because they 'relaxed'.

Seriously? Not helpful, in fact it's hurtful and a reminder once again the severity of our diagnosis. As he was telling me this story I almost started crying. IF is so misunderstood as it is and to have a member of the medical community suggest that if we had only "relaxed" the 3 years of hell we went through to have our babies wouldn't have been necessary is just stupid. He's a doctor he should be above the "just relax" myth that so many seem to offer as though it's actually productive advice.

I later told Marcus that if I ever were to have a surprise pregnancy it would be akin to the conception of Jesus, that's the kind of miracle it would take. I'm not excited to have this conversation again in 3 weeks at my next appointment with a different doctor. Can't they make a note in the chart or something?

In other news I'm 9 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight and he gave me the okay to slowly start "jogging". It's going to be really slow since the bedrest left me without any muscles at all, and I'm still tender from the surgery. We'll see how that goes.

Quick thoughts...

Weights yesterday: 4lbs 12oz & 3lbs 9oz
Weights today: 4lbs 13oz & 3lbs 10oz

New development-They are starting to lower Emerson's temperature in her isolette. The hope is that she'll be able to maintain her own temp, and can move into a crib.

Feedings-Both are taking bottles (Occasionally). Eli gets a bottle every other feeding and Emerson gets one or two a day. I fed both yesterday and Marcus got over his blue baby fear and fed Eli today.

One way to inquire about IF treatment- I guess a nicer way to inquire whether someone's twins are the result of IF treatment is to ask, "Did you try for a long time or did it just happen this way?" When I responded we tried for a long time, she said, "Then this is extra special isn't is" This is honestly the first time 'that' question hasn't bothered me too much.

Judgment of the day- (I apologize in advance) I don't understand why people continue to smoke with babies in the NICU. There's a couple in our NICU who come in smelling like smoke every day. It's awful and makes the entire room smell. It seems like having a baby in the NICU would be motivation to quit (but what do I know?)

Kangaroo care- Did some more of that yesterday. I had Eli and Marcus held Emerson.

Mail- We received the babies social security cards today... they were much more efficient than I expected and their birth certificates are ready to be picked up.

And we were able to take a much better family picture.


Bed time... (so I can get up in a few hours to pump).

Eli turned blue...

Last night I attempted to feed Eli his bottle twice. At his 6:00 feeding he was pretty much asleep and didn't really take anything from me (this is a theme I can never get him to drink the bottle from me). Then we tried again at his 9:00 feeding because he was finally wide awake. This is when Eli turned blue not once but three times.

Before his 9:00 feedings the nurses take his stats and weigh him and I changed his diaper and his clothes and he was getting really impatient with all of this nonsense. It was obvious during all of this that he was hungry and just wanted to eat. So when it was finally time, he took the bottle and just start gulping. Which does not work so well for tiny babies who still need to work on the whole suck, swallow, breath combination and his monitor's alarm promptly turned to red, starting dinging, he stopped breathing and turned blue and gray. It was terrifying and thankfully the nurse was standing there instructing me what to do. Eventually with some back patting and leaning him forward he started panting for air and some of his color returned.

Hesitantly, I gave Eli his bottle once again and he did okay for a few minutes. Until we had a repeat of the above scenario and once again I was holding a blue baby who wasn't really breathing. He was just sort of slumped in my arms and his face looked awful his lips were blue. Again the nurse instructed me what to do and eventually he started panting and breathing again.

At this point I was ready to give up on the whole bottle feeding session, but instead we switched out the nipple of the bottle to a slower flow and tried again. Then the same thing happened. Finally, at this point the nurse decided that he was working just a little too hard for his dinner, and I was becoming exasperated at seeing my baby continually turning blue and gray.

I know this is all just part of his immaturity. Sucking, swallowing and breathing are still a lot of work for him but this sucked a lot. The nurse then explained to me what had happened, why it happened, and what to do should this ever happen at home... holy crap. I hoping that by the time he's ready to come home the eating thing is much easier and I never have to face this without the help of monitors which alert me to the distress and a roomful of nurses.

I have to say that while all of this was happening I did a really good job of not panicking. I was calm the entire time and just listened the nurse on what to do. However, once the entire feeding session was over I was little more freaked out by the whole thing, and I think at this point Marcus will never want to try and feed the babies again, since he's been afraid this would happen from the very start of introducing the bottle.

The rest of his feeding was given through his tube and I held him until he turned back to his pink, rosy, little self.

In other feeding nurse, before all of this happened Marcus gave Emerson her 8:00 feeding from a bottle. She did really well (until she fell asleep) and there were no major incidents and both babies continue to gain. Eli 4lbs 10oz and Emerson 3lbs 9oz.

First Baths

On Saturday Emerson's nurse decided we should learn how to give the babies baths. This nurse was so excited at the prospect since apparently bathing the babies is one of her favorite things. Emerson did really well with her bath, she pretty much just sat there, her eyes open looking around. No crying involved at all from her and she looked so tiny in the bucket. We mostly just watched the nurse give Emerson a bath so we could learn.



Then it was Eli's turn for a bath and I attempted this one on my own (mostly) and he hated the water so much. He was doing okay laying under the heat lamp but as soon as we put him in the water he started screaming and kicking. At one point he locked both of his legs in an effort to resist touching the water. He was throwing such a fit that we don't have any pictures of him in the bucket. It was also a little bit of a challenge to hold onto a wet, slippery, screaming baby. As soon as he was out of the water he fine and immediately stopped crying. The after shots, he was clean and happy as long as we were no longer trying to put him in the water.



I also attempted to feed Emerson her bottle for the first time on Saturday. She's only getting one bottle in a 24 hour period because it's still so much work for her. She did pretty well but didn't finish her entire feeding and she was so exhausted she pretty much just passed out and the rest was given through her feeding tube.

I also tried to give Eli his bottle but he too was tired and didn't take any of it from me. Maybe next time. They both continue to put on weight Eli weighed 4lbs 9oz and Emerson weighed 3lbs 8oz.

First Family picture (kind of)

I say kind of because Emerson is only in the background. Hopefully one day soon we'll have pictures of all of us together and of the babies together.

2 Weeks Old

Our babies are two weeks old and continue to do well. Their weights are Eli 4lbs 7oz and Emerson 3lbs 7oz. We had another good visit with the babies. I tired to feed Eli his bottle again but he wasn't having any of it. He was asleep the whole time and we didn't get anything accomplished.



He just sat there sleeping with his mouth open and eventually we gave up and just fed him through is feeding tube. It is still so much work for him to eat from the bottle. We also had another milestone Eli peed on me while I was changing him. Everyday the nurses ask if it has happened to us and yet and up until yesterday the answer was no. Marcus a few seconds prior was encouraging his son to pee on me and so he did. Funny stuff I'm sure it was the first of many times that will happen and Marcus will have his moments as well.

Emerson had her consult with the OT yesterday and with the OT was able to drink an entire bottle, but then she was exhausted for the rest of the day. She was asleep pretty much the entire time we were there.


Overall pretty uneventful which we like. Although when Marcus and I each were holding a baby our least favorite nurse came over from room 2 to see our babies. The look on Marcus face was priceless. I'm so grateful we each had a kid in our arms so she couldn't touch them. Yuck we really can't stand that nurse.

And just because more pictures. Eli looks like he's praying in one of these which made Marcus and I laugh, so I started saying the "Now I lay me down to sleep prayer" with him. When I got to the part about, "if I should die before I wake..." Marcus gave me the most horrified look and told me I needed to come up with some new words to the prayer. I tried explaining to him that this was how it went but he was having none of it, so a little revision work seems to be in order for that prayer in the future.

May 21, 2009

I'm running out of titles for these posts but I do want to continue to track the daily progress of the babies. Yesterday we had another good day. I attempted breastfeeding Eli for the first time, with the assistance of the LC. He did really well considering how tiny he is, he didn't get much but mainly we just wanted to introduce him to the idea. The LC was impressed with his progress considering yesterday he was only 34 weeks.

I've found that the LC's are such interesting people. They have an enthusiasm for breastfeeding unlike any I've seen. This lady is very nice and supportive but she's a little over the top. She makes Marcus laugh. She also kept praising Eli's tongue. She just kept saying, "He has a great nursing tongue." haha whatever that means. I also tried to give him his bottle but I think he was just too tired from all the work and so he was just fed through his feeding tube. He continues to gain and is now up to 4lbs 3oz so he's almost a pound bigger than his sister. He's also just a laid back baby. We were at the hospital for 5 hours yesterday and he slept pretty much the entire time. He hardly cries and he just hangs out, even when eating he pretty much just sleeps through it. Marcus changed Eli yesterday and he's already getting much faster at the task, however dressing them still continues to be a bit of a challenge.


Emerson also did really well and she and I did more kangaroo care while she was being fed. She's still not really taking bottles but they wanted me to do kangaroo care while she was being fed through her tube so she could start to associate eating with me. She's so tiny and sweet and just snuggled in.


Later when she was awake Marcus changed and dressed her. It was funny because every time Marcus would have her cleaned up she would go again and Marcus would have to start over. This happened three times. She also has the most expressive face and when she's awake she does the funniest things and makes us laugh. Silly baby. She unfortunately lost weight again and weighs 3lbs 4oz. Emerson is also going to start meeting with an occupational therapist to do some exercises and maybe work on the eating and swallowing thing. I'm not entirely sure but we'll see. All in all they're doing well.

In other life news Marcus officially finished his semester yesterday which is a huge relief. The poor guy is exhausted between work, studying for finals, and the hours spent at the hospital. Which resulted in a migraine yesterday. He doesn't do so well without sleep. I still have two finals to complete before I can claim to have finished the semester but one of my professors never ever responds to emails so at this point I'm not that optimistic that I'll ever finish. I have until June 30th I'm hoping to get these things out of the way long before that deadline comes.

Another good day...

We had another good visit with the babies. I was able to feed Eli his bottle today. When we showed up his nurse said his bottle is warmed up and ready for him so go ahead and feed him and then walked away. Marcus and I just looked at each, but I decided he was my baby surely I could figure out how to feed him, I did watch Marcus do it yesterday. Eli and I struggled along together and when the nurse came over she asked how many times I had fed him, when I said never she was shocked haha. I was doing everything right (for the most part) and even managed to burp him, but he only took 10cc from me because he was so sleepy. The nurse was able to give him the rest of his bottle and he pretty much slept through the whole thing. So today he took two full feedings from the bottle but it's still a lot of work for him.



I also changed and dressed Emerson and she was so patient with me today. Usually she screams during all of this but today she just looked at me and allowed me to stumble through the changing without a peep she was really alert and happy today, and she managed to take 10cc from a bottle.


Other than we just held the babies. Emerson also gained weight and weighs 3lbs 5oz, I haven't gotten Eli's weight for today yet and Eli passed his hearing test so that's another milestone down. We love the uneventful days.

Lots of exciting progress!

First, the nurse issue resolved itself because Eli and Emerson were moved to room 1! No more horrible nurse and we even managed to avoid any confrontation about it.

Eli is also testing out life in a crib instead of his isolette. They're experimenting to see if he's able to maintain his body temperature on his own and they'll re-evaluate after 24 hours to see how he's doing.


He also took a bottle today for the first time out of no where. He's had no interest in it at all and then suddenly today he took an entire feeding from the bottle. Marcus was able to try with his second feeding and he didn't do quite as well, only taking 10cc, but it's progress. Marcus was a little nervous feeding Eli but the nurse we had today was really great and patient talking us through things, and Marcus changed, fed, and burped Eli without a problem. Marcus seems to think Eli's sudden progress is in part due to the kangaroo care from yesterday haha could be I suppose.




Emerson is now off the lights again and so she and I were able to try out kangroo care. She's so sweet and just snuggled in. The only nerve racking part was her breathing often dropped low enough to sound the alarm. I think she was too comfortable and just forgot that she needed to breath. She also lost an oz again today so she's still at 3lbs 3oz but her feedings were increased to 30cc so hopefully she'll go in the other direction tomorrow.



(Ignore my shirt. I don't own any button up shirts so I had to borrow one from Marcus).



It was another good visit with the babies and we're excited and so thankful for their continued progress.

What a difference the nurse makes...

Last night we had the bad nurse again. She's just awful (I do want to say she's not doing anything 'wrong' she just makes us uncomfortable) to the point that I almost started crying when she was touching my baby. She still won't let us do anything, although she did ask if we wanted to dress Emerson last night. She gave us exactly two minutes before she said, "Do you just want me to do it?" um... again no we don't. I realize that Marcus and I are not as efficient at changing and dressing the babies as the nurses but we're new at this. Putting the baby in the an over the head onesie was a new challenge, not to mention we had to weave all the wires through. We got her dressed we just need space and time to figure things out. Her hovering does not help. We did get her dressed (as is evident in the pic below).



She also clearly has a preference for girl babies which drives me nuts. She just makes Marcus and I tense. Last night she was rubbing Emerson's head really hard. I have no idea if this is beneficial in anyway (does anyone know? I googled but found nothing, aside from placing the hand on the head, which we do, but not rubbing) but both Marcus and I hated it, and it made us tense and upset. To which she assumed we were fighting and started asking all kinds of questions, I just wanted to blurt out that she was the problem. I'm definitely going to be speaking to someone about not having her assigned to our babies. I don't want our time with the babies to be uncomfortable. In good news though both babies gained an oz. So Emerson is officially back at her birth weight 3lbs 30z, and Eli reached the 4lbs mark.

Today we went back in the afternoon and had a such a great experience all due to the nurse. Emerson ate 17cc from a bottle, and loves sucking her pacifier. It's so big but she sucks on it so well it's adorable. They aren't going to push her too fast with the bottle though since it requires so much energy and we're trying to fatten our babies up, not have them burn calories.

The nurse also let me change Emerson and check her temp, and gave me space and time to do it because as I mentioned above I'm still not speedy with the changing process. Marcus was then able to change Eli and the nurse also moved Eli's isolette over next to Emerson's so that Marcus and I can sit by each other and each hold a baby. (Previously they were across the room from one another).

Finally, Marcus was able to do kangaroo care with Eli for the first time (I wore the wrong shirt). It was adorable and Eli really seemed to like it.



I would have done it with Emerson but she's being our little glow baby again because of her bili levels. Hopefully she'll be off the lights tomorrow and we can each do kangaroo care with a baby. It was such a nice relaxing (well as relaxing as the NICU can be) time. Compared to our experiences with their night nurse.

Quick Update

Both babies are on breast milk with a supplement to add calories in an effort to fatten them up and give them nutrients. Emerson is still getting 27cc and in big news she took 5 cc from a bottle last night at 5, and again later in the evening. So they're going to keep introducing a few cc's by bottle everyday. She also weighs 3lbs 2oz now, almost back up to her birth weight. She's still looking a little yellow so they're going to check her bili levels again to see if she needs to go back under her lights, but she's doing really great and continues to maintain the title of 'feisty' from all the nurses.


Eli, is also doing well. He gained another oz, so he's 3lbs 15oz now, but he still is not having anything to do with a bottle. The sucking. swallowing, breathing combo is just still too much for him. This is how Marcus and I found him yesterday, all sprawled out in his isolette. He's a pretty low key baby and he sleeps with his mouth open which cracks us up.



The past two nights Eli and Emerson have had a night nurse that Marcus and I do not like at all. Which is really strange because all of the NICU nurses up until this point have been amazing. For some reason this nurse just rubs us the wrong way. She's a little possessive of our babies, won't let us help with anything because in her words "you'll have plenty of diapers to change." Umm...so not the point. These are our babies and our time with them is already so limited, and she treats us like we're idiots which I really don't appreciate. Yesterday when Eli was swaddled she turned and said, "You do know that when you get them home no blankets in the crib." Yes, I know that, but I'm pretty sure swaddling is okay, especially when they're still tiny.

The other annoying thing she does is when we're sitting there rocking them, she'll come get in their faces and starting talking to them in a really obnoxious voice, I'm of the mindset that when we're there rocking our babies she should really just let us be unless we have a specific issues or concern. She's just really irritating and I hate that she's responsible for my babies.

1 Week Old

Our babies are one week old today and they continue to improve everyday. Emerson now weighs 3lbs 1oz and Eli is still 3lbs 140z. They were doing similar things today which I noticed after we uploaded the pictures. Emerson's head ultrasound was normal, Eli had his today we'll find out the results tomorrow.

"... while I pondered weak and weary..."- Poe

So I know that most of the poem The Raven has nothing to do with this situation but the words weak and weary describe how I'm feeling, and this line keeps playing in my head. A few weeks ago in the hospital I can remember telling Marcus I felt weak and weary, (he didn't get the reference) but the weak and weary feeling has continued. I'm exhausted. Everything right now requires so much energy and between recovering from the c-section, pumping what seems like all the time everyday, and the hours spent in the NICU my body just wants to sleep for a week. I'm sure this too will pass and once I'm feeling physically better I think that will help.

Marcus had the day off yesterday so we spent the afternoon and evening with the babies. Both continue to do really well. Yesterday they were doing a trial run with Emerson off of her nasal cannula to see how she tolerated breathing just room air on her own. For the most part she did really well. They nurse said through out the day there were a few times when the levels dropped causing her monitor to alarm, but she was able to pull out of it each time on her own.

They also increased her feedings again to 27cc and she's digesting all of it. I also got to change her twice yesterday and while it's still a bit of a process I think I'll get better. There are wires everywhere and it's hard to work just sticking my hands through the two openings. I also took her temperature and changed her clothes. I wish we could be there more often so I could do that all the time.


Emerson also cracks us up because she pulls on her wires. She's been doing this since she was born. She hates them and the nurses all say that she's a feisty little thing. Yesterday she managed to pull her feeding tube out. I think she was pretty proud of herself, that is until they had to put it back in. Then she wasn't too happy, but she was using her tiny little arms to block the nurse and push it away. It was adorable. Then after they got it back in they swaddled her so she couldn't pull it out, but she squirmed her arms out the top of her swaddle and was pulling again. Poor baby, she really just wants to be left alone and without the wires and feeding tubes.


In final update news Emerson is down to 3lbs again, she lost an ounce, and they did an ultrasound of her head yesterday which is just standard practice for all premature babies. We don't have the results of that yet.

Eli, continues to show off. They increased his feedings again and have started supplementing his milk with a powder that mimics all the nutrients they would have received from me in the third trimester had they not decided to make an early arrival. It also adds more calories in an effort to fatten our baby up. Eli is back up to his birth weight now 3lbs 14oz. He seems so big compared to Emerson. I also got to snuggle with him for a long time yesterday. He's such a snuggily baby.



Yesterday, Eli decided to scare his parents a couple of times, by slipping out of his wires. Which caused his monitor's alarm to go off. I hate those stupid alarms (and they were going off like crazy yesterday for all the babies) and I was relieved each time to learn it was just a matter of wire connections. These crazy babies do not seem to be big fans of all their tubes.

Marcus and I are getting braver with the babies. Yesterday we attempted and accomplished our first baby hand off. One would think such things wouldn't be such accomplishments but for us they are. Marcus has very little experience with babies, and I have very little experience with such tiny babies. It was pretty funny we were talking it through and I kept reassuring Marcus that we weren't going to break her, and Marcus even managed to switch Emerson from one arm to the other. I guess we should be patient with ourselves we've only been at this parenting thing for a week.

I also continue to be so grateful for how well both of them are doing. Being in the NICU there are so many different extremes and challenges that some of these babies are facing. The little boy next to Emerson turned blue yesterday and stopped breathing in his moms arms (I saw him turn blue) it was terrifying seeing a baby just stop and tons of doctors literally running into the room to bag him. I can't even imagine what that was like for the parents, and the little girl next to Eli has been in the NICU since Jan. and there's no sign of her leaving any time soon. We mostly try and focus on our babies as that's what we're suppose to do, but my heart goes out to the other parents around us. At this point Marcus and I are so fortunate that are babies just need to grow and develop a little more.