Catching up

There have been so many changes since the last time I updated, and everything has changed for the better! There is no doubt that these little girls are fighters! The steps that each of them have taken towards maturity have been remarkable! The nurses refer to our babies as "the feisty ones" which just tickles both Tim and me. Sunday morning I was finally discharged from Rockford Memorial Hospital...I am a free woman again! We went to see the girls for a while before we left to go home. Sophia was still intubated and still had her chest tube in, and they were slowly lowering the oxygen percentage to make her breathe more room air on her own. If she could do that they were going to put her back on the CPAP. Cecilia was doing so well, and they decided to move her from the CPAP to a normal nasal cannula which is more comfortable for her and allows us to see more of her face! I was able to hold Cecilia for the first time three days after she was born. It was such an incredible experience! When they placed her in my arms it felt like a piece of me that was missing had been replaced. My daughters are truly beautiful. Tim was able to hold Cecilia after me, and they took her CPAP off and replaced it with the cannula as he was holding her. It makes everything seem more real when we were actually able to hold our baby. We are very lucky. We haven't been able to hold Sophia yet, because the central line that is in her umbilical cord is through an artery. It is too dangerous to risk pulling that line out. Cecilia's, however, is through a vein. We hope to hold our little Sophia within the next couple days. On day four they were able to put Sophia back on the CPAP and when we came in yesterday she had already moved on the the nasal cannula doing as well as her sister. She also had her chest tube removed. She turned around in a matter of 48 hours and keeps doing better and better. They are both taking breast milk through their feeding tubes and are doing very good digesting it. Cecilia was spitting up a little the first two days but hasn't had a problem keep it all down since last night. They both get feedings every three hours. Sunday they were only taking in 5 ccs each and as of today they are 15 cc. Tonight Sophia will get 20 ccs and Cecilia will be given 18 ccs. They are making me work extra hard to keep up! Cecilia was under phototherapy all day yesterday for her high bilirubin count. Bilirubin is a a compound that results from the natural breakdown of blood. This high level of bilirubin causes them to develop jaundice. The lights help her break down the bilirubin. When we came in today she no longer had the lights. Her color definitely looked better, nice and pink. I was able to change Sophia's diaper for the first time yesterday, and today I was able to change Cecilia's. I love being able to help with them. Sophia really likes to open her eyes and was very active last night. She was back under an isolette today and is doing just great. I was able to hold Cecilia for a while today again. As of 6:30 tonight, Cecilia was on only room air and might be off the nasal cannula by tomorrow or the following day! Everything is definitely moving in the right direction with the girls, and I will update again very soon.