Madeline's Video Debut

Maddy and Milo are having a good few days, and we're enjoying the upward ride on the preemie roller coaster. Both babies have had their IV lines removed, so they are no longer getting supplemental dextrose solutions or lipids. Their diet now consists solely of breast milk through their oral feeding tubes (along with some supplemtent). They still get a little caffeine to assist their hearts but now take it orally. The little ones are getting about 25 ml of milk every 3 hours, which is about 6 oz of milk per day. They've been having a little trouble with reflux, which has been making them cranky and desaturate around their feeding times, so they now get their milk over the course of an hour rather than a half hour. (The nurses use a metered machine that pushes the milk into their tubes over a period of time.)

Both babies are also off their skin temperature sensors, which helped ensure that their body temperatures remained constant. That means that M&M are now responsible for regulating their own body temperatures in the constant temperature environment provided by their isolettes. They still have their temperatures taken every few hours to be sure they are warm enough and not getting a fever. They are also wearing their first "clothes" now that they are responsible for keeping warm - t-shirts with the sleeves rolled up so much they look like enormous 19th century coat cuffs (or 1950s greasers with a pack of smoke rolled in theur sleeves). Both of them are also swaddled with blankets.

Okay, now for the special treat. Madeline was really awake and alert yesterday for fairly long periods of time, so we got some video of her peeking at us with her binky (her new best friend!) firmly lodged in her mouth. This is the first time we've tried posting video on the blog, so if it doesn't work, let us know and we'll put it on YouTube.

I also got to do some kangaroo holding with Madeline for the first time in weeks since she was off her vent and having a pretty stable day. She only lasted a half hour or so before starting to fuss. Both babies can vocalize now that they are off vents, and give little cries when they're upset. They're a bit hoarse because the vent irritated their vocal cords, but this clears up over a few weeks. We're looking forward to the time when they can really blast us!



Be patient with the download time. :)