6 Weeks Old

My whole life my aunt FiFi has thoughtfully sent cards, notes and pictures in the mail just to say hi,

mention the weather in Sheboygan, or share a picture from long ago.

Today that thoughtfulness has a new meaning for me.

It is a nice relief after a long day at work and the hospital...........

Kometer aunts have picked me up many times during the last 6 weeks with

encouraging emails and notes.

Thank you.

The sweet peas are weighing in at 2 lbs 6 oz (Harps) and 2 lbs 10 oz (Robbie). They were both born at 30 cm long and are both 36 cm long today (As documented on "Measurement Monday.") Robbie seems to have had a growth spurt the past couple of days. They are both eating more and more and are at full feeds for their weight (when they weigh more, they get fed more). They had their first sponge baths, and liked it, according to Alma, the brave nurse who tried it first.

If ever there was a woman, who has twins, who works and breast feeds and pumps every 2-3 hours, and can keep up with the baby's feeding demands, I will give her a gift card (even if she doesn't have twins, I have a gift card for her too). I never thought about how much a woman goes through to continue to produce breast milk for her baby until now. It is not easy. I feel like a dairy farm. I smell milk in my nose all day. My clothes smell like milk. No clock has ever moved so fast as the clock that tells a woman when it's time to pump. When I walk into my office, it smells like milk. I don't know if other's can smell it too. I don't ask. I can't. I don't have time to socialize with my co-workers because in between clients, it's time to pump again.

"He would and could if He were sought."

The neurosurgeon says that Robbie's brain scan shows his bleed is resolving into a clot, which is what we want. It is not entirely resolved yet, but it will resolve eventually. The clot will always be there but it should not cause difficulties in his life. Due to the placement of the bleed and eventually the clot, she does not think, in her opinion, there will be permanent damage or difficulties in any particular part of Robbie's body. His bleed is not in the actual brain matter, it's in the right ventricle of his brain. The purpose of ventricles in the brain is to cushion and protect the brain from trauma. Ventricles are filled with Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF). This fluid cushions the brain and acts as a shock absorber. Robbie will be checked every Thursday for any increase in the fluid build up of his ventricle and if it ever does show it is building up (because of blood), he will be considered for a shunt. As of now, the doctor does not believe that will be necessary and Robbie's brain scan is currently showing the bleed is decreasing and preparing to resolve and clot. Pete and I were very emotional with this news because the brain bleed has been the most stressful symptom of his preemie condition.

Harper's been having difficulty falling into too deep of a sleep. She is somewhat anemic, common for preemies, but she is such a fighter, the docs are letting her body try to work this out for itself. They have increased her caffeine dose slightly but will hold off on another blood transfusion or more oxygen for awhile and see how she does. In the meantime, when the monitors beep and show that she is forgetting to breathe, the nurses or Pete and I give her a little rub on her body or head until she wakes up a little more. Talk about losing sleep as a parent! .......What if the nurse takes a bathroom break? What if nobody hears her monitor? Luckily, I can call the nurses anytime and they can calm me and talk me through things. They seem to be used to mothers like me. There are 45 babies in the nicu.

Update: a few hours after writing this, Dr. Mogos decided to give her another blood transfusion which always perks her up, by increasing her red blood cell count. Since then, she has not had any sleep apnea episodes and seems to be doing better.

The social workers at St. Joes have helped Pete and I apply for a grant that would help pay for the kid's nicu stay through the state of AZ. We are hoping we can take the babies home in July but of course, June would be even better.