The First Week of Elinor and Matilda

The girls are still doing very well in the NICU. It's funny because it seems like the progress is so slow, but then when you think about all they've accomplished in a little over a week, it's pretty impressive.


Matilda is doing quite well, and is still in an incubator which helps keep her warm. She's been gaining weight for a few days, and hopefully by the weekend she'll be in an isolette (which is what you usually where you see babies in a typical hospital nursery). She's up to two regular feedings a day, and the other 6 given through her feeding tube. It takes more calories for them to eat, so they work up to all regular feedings slowly. She occasionally has these things the nurses call "Brady's" but the doctor has some kind of fancy name for them. It's when they forget to breathe for a second. If it keeps up too much they give them a little caffine, but it's fairly common in babies their size. Speaking of which, she was 4 lbs. 1 1/2 oz. last night, so well on her way to putting her birth weight back on. She loves to be held, but usually just sleeps when we do, except when we're feeding her. She likes to open her eyes just a tiny bit to check and see if we're still there though.


Elinor is also doing well and moving a little bit faster than Miss Matilda. She's in an isolette and is working to keep her temperature within their guidelines. She gets to wear clothes, which are all much too big for her, she's very long and skinny, but she looks very cute in them. She's up to three regular feedings a day (but she hasn't quite finished all of them, so they're waiting to add more). She does have an occasional "Brady," but fewer than Matilda. She's very observant, and always checks out any new noises and people. Last night she was at 4 lbs. 3 oz. which is almost back at her birth weight. The doctors say it usually takes about 2 weeks for babies to get back to their birth weight, so the girls are doing very well with that.


James and I are so thankful for all the cards, emails, and calls of congratulations and encouragement. We are doing well. It's amazing how tired we already are and there are not even babies at home yet. We're hoping to get the girls home in the next few weeks, at the current rate Elinor will probably beat her sister home, but the nurse today said that once the babies come out of the incubator and get eating down well, they can progress very quickly.


I put some pictures up, but the most recent ones are on James' computer which is currently with him at training.