The Countdown to Home!

Hey All!  Last week we posted about bath time, bottle time and some together time...well this week I'm happy to post about our path to going home!  We are now 48 days in (50 counting when I was admitted) and we are starting to talk seriously about going home.  And it's about time!  I'm getting stir crazy sitting in their room day and night! 

It might help to quickly fill you in on the basic requirements for the twins to be able to walk out the door. They have to essentially do 3 things: maintain their temperature, breath consistently on their own, and take all their feeds by mouth.  I'm told once things "click" that this can all fall into place within a few short days...hard to believe but that's what they tell us : ) 

So far the twins have totally proven that they can breathe on their own and are super stable now in that category.  I can't tell you what a looong process that has been for Harper in particular so it's just great that she's now as steady as her big brother.  Secondly they have now been out of the heated bed for almost 3 days and are maintaining their temperature just fine!  That may be due to their new digs...

Yep!  They are co-bedding now in an actual crib. It's pretty exciting.  It was a whole new experience being able to change a diaper from a new angle and not having to stick our arms through those annoying portholes any longer.  They are breathing fresh air and cozying up together...it's very cute.

And it's very noisy!  All those little grunts and groans (and gas!) were muffled in their closed top beds but now we get to enjoy it all.  Finn also has recently found his voice and last night he cried for a while until it dawned on me that he might be hungry.  And low and behold...the boy was hungry.  So this is a big thing that he woke up on his own and announced he had an empty belly.  It's a term baby thing to do, not a preemie thing so that was actually very cool.  Harper on the other hand is more reserved but always ready to eat when the time comes.

Speaking of empty bellies, that's the third and final challenge for them.  They are currently taking around 60% of their feeds by mouth so we are well on our way to 100%!

They get weighed before and after a feeding...This is Finn : )

For us we are so amazed and pleased that the twins seem to be really neck and neck right now.  We think we may even get lucky enough to have them discharged together or at least within just a few days of one another.  But we're trying not to jinx it since even with getting over these three hurdles, there are a series of mini tests for them to pass as well...such as sitting in their car seat for 90 minutes with consistent breathing and heartbeat and sleeping 100% on their back without any spells.

Harper



Finn

So wish us luck these upcoming days and maybe by the end of next week we'll finally be heading home!