Fessler Family: Day 14 Update

Good Morning! Things are moving along nicely. We went to see the little ones yesterday - me and Pepa. Golda was looking very nice without her CPAP and with her new Anderson tube. The tube is so much softer and easier for her to deal with. Now when she closes her mouth it doesn't look like it's so difficult to do. She came out of her isolette and snuggled with both her Pepa (!) and her mommy. We didn't realize that grandparents, and siblings, can hold the babies at LIJ until yesterday so Pepa was the lucky one to get to do it first!

Then we headed over to North Shore. Micah was now in the "feeders and growers" room - out of his isolette, looking quite cozy in a bassinet! The nurses in there say he is their best eater and the best behaved in the room! He was eating when we got there (shucks) but I picked him up as soon as I had finished scrubbing. He was wide awake and looking all around, that was until he fell asleep in my arms. Then I handed him off to Pepa (since he no longer has an IV or other tubes he too can now be held by grandparents in addition to parents) and headed to Leah in the other nursery. I fed her in her isolette again (she took the whole bottle) and then the nurse showed me how to burp her in there and I got some nice burps from her - for a little nothing she sure can burp like a big guy!

This morning the nurse said Golda had a good night. She needed to have her Anderson tube changed because it got clogged, but otherwise it was a good, quiet night. I am thinking it got clogged and the old Repogle didn't because the old Repogle didn't actually drain anything, while the Anderson is doing it's job and keeping her more comfortable. Golda weighs 1101 g (2 lbs. 6.83 oz.). Tomorrow she is scheduled for the contrast x-ray. We should get results by the end of Friday. If it shows that her stomach has healed then we are expecting that she will be started on breast milk through her stomach feeding tube by Saturday.

Leah has also graduated to the "feeders and growers" room!!! She is still in her isolette because she is so much smaller than her brother and therefore not able to maintain her body temperature on her own yet, but she is taking all her feeds from a bottle now and is off the oxygen cannula so she was able to make the move. She is eating 24 ml of fortified breast milk and weighs 1470 g (3 lbs. 3.85 oz.).

Micah is still doing great out of his isolette and is still scarfing down his bottles. He is up to 34 ml of fortified breast milk, and will increase to 36 ml for 4 feeds and then 38 ml tonight if he continues to tolerate it. He weighs 1930 g (4 lbs. 4.07 oz.).

We are expecting him to be ready to come home soon (depending on who we speak to anywhere from this week to early next week) and will be bringing in his brand new car seat (thanks to Mema and Pepa for the rush shopping trip!) for the "car seat challenge" today. They will test him in it for an hour to make sure he will be okay in it. It's one of the things he needs to do to come home! Harry is really excited that we are talking about the babies coming home soon - and doubly so since it's his brother coming home first!

I am heading to my OB today for a wound check, but otherwise I am doing okay. The incision is healing (I think, not that I can see it mind you) and I am having fewer stabbing pains, with more generalized cramping (so much more easily tolerated). I am concerned though that my pubic bone may have become misaligned again, meaning I will have to return to physical therapy soon. At least this time I know what it is and won't wait an entire year before getting help for it!

More tomorrow - oh wait, here's some photos I took yesterday!