Quick Monday Update

Can you believe our girls are a week old?  We’re still just glowing about their safe arrival. =)

A few updates (including some things I should have shared earlier) –

1.     Lisa is back home.  She was discharged from the hospital on Friday, as planned.  She’s a bit sore – and I’m making sure that she’s getting plenty of rest.  We’re thankful she’s doing so well.

2.     Gloriana has had a bit of a setback in her feeding; I think she was up to 8 cc of milk/formula per feeding, but she was having quite a bit of residue.  “What’s that?”  Basically, the nurses check (by using a syringe connected to the stomach tube) how much food is in her stomach two hours after her feeding.  For some reason, she was having nearly the same amount of residue (food in her stomach) as what she was being fed, though it looked somewhat digested.  They cut her feeding down to 5 cc, and then again down to 2 cc.  It could be that her stomach is working a little slowly; they will keep an eye on it, and we’ll keep you updated.  We’re reassured that this is a normal setback for preemies – the nurse practitioner said it isn’t anything to be real concerned about; easy for her to say, right? ;)  She has also been having “Brady’s” (I’m sure it’s named after a doctor who named the condition) – basically, preemies tend to forget that they’re supposed to breathe, and their heartrates drop from 160 bpm down to 40-50 bpm.  It happened a couple times when I was holding Gloriana yesterday; the nurse had me pat her back a bit, and then her heartrate went back where it should.  The nurses are giving her a bit of caffeine in her IV to help her deal with the Brady’s; we were reassured that these are also a normal part of a preemie’s development.  Gloriana also continues to have a Billy blanket to help her deal with very minor jaundice.

3.     Belladia is doing really well.  She doesn’t have any oxygen hooked up to her anymore, which is GREAT news!  She is doing a fantastic job with feedings, and is up to 25 cc per feeding.  She was able to maintain her body temperature for about 4 hours when she was being held yesterday, so we’re very thankful for that, too.  She’s been having some Brady’s, too, so she has caffeine in her IV, just like her sister.  We haven’t heard anything with regard to her kidneys; we’ll let you know when we do.  She still have very minor jaundice and is on a Billy blanket as well.

Overall, things are going quite well.  We appreciate your prayers about Gloriana’s digestive system; her tummy working well will help her put on more weight and also help clear up the jaundice.  We really appreciate all your kind words (and hugs at church yesterday!) – what a joy this all has been!  It still doesn’t seem real sometimes when I think about all that God has done in these girls’ lives. =)  It’s incredible.

~Jeff