Nine Weeks Old.... and 2 Months Old!

I'm so excited because they are all in the same bed! Hooray! It took a lot of persuasion on Kyle and my part to get them together but the doctors had their monthly meeting last week and talked about our girls going together and it was kind of split down the middle but the director over the doctors sided with us! They had to put them all in isolation for the rest of their time in the hospital which just means that no other baby can be put in the room with them (and I'm not complaining about that). The doctors and nurses also have to gown up every time they handle our babies but we don't we just can't linger in the waiting rooms of the NICU which is no problem since I never do. Who has time to linger right? So I didn't get any pictures of the girls alone, just all together. We went to Wyoming this past weekend (it was very hard to be away from the girls for a few days) and had a great time but our battery on our camera died on the trip so I could only snap a few pictures of them all together (and a video!). A few updates on the girls....

Mckenna- Mckenna started out the best bottle eater and is still phenomenal. They took her off the feeding tube first but because she is still so small she tuckered out too fast (and having her brain liquid drained out every other day does help her cause either) and so had to go back on the feeding tube. She was also weaned of her caffeine but still needs a little pick me up until her lungs mature a little bit more. We also learned this week that Mckenna is going to have surgery on her brain tomorrow (Wednesday). We knew that the Reservoir in her head was only temporary for her stay in the hospital and that she would need something more permanent. I think I talked in a past post that Dr. Churney (her neuro surgeon) was debating between a shunt and a stint for this first surgery. He probably won't know which one he will end of up doing until he gets into the surgery (how scary does that sound but he is more than capable so we feel safe with him). So we probably won't know what he is going to do until after the surgery is done. If she gets the stint there is a chance in a few months that it will resolve the blood clots but if it doesn't she will get a shunt put in. If she moves to a shunt then she will probably have to have multiple surgeries as she grows up and the shunt shortens. They actually run the shunt from her brain (the ventricles where the cerebral liquid lives) down her neck, across the front of her chest and into the stomach and that's where it will drain. So we'll see which one is going to work. We appreciate all the prayers on her behalf through this hard time. Sometimes it breaks my heart that such a little baby has to go through such an invasive surgery but I wouldn't have it any other way if it is going to make her life more full. And she is finally over the 4 pound mark at 4 lbs. 2 oz. She will probably loose weight through this surgery but hopefully she can catch up easier after that.

Madison- Madison has kind of taken over as the best eater right now. They took out her feeding tube about 4-5 days ago and she has just taken off. In fact, she is kind of a pig in the eating spectrum. She drinks it like it's her last meal! She used to play around with her bottle but they said that now that she doesn't have that huge tube down her throat it probably helps her eat better. She is also completely off caffeine and doing quite well. We predict that she will be the first one home (it would have been Mckenna except for her brain stuff has slowed her up) and hopefully I am ready whenever that happens. She is trying really hard to catch her sister Carly and weighs 4 lbs. 14 oz.

Carly- Carly is doing so much better with her desats but she is still on a full dose of caffeine per day because she just needs that little help. I'm sure she just needs a little longer to develop her lungs and then she should be great. She is also a pretty decent eater and more than half the time finishes her whole bottle. (I should throw in Mckenna almost always finishes her whole bottle as well) She is such a chunk compared to her sisters and now weighs..... 5 lbs. 5 oz. Crazy! So I guess I am probably not going to have to worry about preemie clothes for her, she is already getting big in the preemie clothes.

Everyday they are getting more alert and actually looking at us more and smiling more which is so great to see. I'm feeling like they are getting closer to acting like newborns and I can see a little light at the end of the tunnel!

Here they are together! L to R: Mckenna, Madison, Carly

I thought this was a really cute picture because you can see all their faces. It goes in order: Mckenna (oldest-left), Madison (middle-middle) and Carly (youngest-right).

I hope that this video works out. I am talking in it if you have sound (don't make fun of me, I'm talking baby talk in it). Enjoy!