Day 104 - Upgrades

This has been a pretty significant week for our babies.  First, on Wednesday they reached 100 days in the hospital since they were born, which was a bummer realization.  Second, they passed their official due date on Friday the 11th, so they are now officially past the 40-week mark.  Third, Wren was on a ten day course of Decatron (a steroid) and was able to transition from the CPAP to a cannula -- which is HUGE progress if she's going to be avoid getting a tracheostomy -- fourth, we got moved to a new room where the cribs are closer together and we can now hold both babies at the same time (!), and fifth, Avery had a few surprises for us today when she decided it was time both to get rid of her cannula and to try out bottle feeding.  She's done great with both.  Wow!  We are feeling incredibly blessed this week to watch their small milestones that are huge to us.

Here is Wren just a few days ago, still on the CPAP with a good amount of pressure (7.0) and fairly high oxygen (~55%).  By administering the steroid, the docs were able to get her progressing again and to move not only to a cannula for less intensive oxygen support, but also on about 5.0 Liters of flow at 28% oxygen.

Wren seems to be very happy without the big old CPAP mask in her face all the time.  I think the mask made it hard to see, and it was also very noisy and had constant pressure on her face and head.  The cannula is much more comfortable and also quieter.

We got to hold the girls together for the first time on their due date.  It rocked.  They snuggled right in to each other and got back to the business of kicking each other's legs, just as they did back in the good ole' days in the womb.

Avery was looking pretty cute with her cannula just a few days ago...

...but today she decided it was time to be done.  This morning at 7:00, she pulled the cannula out on her own, and was sleeping peacefully.  The docs saw her saturation levels sitting at 99% and decided that she was telling them it was time to try breathing without the tube.  This was not on anybody's radar -- in fact, a couple of days ago it still looked like she would go home with some oxygen support -- so she's pretty much in charge here.

Avery tried a bottle yesterday, but was too sleepy to be interested in trying.  Today, they gave it another go.  She figured it out almost instantly and had none of the common problems (coughing, dribbling milk, eating too fast).  She's a natural eater.  The nurse practitioner who gave her the bottle was surprised with how well she did.  Shannon got to feed her another bottle a few hours later.  Another huge milestone!

Shannon had a glow on her face when she came home today.  I asked her how it went, and she told me simply that she was able to do some "real mom and baby stuff" like giving Wren a bath, feeding Avery a bottle, and holding both of them.  These things may be be simple, but they're monumental to us.  It's been a great week and is making us feel like maybe there's a light at the end of the tunnel.