Update from the NICU

Audrina is 10 days old today, and it feels like we've been here forever already. Probably because we've actually been here for 17 days, since my water broke and I was rushed to the hospital. She's still in her isolette, so we can't hold her for too long since she's still struggling to maintain her temperature. However, they have slowly been weaning her to room temperature and they expect hopefully by the end of this week she will be ready to move out of this

and into this......

Her NICU stay has been super uneventful, even less stressful than Addison's. Very few Brady/Apnea episodes, and feedings are going fantastic - no residuals left when its time for the next feeding and we've been steadily gaining weight and increasing feeding amounts daily. They anticipate that she will be able to start making breastfeeding attempts in the next 2 weeks or so. She gets very very tired and they don't want to push her until she shows enough wakefulness to not burn more calories just trying to nurse than she would even get with such a tiny belly. 

Speaking of her belly, we had a scare Friday when her belly swelled up really big. There's a very scary preemie complication called Necrotizing Entercolitis, and they were worried at first that she might be starting to show signs of this. But she had a *gigantic* poop and all is well again, haha. 

She just likes to keep us on our toes!

She now weighs 3 lbs, 12.5 ounces, which is a whopping 6 ounces gained since birth. She doesn't have much of a sucking reflex yet, but she does enjoy a paci every now and then - mostly because she LOVES holding things in her hands. She holds her NG tube almost all day in a tight grasp, and gets mad if you take it away from her. She pulled it out twice today, and the nurses joke that she needs 2 nurses , one to take care of her and one to watch her and try to keep her from pulling stunts like that. She flip-flops around her isolette so much that they started to pin her down with a little loop around her body while she sleeps. 

Yesterday we picked up Brooklyn, Lily, and Addison. A 3+ hour ride each way and they were totally wound up so it was quite the exhausting day. I was soooo ready for bed by the time we got back to the Ronald McDonald House, but all 5 of us sleeping in one room? Forget about it! It took a good hour to settle everyone in for the night and even then, Adam only escaped Addison's grasp by crawling ninja style across the floor where he couldn't see her. It was a little like a 3 ring circus but it sure beats being here without them. When we walked into my moms, I saw Addison toddle across the floor and I started bawling. my baby turned into a toddler over the past 2 weeks! I can't go back and be there to watch her go from those tenative first wobbly steps to a full-blown walker, and it breaks my heart. But I couldn't be prouder of how far she has come. She's a champion. BK and Lily are excited to be here, and they spent an hour or so in the car interrupting each other telling me all about the 'projects' they had been doing at Grammy's and at school. I am unbelievably thrilled to be back to being with them every day. I know there are people who think I'm nuts for having 4 kids so close together, but being a MOMMY is everything I've ever wanted and its only life obstacles such as this that remind me how much this fulfills me and all the joy my children bring. 

Audrina sporting Daddy's wedding band.

Addison - 16 months old. 

I will post a big Addison update when I have a chance, she's doing really well right now and we are working to get her appts all rescheduled for down here. She was VERY happy to get Mommy back and were having some anxiety now when I am out of her sight.