Mom N' Dad spent the morning with the girls. Mom nuzzled and Dad kangaroo'd. For the unversed, that is a whole lotta skin in the girl's apartment today! Both Allie and Brooke both got their oxygen lowered today. That means that they are taking in more and more room air and less and less bottled oxygen. That is a good thing.
The babies are 4 weeks old and that means it is time for an eye exam. An eye exam to see if the oxygen that gives them support and life, is damaging their delicate blood vessels in their eyes. It is called R.O.P., and is the next"very serious" hurdle that Allie and Brooke will have to successfully jump in order to come home. This disease can cause blindness, retinal detachment and can cause the girls to have a full round of surgeries to fix. We are pretty sure that both girls can see, we have seen Allie go cross-eyed trying to grab the feeding tube that was dangling above her. We have seen brooch's eyes move to follow the shadow of Dad's head when he stares down on her. This week they will have a their eyelids pryed open and a "paper clip" inserted into their eyes to rotate the eyeball to the right position for the Dr. to check how they are developing. Sound fun? Didn't think so. We have been told that babies hate it: so much that they will most likely one day demand a pony because of it!
As for everything else in the NICU, Mom N' Dad hate the poking and prodding of our little girls, but we know that it is necessary for their well being. I hate to see them in pain. However, they will be so much stronger in life because they have had to fight from day One. No cozy nursery for these girls, they got a NICU isolette. No being held by Mom when they came out of her, these girls got no visit from Mom for the first 24 hours. No viewing window in the nursery for my girls, they got heart rate monitors and ventilation machines. I don't type this in pity, but as a record for my girls when they tell me one day that they aren't good enough, strong enough, fast enough, smart enough to do something. They were all that and more when what they needed most was to survive.
Chunky Update:
Allie is 3 lbs. 11 oz.
Brooke is 3 lbs. even (Way to grow Brooke!)
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