Making Progress

Saturday, March 13 Nick got to bottle feed Miss Hadlee


Today, the twins are 6 weeks old! I cannot believe how much they have changed over the past few weeks. I also hate that Nick & I are really the only ones that have been able to witness their progress, but the NICU has very strict rules which are understanding. At the ending of last week, Nick & I both were amazed at how well the twins were doing. We felt like they were finally making progress in the right direction. Hadlee was waking up & staying awake more often & they both started bottle feeding. They do not get a bottle every time, but they are now up to 3 times a day! Yesterday, Hadlee had her first attempt at breast feeding. She did pretty good for about 15 minutes, but obviously didn't get too much milk because she also took her bottle. They are both still receiving the extra calorie in the breast milk to help them maintain their weight. Today, Hadlee is 5 lbs. 3 oz. and Kooper is 6 lbs. 6 oz. The twins also "graduated" from NICU 1 to NICU 2 yesterday! This was a big step that Nick & I have been waiting on. We've been told it is very likely Hadlee will come home on oxygen, but we knew that being moved to NICU 2 was another step in the right direction. This week as been a little overwhelming because of that. The docs & nurses are filling us in on all the things that will happen now & over the next several years. Since the twins were 8 weeks early, their brains are not developed enough to handle everything that they are now exposed to & expected to "handle." I don't think Nick & I truly realized how much this affects them. Even today, they are still not supposed to be out of my belly, so they are not supposed to be exposed to eating, breathing, seeing, swollowing, hearing, controlling their body, etc.... They have been working with an OT and thankfully today, Nick was able to spend a couple of hours with her as well so that she could show him how to do their therapy. We have laughed before about how different the twins act. Hadlee is always grunting, pulling her shoulders up around her neck, squeezing her arms in, & balling up her body as small as possible. Kooper on the other hand is more like a wet noodle (and I say that with love). He flops his head around and throws his arms out wide into the "w positon." We've now learned that there are 2 ways that premature babies respond to respiratory problems. Of course, Hadlee is responding one way & Kooper is responding the other way! The OT says that "32 weekers" and younger on average need therapy for 3 years. We're hoping Hadlee & Kooper won't need that much, but only time will tell. The nurse practitioner and Dr. Clark have informed us that the twins also qualify for the developmental program offered at GHS. I'm sure we'll learn more about this once we are discharged, but this program follows the twins for their first 6 years. Mr. Kooper will possibly need a few surgeries as well, but the urologist will not do his surgery until around 6 months old. We're praying everything "fixes" itself before then.

*Our first picture of the twins together!*

March 15 at 5 wks. & 5 days old

I am still unsure if we did the right thing by going ahead with the c-section so early. Every hour of every day that they are in the womb; the better. I don't think my Doc would have waited longer, but I am still not sure that it was the best for the twins. Dr. Clark (NICU dr.) talked to us again today about how chronic their lung disease is and how their development is uncommon. He has written several articles & studied lung diseases for many, many years and our twins have him stumped. Maybe his experience with our twins will lead to new information to help future preemies?.....hopefully at least.

Happy Hadlee after 1st breast feeding attempt

Owen Kooper after they were moved to NICU 2