Day 4 in NICU

Today's visit brought all sorts of news that we are so grateful for. Abigail is on a respirator now instead of a oscillator, which is a big step. The nurses did tell us that it isn't unusual for them to go back and forth between the two machines, but at this point she is really doing well on the new machine. They also told us today that from the latest brain scan they feel that they may have over read Abby's bleed. They actually think it's a Cat 1 instead of a two.

Emma has been taken off of her tanning light because her jaundice and bilirubin levels have improved, and she doesn't need it anymore. They also told us that her brain scan showed that her bleed isn't getting worse. Typically when they scan the next day, they don't plan to see improvement, they just want to see that things are the same and not getting worse. Emma will have an echo done of her heart to see if the ductus arteriosus is closing. The ductus is a blood vessel connecting the main vessel leading to the lungs (pulmonary artery) to the main vessel of the body (aorta). Its function in the unborn baby is to allow blood to bypass the lungs, since oxygen for the blood comes from the mother and not from breathing air. Normally after birth the ductus gradually narrows and then closes in the first few hours to days, but in premature infants, this blood vessel may stay open. If this is the case they will treat her with more meds to help close it.

They are also going to start the babies on Jana's breast milk today. The girls will be given 1cc of milk over 6 hours. We are very hopeful that they will be able to tolerate it, as we know that it is a great source of nutrients for them.

We continued to be blessed by all of the outpouring of love and concern. The girls still have such a long ways to go so we are grateful to those of you who continue to pray for them and send positive thoughts. You all have a special place in our hearts.