The Fields Twins: Lots of Baby Steps!

Hello Friends and Family!

My busy days are taking away from blog time and I apologize for the delay in updates. Here is what has been going on for the last 3 days...

On Tuesday:
Julianna attempted to drink a second bottle and was able to get down about 4 ccs. I was able to take her out of the bed and feed it to her which was such a special moment for me. Gardner was also fed a bottle by the nurse, which came as a surprise to me! I didn't realize they would let her try this soon as well! She ended up taking about 5 ccs on that feeding and I couldn't have been prouder. Both girls are just experimenting with the bottles so they have not mastered suck, swallow, and breath all at one time, but that is the ultimate goal.

On Wednesday:
Gardner's feeds were bumped up to 10 ccs through her feeding tube, with just a few spit up here and there, so she is moving right along.
Both girls are now trying bottles once a day. (along with their normal feed through tube) Once they get the hang of suck, swallow, and breathe the bottle intake will increase by one more bottle each day, until they are finally having a bottle for every meal. This of course is a long ways away and we are still in the experimental phase.
Both girls are also still doing well breathing room air (with no oxygen support).
They have both reached their birth weight and now we are just trying to pack on more weight. With that will eventually come the ability to maintain their own body temperatures and hopefully one day be in "open cribs" instead of the incubators. It's a step by step process but there is no time frame set. Each baby sets their own pace depending on several factors and we just have to be patient and trusting.

We are still kangaroo-ing the girls every single night which is extremely beneficial for both babies and us!

Today (Thursday):
We are learning and growing every second of the day!