We had expected that the babies wouldn’t have their first Christmas until 2019 when they were almost one. The fact that we were able to spend Christmas with them today is a blessing in itself.
Today was another day of watching the babies grow.
Aubrey relaxing behind his hat/blindfold.
Aubrey received a blood transfusion today because he is anemic and he looked pale. His nurse said they all look pale but that they get that from their mother. He continues to do well on the CPAP and he has been tolerating the food he has been receiving. Increases in the amount of food he gets will start tomorrow. I held Aubrey again yesterday for the first time since December 7, 2018. The nurse said it would be good for me to hold him skin to skin because my hormones could inspire him to poop. It hasn’t worked yet, but we are hoping for poop within the next couple of days.
Lydia’s nurse made her a hair band with little peppermints and a flower.
Lydia is still recovering from her aspiration incident but is doing well. Her breathing is improving as her lungs heal. She is now receiving food with extra calories to help her grow. The doctor said one of her biggest issues is going to be nutritional and making sure that she eats enough of the right things to grow properly. My mom held Lydia last night. She cried. (Lydia and my mother.) It was very sweet
Baby ‘roid rage involves waiving your arms in the air like you just don’t care!
Finn is on day 3 of steroid treatment and has been on CPAP for just over a day. He is doing very well. He is moving a bit more than we are used to, but that’s the “roid rage.” He is also receiving extra calories with his food. He has been growing pretty well, but the nutritional needs of premature babies are high.
For us. it was very nice having my mom visit. We also helped host a Christmas Lunch for NICU parents. For me, having a plan and doing something helped give me a sense of control. Ideally, I would have been at home with babies in my tummy. The second option would be to be at home with healthy babies dressing them up in tiny outfits saying Baby’s First Christmas and hanging Baby’s First Ornaments on the tree. However, I don’t control the world and it wasn’t meant to be. The babies are in the NICU with Baby’s First Christmas Blankets on each of their isolettes. Because I can’t control that, what I could control was baking some bread and cooking a turkey and bringing some green beans. We are fortunate in that we have been in the NICU long enough to be out of the “shock” phase. I am not crying every day. We live close enough that food can arrive at the hospital still warm. There are many others who arrived in the NICU within the last few days, live far away, or just have less support than we do. It was lovely to join together with our “NICU Family” for Christmas.