I must say I am not sure where my days go.  (Which is not a good indication for how may days will be when I have all four kids at home!)  I mean to post all the exciting changes happening with the boys but then the next thing I know I am exhausted and heading to bed.  So I apologize to my followers.  A couple of months ago, when things were rough I posted all the time to focus my thoughts, but now that things are moving quickly and somewhat smoothly I only post every few weeks.  That isn’t fair that I keep all the good stuff to myself!  So here is a little happy update for you – a little gift with pictures and all! 

• Griffin is off of oxygen support!  It has been nearly a week and Griffin is thriving without any O2 blowing up his nose!!  Go Griffin!!
• Carter’s oxygen was set to what they call “home settings”.  because of his lung disease Carter will need to come home on O2 so instead of trying to wean him off the cannula they simply switched his settings to match what he would be at when he came home.   He took the switch so well that they set the course for him to come home!  So…we have all the equipment (including 50 ft. of tubing so we can still move about the house with him) for him to have O2 at home.  The only thing keeping him in the NICU now is his eyes.  He has a common preemie problem in his right eye that needs to be checked on Saturday.  If it isn’t correcting on its own he will need laser surgery, if it is getting better we can take him home!  Amazing!
• Both Griffin and Carter have attempted breastfeeding.  This takes lots of practice for them since it is usually a skill they won’t master until close to 40 weeks.  (they are 36 weeks now)  And even though Carter doesn’t seem to like the taste of breast milk he is getting the hang of feasting on the free stuff! Very important when feeding two!
• Carter is now considered a “feeder and grower”!  A big deal for me, meaning that his only issue (minus the O2) is that he needs to grow up!  He has already broken the 5 lb mark and is quickly moving into newborn clothes!
• Griffin should be moving to a crib this morning.  He tried last week when he was smaller but couldn’t hold his temperature.  Hopefully now that he is 4.5 lbs he will be good to go!  This is a big deal for Tim and I because once they are in a crib we are pretty much self-sufficient in taking care of the boys in the NICU.  It is like having real babies!
• On a few occasions I was able to hold both boys at the same time (see pictures below).  Carter still is in somewhat of isolation because he tested positive for a bacteria in his trachea.  However this was long ago when he was ventilated.  the bacteria is gone but protocol requires him to be in contact precautions until he goes home. 
• I have given the boys baths!  And was able to put all of their leads back on for their monitors with success!  A very important skill since Carter will still be wearing them when he comes home.

On a personal note I think we have found a minivan to buy to fit our big family and we are quickly getting the house prepared to have newborns at home.  Hopefully Carter first in a week and then Griffin will follow when he is ready to figure out his eating/digestion skills.  Things are coming together so far, but as always we are very cautiously optimistic.  The boys have come so far, but they still have a long way to go so we try not to get ahead of ourselves. 

The pictures below are from my phone, the quality isn’t wonderful but offer a glimpse of my view of the boys each day! 

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