Their feeds are now being condensed and fed on a schedule more like an older baby instead of continuously pumping in a small amount of food. This is a good step in the right direction.
The boys would be 35 weeks now if they were still in my belly.
Ben has officially passed the 4 pound mark. He is 4 lb 2 oz, I think. I now have no babies under 4 pounds. He also lost his umbilical cord on Wednesday. We are pretty sure he is going to be the cuddler of the two. He likes holding on to fingers and snuggles in to sleep a lot better when being held.
Alex is gaining weight well. I'm not sure what his weight is exactly, but he is gaining well. Alex seems to be the mover and climber of the two. He is much more likely to wiggle around while you hold him, and he does a much better job of kicking his way out of swaddles. He is also much more likely to make progress pulling out his feeding tube.
The medical staff is starting to talk about putting them in cribs in the next few days. They both are able to hold their temperatures well, and are getting big enough that this is possible. Cribs are not really a big deal overall, but it does mean they are accomplishing other goals such as keeping their body temperature up on their own.
We have started recreational breastfeeding. It is totally hilarious that they call it this. The whole goal is just to get them used to the idea of nursing. They are not doing super well with it. They are definitely treating it as a recreational activity. It is not expected that they do well right now, so you can say they do as well as they are expected to do.
I am doing better day by day. I am able to walk a little faster and get in and out of chairs a little faster. They are still concerned about my blood pressure from the issues I had that caused their early delivery. My blood pressure is occasionally very high, so I need to be careful or I'll end up on medicine for it.
Cody is handling everything way better than he should. He has been back at work, but it has been hard on him being away from the babies while they are in the NICU. There's not much he can do though; he has to keep the insurance that pays for the NICU. I wish he could be here for the babies, for me, and for himself... but he does what he has to do.
The boys are starting to look a lot alike. I can't tell which baby is which in pictures until I look at their surroundings for clues about which side of the room the incubator is on. They make the same faces a lot. Alex does this weird thing with his mouth that makes him look like a frog. The nurse said that Ben was doing the same frog face today.
We really can't say enough great things about March of Dimes. They have a representative that is here twice a week to talk to us and offer support to the NICU families. She puts together activities and lessons in things like infant CPR and car seat safety and stuff. They have also done little things and given the boys gifts. They had a photo session on 12/12 and gave us a copy of the pictures. Unfortunately, the boys were still really hooked up to machines back then, so the pictures are not very fantastic. It is still really nice of them to do. They also gave each boy a fleece blanket and rubber ducky. If anyone is looking for a charity to give to before the end of the year, I would really look at March of Dimes.
Here is what you all probably came for anyway, baby pics!!! Both of these are pictures of Ben. We really haven't been very good about taking pictures the last few days.
This is a recreational breastfeeding session turned kangarooing. He was out like a light the entire 2.5 hours I held him after the feeding.
Here is a nice stretch after we put him back in the incubator after being held.
I can't complain overall. We are lucky that the boys are doing as well as they are. There are a lot of babies around that aren't as lucky. They are bringing us a lot of joy. We are also thankful that the hospital social worker found a fund that would pay for us to live in the hospital for now so we can be so close to the babies. I'm really ready to go home with the babies, but this is the next best thing right now.
We're having a blizzard right now. Cody has to drive down to Nebraska City tomorrow for work. I'm really hoping things are okay for him to drive in. It is quite the drive from here.
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