Working towards home

Another week has seemed to flow by and the girls continue to progress in many ways. It has been a hard past few days for Thomas because he has been sick and has not been able to see the girls since Wednesday. It just breaks his heart to not be able to be with his girls daily. He is constantly calling and checking on them. He is so funny he insists on going with me to the hospital, but he sits in the waiting room while I visit with them. He says he at least needs to be in the same building with them. He is going to be a great daddy, and I love him very much.

Rachel continues to grow. She has reached yet another milestone in her growth curve. Rachel has reached the 8 pound mark as of last night. We continue to pray that she will continually gain weight well because her weight gain plays the biggest role in helping her overcome her reflux, lung disease and her floppy airway. She has such a fighting spirit and we are grateful for that. Thomas and I will meet with Rachel's pulmonologist, gastroenterologist and her neonatologist on Wednesday to discuss whether or not she really needs to have a fundo and g-tube put in, or to let her continue to grow and see what happens. The main worry for Rachel is if we don't do a fundo/g-tube she may micro-aspirate which will make her lungs worse and/or cause her to get aspiration pneumonia. We have been agonizing over what to do for Rachel. We want only what is best for her. We have heard bad things about a fundo and we have also heard how they have made all the difference in the world for other babies. We only desire what is best for Rachel, and we will continue to pray and find out what is best for her. We know that Rachel does have reflux, but we do not know exactly how bad it is. We always want to do the less invasive procedures first before we jump into more invasive procedures like a fundo. We hope that the less invasive way of her getting a gtube with out the fundo is what will work, but we will do what is best for her.

Rachel posing for the camera



Haley like her sister continues to grow as well. She now weighs in at 7lbs 10oz. It is also so important for Haley to grow because she also has reflux and we are hoping she will grow out of it so that she doesn't have to have a gtube or a fundo in the future. Haley is still trying to master bottle feeding, some days are better than others for her in regards to bottle feeding. We understood that it would take her a little longer to grasp the art of bottle feeding because she was born so prematurely. Her neonatologist suspects that she will need a g-tube in the future due to the long amount of time it may take her to take all her formula by the bottle. Currently Haley is getting transitioned to bolus feeds vs continuous feeds. When she gets to a more normal feeding (by bolus) schedule she will be ready to come home. Thomas and I will have to learn infant CPR and get the car seat fitted in our car before she is discharged from the hospital. We will be learning CPR this Thursday evening at Texas Children's Hospital. It is getting closer and closer for Haley to be discharged. What a great day that will be in her life and in ours. We hope that she continues to thrive and do well so that we will be able to bring her home as planned thus far.

Haley with her fingers on that feeding tube ready to pull. She has pulled that tube out 2 times today.