Twin A gets a check-up, Twin B weighs in

Twin A went to his first check-up with a pediatrician. He is doing great, and was given the seal of good health. His pediatrician is Dr. Keene, who lives across the street from us. Dr. Keene said that he was a nice big boy for a preemie, and should just continue growing (he is currently 19" long, and weighs 5 lbs. 11 oz.). Twin A is settling in nicely at home, and we are starting to get into a routine. He is fed every three hours around the clock, so we are enjoying both the benefits and challenges of a baby on a schedule.

Twin B continues to thrive, Thank G-d. He is now back to his birth weight of 5 lbs. 2 oz. and is doing well as he gets accustomed to nippling all of his food. We can't wait until he becomes a pro at feeding, as that is what he needs to do to come home.

Look how good Twin B is at nippling! He pulled the gavage tube out, and the doctor decided that he was done with gavage feedings. He is doing great feeding himself. 

Here I am giving Twin B his bottle. 

Here is a profile of Twin B. 

Here is a profile of Twin A. 

Here is a close-up of Twin A. 

Twin B is feeding better and better, Twin A gains a belly button.

Twin B is still in the Growing Nursery at the hospital, but he keeps getting better and better at nippling his food. He is now able to nipple feed up to 50cc's! Mastering nipple feeding is his ticket home, so we can hope that in some way he is motivated to practice the nippling so he can come home and be with his brothers!

Twin A has settled in at home, and seems to be quite comfortable. He is feeding very well, and we hope that it shows up as a weight gain at his next doctor's visit. Today his naval cord fell off, and he now has a genuine belly button! Now he will be able to start taking real baths.

Shmuli has been doing a great job keeping an eye on his brother, and always warns me if little Twin A is fussing or crying. What a great big brother he is!

Here is Twin B, resting in his crib at the Growing Nursery. 

Here is Twin B sound asleep. The tube taped to his cheek is the gavage tube, which is still providing some of his feedings. 

Here is Shmuli, holding Twin A- home at last. 

Here is Twin A, sound asleep at home. 

Twin A Comes Home!

Today, Thank G-d, we were able to take little Twin A home. We are so joyful to take him home, but it was a little bittersweet, as Twin B isn't quite ready to come home yet. Twin A took the entire journey in stride, and napped in the car, and promptly fell asleep again as soon as we arrived home.

Twin B is doing terrific too- he is stable, and gaining weight nicely. The only thing that is keeping him from being able to come home is that he needs to get a little better at nippling. He is able to digest food fine, he is just still practicing the sucking/ swallowing/ breathing process. Right now he is at the same level as Twin A was about 5 days ago, so we are so proud of his progress.

Here is Twin A, taking his final nap in his hospital crib. 

Here are Robert and Shmuli, waiting for Twin A to be ready for discharge. 

Here is Robert, putting Twin A into his carseat. 

Here we are, ready to leave the hospital for home. 

Here is Twin A with Shmuli, arriving home at last. 

Here is Twin A all swaddled in his bed at home. 

The Twins are Reunited!

The biggest news of the day is that the twins are finally both in the same room, and are just a few feet away from each other. Twin B has now graduated from NICU, and also is in the Growing Room (aka the "Fat Farm"). He continues to improve on feeding, which is the last thing he needs to master before the hospital will discharge him. As of today, he is up to 3 nipple feedings a day, and he consumed 40 cc by bottle.

Twin A is also doing so well. He had a 12 hour reading done of his heart/ breathing, and it will help the doctor reccomend his treatment as home. His bili count continues to be borderline, but he hasn't had to return back to the bilirubin light, because he has been such a good little eater (which helps lower the bilirubin count).

The Twins are finally in the same room! Reunited at last!!! 

Here is Twin B, wearing REAL clothes! Isn't he handsome... 

Here is Twin B waving to all of his fans! He must be proud of all the progress he has made in just one week! 

Here is Twin B, doing a great job drinking from his bottle! 

Here I am, holding Twin B. It is so nice to have him out from under the bililights. 

Here is Twin A resting. 

Here is Twin A in his crib. He can now maintain his body temperature without being in the heated isolette. 

The Twins are one week old!

It is hard to believe that the twins are now one week old. They have accomplished so much in such a short time. Twin B is now nippling (nurse language for drinking from a bottle) two feedings a day, with the rest fed via gavage (tube feeding). Drinking from a bottle expends a great deal of energy for a preemie, and it is important to be sure that they don't expend more calories sucking then they are ingesting!

Twin A is also doing great. He nipples all of his feedings and is maintaining his temperature quite well in his crib. He is a little yellow today, so we are hoping that he will eat enough to flush out the jaundice- otherwise he will be back under the bililight tomorrow.

Last night, when we visited the hospital during Family Time Shmuli got to hold Twin A. He did a wonderful job, and was so sweet and gentle with his little brother.

Here is a big moment!!! Shmuli had the opportunity to hold Twin A. Shmuli is certainly showing all the qualities needed to be a great big brother! 

Here is Twin B, still relaxing under the bililights. His count was almost enough to stop, but just to be safe he stay under today. 

Family Night at NICU

Weekends are family time at NICU, when siblings can come in and visit. Shmuli had a very nice time visiting his brothers, and even though it was quite late (9:30 when we left) he did great and impressed the nurses with his maturity. Both boys are doing so well! Twin A should be moving to an open crib sometime Saturday night, and Twin B will try out nippling a bottle .

It is so exciting to see how each day they develop a step closer to doing what they need to do to come home. In order for a preemie to go home, he needs to be breathing on his own, consuming enough food by bottle to gain a little weight each day, and be able to maintain his temperature in an open crib. We take all these things for granted in a full term baby, but when you are born 7 weeks too early, you need to learn all of these things at an accelerated pace! No wonder preemies often have very determined natures!

Here are Robert and Shmuli with Twin A.