6.16.09: No more isolettes

Here's Fiona!:

Here's Daphne!:



Here's Stella!:



Today was the first official day of the new 'Intermediate' room and so far so good. As we arrived this morning, Daphne was already removed from her isolette (isolettes are the plastic mini-greenhouses used for a premie) and resting comfortably in her new open crib. Stella and Fiona also graduated to this new open crib soon after. It is fantastic to have them out of the isolettes - it means we can simply walk up to them and pick them up - no more need for help from the nurses. All of the IVs have been removed for the girls and now they are just hooked up to monitors for basic vitals.

Eating will be the biggest challenge for our young ones. I have been trying to nurse each girl several times a day but as with all things some of them are a little better than others - but hey we are all still learning here (and will be for a while). Also with the removal of the IVs brings a challenge to make sure everyone gets the needed intake. When bottle feeding or nursing, the girls tend to wear out / fall asleep and stop eating therefore not meeting their needed intake. The solution to this is to add back the feeding tube. It is only used when the girls get too tired to finish their food (via bottle or nursing) - we have to remember they would have been 35 weeks old today and at such a young age, sucking/swallowing skills are still developing. Also now that they are in the open air beds, they must use some of their calories to control their proper body temperatures.

They are doing great, I can't reiterate enough how wonderful it is to have them out of the isolettes. We are tired but thrilled our little girls are doing so well.