Day 77!!!

Today was a wonderful day for me and the boys!!! I got to go into the hospital for the first time in two days and spend time with just myself and the boys!!!  The nurses even left me alone, and I was able to hang with them in peace and quiet, and feed them both!!!  Joseph is off of his oxygen still and he looks amazing!!! Nicholas is doing great and is in day 4 of his countdown, so we are very excited that he may be coming home early next week!!!  Joseph has been episode free for 10 days now, but since he was just taken off of his oxygen he won't be eligible to come home for at least a week, but so far so good, and we hope that he is only in the NICU a few days longer so we can have both boys home within the next two weeks!!!

The doctors put Nicholas back on his breathing treatment that is inhaled for a few minutes, but only because of his spontaneous bouts of fast paced breathing.  The doctors feel this contributes to him burning more calories and not gaining the number of grams on a weekly basis as they would like him too, but the doctor today was very happy with him and how he was responding.  Both boys are still a little anemic, but they are going to hold off on treating it in any way yet and see how their numbers look on Monday when they both get tested.  Kalleigh's milk is a big help in this situation and they are hoping since the boys are both taking at least 50ml regularly that they will be able to get their blood cell count up on their own!!!

Today was a good thinking day for me, and I was reminiscing about their time in the NICU and how it's going to be a very bitter sweet feeling to take them home, especially separately!!!  Don't get me wrong, I want them home yesterday, but Kalleigh and myself, especially Kalleigh, have developed great relationships with all of the NICU personnel, and they have become a very big part of our lives for the past 77 days.  Kalleigh and I will never be able to truly thank them for what they have done for our family, and getting to know each of them over this time has really been a great and unique experience!!!  Plus they have provided a loving and caring home for our boys!!! 

Nicholas after his bottle!!!

Look at Joseph, NO OXYGEN!!!