IV-Free!

   A quick update for each of the girls....

RYANN GALE

Ryann continue to be a "rock star" (as said by both one of the doctor's and the developmental therapist)! She's leading the pack and will probably continue to do so for at least the next few weeks. She is gaining weight slowly, but surely and is enjoying her 24-calories as well as her 36 or 40 ccs of milk every three hours! It's hard to keep track of who's eating how much these days, it seems to constantly change - but I think she's pretty much maxed out. Now we're just waiting for her to get to 1800 grams to G'ma and G'pa can hold her... but that might have to wait until their next trip down (they only gain about 15 grams or 0.5 ounces a day). She's also slowly being weaned down on the incubator's temp - hopefully she'll be ready to switch to a bassinet by the time she reaches that 1800 grams as well (she has to be able to keep her temperature up). Like her sisters, she's a pooping machine! Yesterday when Travis went to change her diaper during his lunch time she tried to catch him off guard, luckily he waited her out before removing the old diaper! Then, this morning I walked in to see her nurse wiping down the SIDE of her incubator - she'd had an explosion of some sort during the night... she'll probably love that I shared this information in about 10 years!

BRYNLEY CADE

Brynley's IV was removed on Monday! Another tube gone - yeah! Her and her sister Hadley are quite the feisty little girls (or so each of their nurses have told us)... They don't stop moving, despite our pleas to save their calories! Brynley still has her cannula and will for probably some time to come. She's still forgetting to breathe off and on, and tends to have quite a few "brady's" - especially when her tummy gets full! These are very, very common for preemie babies and something they grow out of between 35 and 37 weeks. Luckily she doesn't have too terribly many, and she tends to recover on her own - otherwise the nurse or one of us stimulate her by rubbing gently on her back as a reminder to BREATH! Her and Hadley are still on caffeine as well (it also helps remind her to breathe, interesting huh?!) She caught me off guard on Monday, just after Ryann had her fun with Dad... I was changing her diaper and also tried waiting her out - but I didn't wait long enough as it turns out! She did her duty so I began changing her diaper... unfortunately she decided she wasn't quite finished and proceeded to poop on my hand and her swaddle bed! These girls like to go through their linens. We got it all cleaned up though and I'm sure it won't be the last time.

HADLEY MARIE

   Miss Hadley got her IV out this morning! Meaning all the girls are IV FREE! She was the last of our unicorns... our biggest hold-out, she didn't get the IV in her head until the last day. She was very bright-eyed today and was such a snuggle-bug during our kangaroo time. Like Brynley, she still has her cannula and is on a bit more oxygen than her sister at 2 liters. She also tends to have a few brady's throughout the day as do both her sisters. However, the nurse can't quite figure out her routine for these spells - she remains a mystery! The nurses have all commented to us how feisty she can be... and she definitely likes her linens changed frequently! The other day her bedding had to be changed out THREE different times! First she kicked out her IV (they still aren't sure how she managed this) soaking her bed and requiring a new IV to be started! Second, she leaked through her diaper all over her bed. The third time was later that evening. I went to change the sweetheart and she'd had a blowout (again requiring new bedding). However, it didn't quite end there... as I went to change her (new diaper under her and parts covered) she sneezed and had another explosion! It was pretty funny to be honest... Other than that, she is concentrated on growing and getting big and strong! In no time she'll be in clothes just like Ryann!