Stop Hands (And an Update)

I'll start with an update on the girls...

The other day, we got to put Evie on a transport monitor and bring her in Sophie's room for some family time! Here is a pic of the girls together... (No, they didn't hold hands on their own...)

Evie and Sophie are officially at 34 weeks gestation today!! I can't believe it has already been four weeks since they were born. This has been a crazy four weeks... the happiest and the scariest of my life. It will all be worth it in the end, but Nate and I are starting to get sick of our babies being in the NICU (HA! who are we kidding? We have been sick of it for a very, very long time.) Here are some exciting things that happen at 34 weeks gestation:

• The girls start to try to figure out their days and nights. Therefore, we don't have to keep a blanket/quilt on top of their isolettes at all times! If it's bright outside, we pull the shades to avoid overwhelming/overstimulating them with brightness. The upside of this is that we get to look at them all. the. time. So amazing!
• The girls' feeding tubes are now officially supposed to be in their noses. Since they've been born, they've been moved back and forth from their noses to their mouths based on a number of different things (My cranky self is sure the nurses at night just like to practice putting them in, but they insist the girls have pulled them out that many times). Now, they are supposed to be in their noses so that their mouths are free to practice "nippling" (nursing and/or bottle feeding as opposed to having the feeding drip in through their feeding tube by gravity).
• Speaking of nippling, for the last two weeks, the girls have been allowed to nipple for two feedings per day if they were awake and alert and showing cues that they were interested. Now that they are 34 weeks, we are allowed to try bottle- or breast-feeding them for all of their feedings, as long as they are interested. The nurses even give them bottles when we aren't there if the girls are awake enough.
• The substance with which the girls' breast milk is fortified will be weaned off and a new fortifier will be introduced. I have no idea why, but it's another thing that happens at 34 weeks. The girls will most likely go home on this new fortifier or breast milk mixed with formula to make sure they get enough calories until they get to their due date.

The girls at 34 weeks (Sophie on top, Evie on bottom)

Evelyn continues to be a rockstar of a preemie! She is tolerating her feedings (40 mls of fortified breast milk every 3 hours), is doing an excellent job with her bottles and nursing, and is keeping herself warm enough that she can be in a regular crib now! Not having a top on her bed makes me even more of a germophobe than I already was, but it makes her feel like more of a "regular" baby! Last night, Evie was 4 lbs. and 9.6 oz., which is almost 1 lb. and 6 oz. bigger than she was at birth! She is getting a little double chin like her Daddy had when he was a baby! She is having a little bit of reflux/spitting up after her feedings, but so far, nothing to worry about. Because Sophie has a bloodstream infection, the infectious disease doctors are watching Evie closely to make sure she doesn't develop the same infection, since they were in the same environment for such a long time.

Evie's isolette, right after "popping the top". They put her in a regular crib the next day.

Sophie is still our little troublemaker! Like I talked about in the last post, she had a positive blood culture last weekend, meaning she has an infection in her blood. They were able to determine that the bacteria was Group B Strep (which is something they test all pregnant women for, and I was negative, so she must have gotten it somewhere else.) This was a pretty serious infection, but luckily, it was caught early! The infectious disease specialists have been following Sophie closely and recommended a 14 day course of Ampicillin to make sure that the infection clears completely and does not spread.

Unfortunately, needing two weeks of antibiotics means Sophie needs an IV for two weeks, and IVs don't seem to last very long in such tiny babies. The other day, as Nate and I were about to leave, Sophie's IV went bad, and it took at least 10 (that we know of) tries to get a new IV in her. The next day, that one went bad, and they tried unsuccessfully to place a PICC line (a big IV that lasts longer than normal), so they had to put an IV in her scalp. IN. HER. SCALP. I was beside myself! Yesterday, they were able to get a PICC line in, and we are hoping it lasts until her antibiotics and TPN are done so that she doesn't have to be poked for any more IVs. I'm over it now, but her PICC line was placed in her scalp as well, and they had to shave part of the side of her head to put it in. It was devastating! I will show a picture of her PICC line later, because the ones I currently have are too heartbreaking for me to look at!

I almost told them I wanted nothing to do with this, but I figured I'd be upset later if I didn't keep it.

We are very thankful that the blood cultures were repeated, I believe on Monday, and they are completely negative. Also, the fluid from Sophie's spinal tap did NOT grow any organisms, so there is no concern for meningitis.

Sophie has also been going through a vicious cycle with her feedings. The way I interpret it is this:

1. Sophie's feedings are increased (too quickly for Sophie) to her goal.
2. She does well for a while, but then it catches up to her and she begins not tolerating the feedings.
3. The symptoms of not tolerating feedings somewhat mimic the symptoms of a very serious belly infection.
4. The doctors stop her feedings and order xrays every six hours to watch her belly very closely in case of this very serious belly infection.
5. I panic.
6. Sophie is fussy because she is hungry. I panic even more.
7. After a few xrays, her belly is improved. The doctors restart her feedings at a smaller volume.
8. The doctors increase her feedings (too quickly for Sophie)... and we start over at step 1.

I am sick of panicking, and the doctors are probably sick of showing me Sophie's xrays and having me cry over them. SO, our new mutually-decided-upon plan is to start her feedings at a VERY small volume and increase them VERY slowly. She is on TPN and lipids (IV nutrition) to make up the difference in calories until she can get to her goal. Her feedings are also dripping in very slowly and continuously instead of falling into her belly by gravity, which usually takes about 5 to 15 minutes.

Last night, Sophie weighed 4 lbs., 3 oz. She is a little bit swollen because of her infection, so we think that some of that weight is just fluid. As she loses that fluid, we think she will lose a little bit of weight too, but no biggie!

We do anticipate that Evelyn will come home before Sophie does. It's not that Sophie is doing badly, but she is a little slower with her feeding tolerance and she still needs to complete her course of antibiotics. As long as Evelyn is healthy, we will be able to bring her to the hospital while we are there with Sophie (although we're still not sure if being there all day with her is a good idea). Who knows, maybe they will be discharged at the same time, but we're not getting our hopes up.

Stop Hands

One of the things that babies do when they are stressed or overwhelmed is to spread their fingers and give the "stop hands" or "stop signs," as the nurses call them. Check it out... it's actually very cute!

Our little Evelyn is not shy about giving the stop hands...

While Sophie is a bit more nonchalant, but does not hesitate to show us her stop hands if she feels it's necessary...

Thank you for praying for our sweet girls! Sorry for such a long update!

The VPs

Ups and Downs...

This weekend was rough!!

Like I wrote about in my last post, Sophie's blood culture came back negative last week. At that point, we thought she was free from infection. On Friday night, she started acting a little funny, was having more alarms, and her nurse said her belly had grown a little bit (they measure it each day, or more if they are concerned about a belly infection.) When I got to the hospital on Saturday, Sophie was acting very lethargic and cranky (not like herself!) and, to make a long story short, the doctors ordered more blood cultures and labs, which came back positive for an infection, so she was started on some more antibiotics. They also ordered abdominal xrays every 6 hours to check for a serious belly infection. The first xray was questionable, but the rest looked okay. Because the blood cultures were positive (which means Sophie has a blood infection), their standard is to do a spinal tap to see if she has meningitis. I knew this was a possibility, but I totally did not want my kid to have to go through a spinal tap. When they ordered it, I sort of fell apart! It only took about 10 minutes total, and Sophie was so brave! Now that it's over, I know that it really wasn't that bad, but it was so hard for me when she had to go through it!

Sophie isn't acting like she has meningitis, which the spinal tap would look for, but we are waiting for the culture results to come back to be sure. Her xrays have looked good, so they've ruled out the serious tummy infection we were worried about. Thank goodness! Yesterday and today, she has been acting much more like herself. She's on antibiotics, and the doctors are going to continue them for a full course no matter what. The antibiotics are treating the blood infection, but if she does have meningitis, they will treat that as well. They've restarted her feedings; hopefully she'll be back on her full feedings soon!

Evie is doing great. She has a little bit more of a reflux/spit-up problem than Sophie, but nothing we can't handle!

Last night, Evie weighed 4 lb., 3 oz., and Sophie weighed 3 lb., 9 oz.

Today was much better than the weekend. Sophie is acting like her normal self, and her labs are coming back down to normal. Sophie and Evie's nurse let us put Evie on a transport monitor this afternoon and bring her next door to Sophie's room. It was like a family reunion! We had such a great time having the girls together... they pretty much slept the whole time, but we know they knew they were together! Each of the girls also got to practice nursing today, and each took a WHOLE feeding by bottle! Woo hoo! They also both got dressed in cute preemie clothes and we talked about weaning them to open beds (working on maintaining their temperature all by themselves so they don't have to be in the enclosed isolette all the time). It is a slow process, but we are going to start working on it soon!

Evie and Sophie enjoying each other's company

Our first family pic :)

So adorable. I can't stop staring at this picture!

Normally we feel guilty leaving the hospital early, but we got plenty of quality time in today, and the girls needed to rest. Since today went so well and the girls were both having great days, Nate and I decided to have a nice night to ourselves (and here I am writing a blog post, and thinking about calling the nurse soon to see how the girls are doing). We will be there bright and early again in the morning!

Please keep praying that Sophie's infection will clear and not return! The blood cultures will be repeated in the morning; please pray that they are negative, and that neither of the girls will catch any more infections! And, most importantly, please pray that we will be able to take our girls home ASAP! We absolutely cannot wait!

Love,
Nate, Sara, Evelyn Joy, and Sophie Grace

Thankful

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts over the last few days! Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday have all been great! It was relaxing and refreshing to have a day to ourselves with our babies (not that we don't LOVE showing them off!) Thank you to our families for giving us our day off, even though we know you wanted to see our/your girls.

A quick update (I promise it will be quick, since Nate wants his laptop back!)...

Sophie's second blood culture came back negative. The doctors consider her clear of infection, and her antibiotics have been stopped. We are SO thankful that this scare was only a scare! After stopping her feedings several times due to feeding intolerance, she has now gone almost 24 hours with barely any residuals (milk left in her tummy after a few hours)! They are increasing her feedings today from 12 mL every 3 hours to 20 mL every 3 hours. Tomorrow, if all goes well, they will increase the feedings up to 24 mL every 3 hours, which is the goal for her weight! Then she will get to lose the IV! Her IVs have only been lasting 1-2 days, so I will be so thankful when they can stop poking her again and again! Pretty sure I cry more than she does when she has to get poked. Also, today's big news is that Sophie took her very first bottle this morning! She did a great job and took her entire feeding by bottle, without spitting up! WOO HOO! For both of the girls, being able to take bottles consistently is a huge step toward HOME! Starting at 34 weeks (next week Saturday,) we are allowed to try feeding them bottles for all feedings, not just twice a day.

Mommy's little peanut doing a stellar job! Who knew giving a baby a bottle would be such a huge milestone?!

Since Sophie has been our little troublemaker, I feel like I don't write a whole lot about Evie, so I have to give her a shoutout for being a rockstar preemie. She has been doing such a great job with breathing, eating, gaining weight, pooping (OKAY, she does a more-than-great job with pooping, right Daddy?) and just being a beautiful, sweet little girl. I have always been a fan of equality (I used to alternate calling my Mom and Dad's cell phone each day so neither of them would feel left out, even though I would talk to both), so let it be known that I love Sophie and Evie equally, even though I may write about one more than the other!

Evie enjoying being held by Mommy.

We are thankful that both girls are completely off oxygen and doing great... no breathing issues! Last night, Evie weighed 3 lb. 11 oz. (a gain of 7 oz. since birth) and Sophie weighed 3 lb. 2 oz. (a gain of 11 oz. since birth.)

We are amazed and thankful at how well both girls are doing. We pray that they will both remain infection-free and continue to progress with tolerating their feedings and keeping warm so that they can come home soon!

Love you all!
The VPs

PS Now that Sophie is gaining some weight, Mom and Dad are having more and more trouble telling the girls apart! I think we are going to have to paint their toenails different colors when they get home to avoid mixing them up!

Growing and Growing...

As most of you know, our girls were transferred to DeVos Children's in Grand Rapids last week Thursday. It has been so nice for Nate and me to be so much closer to home and to sleep in our own bed each night! I think it goes without saying that being closer to home is nicer for our family and friends who want to visit the girls too! We were so sad to leave the wonderful people in Ann Arbor, but it was definitely the right move for us, especially since there is a good chance one baby will come home before the other.

The isolette the girls traveled in from Ann Arbor to Grand Rapids. They rode in an ambulance while Nate and I drove our car over. We couldn't wait until we all made it to GR! The lady on the right is Kate, one of Sophie's favorite nurses! :)

Reunited for the first time since birth.

We were so sad to leave such a great place!

Mom and Dad were so excited to finally arrive at the hospital! Little did we know, we had beaten the girls there. The Children's Hospital is the blue round building in the middle of the picture.

This is Mary, the nurse from U of M, who traveled with the girls and made sure they arrived safely in GR. Here she is ready to "unload" Sophie in her new room!

An update on our sweet girls...

Last night, Evelyn weighed 3 lbs., 9 oz. She is now at "full feeds" for her current weight, meaning she has reached her goal! She is no longer on the TPN (IV nutrition) or any IVs, so her PICC line was pulled on Friday. She gets 32 mL (just over 1 oz.) of breast milk every 3 hours. She was having trouble digesting the milk, so they started putting it on a pump where it goes in over 1 hour instead of falling in quickly by gravity. This has really helped her! Normally, her feeding goes through her feeding tube and into her stomach, but because the babies are now at 32 weeks gestation and Evie was showing signs that she was ready to start sucking, she got to try a bottle for the first time today! It was so fun to feed her! She did an awesome job; she took 16 mL of her feeding before falling asleep (the remaining 16 mL was given to her through her tube as usual.) We are currently allowed to try bottle- or breast-feeding her once a day, and that will increase as she gets older.

Evie is still on room air and doing great! She is very alert and awake for what seems like long periods a few times a day. She has definitely gotten more calm and quiets down much more easily when she gets mad.

Sophie is doing wonderfully as well, although she likes to scare her Mom and Dad more often than Evie does. I'll try to make this long story short: Wednesday night, her nurse in Ann Arbor thought she was acting a little funny. She didn't show any signs of infection, but they pulled out her umbilical central line just in case. When we got to GR, they checked some labs, which were questionable for infection, and drew some blood cultures to see if there was any bacteria in her blood. This morning, those cultures came back positive. The doctors think (and we are hoping) that the sample was contaminated, since Sophie has been acting essentially normally since this all started. So, they drew more blood cultures today to see if there is actually an infection. Just in case, she has been on antibiotics for the past few days. Because our girls are so tiny and premature, their immune systems are underdeveloped, so even a minor infection could affect them a lot more than it could you and me; we are praying that there is no infection, and if there is, that the antibiotics will get rid of it ASAP! With all of the lab draws and the need for IV antibiotics, little miss Sophie has been poked a few more times than her Momma can handle!

Sophie resting on Daddy's lap with an IV in her foot.

Sophie hit the big girl 3 pound mark 2 nights ago! How exciting! She was having similar problems to Evie with having leftover feedings in her tummy that hadn't been digested, but because of the questionable infection, the doctors have treated her a little more conservatively. Twice now, they have put her feedings on hold and checked abdominal xrays and labs before restarting them. On Friday, her feedings were on hold for 15-18 hours, and today, they were on hold for 6 hours. Both times, the repeat xray looked great. Instead of starting her back up on the feedings she was at, they backed down a little bit, so she currently gets 20 mL every 3 hours. Hopefully soon they will be able to advance them so she can reach her feeding goal as well!

Sophie was taken off oxygen on Friday and did very well! Today, she was desatting a bit, so the nurse put her on just the teeniest bit of oxygen! (For my nursing friends, a tenth of a liter per minute.) This felt like such a step back to me, but the nurse told me it is completely common and not surprising for someone as premature and small as Sophie. She is awake and alert at times, but probably not as much so as Evelyn. The nurses all tell us that her slower progress is normal for preemies, especially for small ones like Sophie, but it's hard on us to see one baby progressing faster than the other.

Sophie's pretty face without oxygen

We have been enjoying a little more freedom to hold our girlies when we want to since they are getting a little bit older! We can't get enough. We think they are absolutely adorable, and apparently, the nurses do too!...

Nate and I have declared tomorrow a "no visitor day." We are "over it," for lack of a better word. NICU life is stressful and hard, regardless of how well the babies are doing. It is so hard to see our helpless little babies getting poked and prodded and to know they don't understand why. It's sometimes hard to remember that, so far, most everything that has happened with our girls is normal based on their gestational age. After all, had I had a normal pregnancy, they would have been inside me for almost 2 more months! There are times we just don't feel like visiting, so we are giving ourselves a break.

For those of you who will visit us while we are at DeVos... just a heads up for you...

• Nobody under 16 is allowed to visit in the NICU.
• You will be asked/required to "scrub in" before entering the NICU... this just involves washing your hands/arms up to your elbows and removing all jewelry below your elbows. You may want to leave bracelets/rings at home.
• You will be asked to have any sleeves rolled up to your elbows while in the NICU.
• If you have artificial nails, you will be asked to wear gloves.
• Call/text us to make sure we're in the room if you're planning on visiting us. They keep track of whether either of us are there, and visitors aren't allowed back if we're not in the room.
• Each time our babies are stimulated, they burn calories, which slows their growth. Of course, they need some stimulation, but loud talking or noises, bright lights, camera flashes, etc. are unnecessary sources of stimulation! We want Evie and Sophie to grow and come home as quickly as they can, so please remember that if you come to visit!
• To prevent infection, right now we are the only ones allowed to touch and hold the babies. Once they are bigger, we are happy to pass them around, so you will get your chance!!

These are all measures DeVos has taken to prevent infection. It seems strict, but it's actually in the best interest of our babies and the rest of the babies in the NICU.

If you are praying for us and our girls, thank you! Here are some specific requests:

• Right now, our biggest worry and concern is Sophie's possible infection. If her blood culture from today comes back positive and they don't think it's a contaminant, she will have to have a spinal tap. We do NOT want her to have to go through that. Please pray that she does NOT have an infection, and that neither of our babies will develop infection during their stay in the hospital.
• That the girls continue to keep growing and tolerating their feedings. In particular, that Sophie will tolerate her feedings so that she can be taken off the TPN and start bottle- or breast-feeding like her sister. The neonatologist told me on Friday that since breathing has been stable for both girls, their big concern now is nutrition. They have to be growing consistently and taking all feedings from a bottle or breast before they can go home.
• This will just come with time, but please pray that the girls continue to make progress toward regulating their own temperature. This is something else that has to be met before the girls can come home.
• Please pray for Nate and me, as it is difficult being in the NICU all day every day. It is stressful and hard to see our babies with tubes and lines, and it is disheartening when we feel like our girls are taking steps backward, even though we are told this is normal for preemies. I have had a hard few days lately and would appreciate your prayers!

I'll leave you with a super cute picture of Evie (top) and Sophie (bottom) from Friday morning...

Love,

Nate, Sara, Evie, and Sophie

Picture Time

I'm guessing most people who read this are friends with Nate or me on Facebook, but for those of you who aren't, here are some pictures of our beautiful girls...

Sophie in the stabilization room immediately after birth. The girls were immediately taken into this room, where a neonatal resuscitation team was ready and waiting for each of them. Nate was able to follow the girls into this room while the surgeons sewed me up. It seemed like the longest 30ish minutes of my life!

Evelyn in the stabilization room

Evelyn (top) and Sophie (bottom) when Mommy and Daddy came downstairs to visit the first morning.

Both girls were under the bili lights for a few days on and off. Today (Sunday) is day #2 with both girls off. We're hoping they won't have to go back under. We hate that they have to wear those silly sunglasses! Also, both girls had breathing tubes put in on Sunday and removed on Monday. Here is Sophie with her blue lights and her breathing tube. She's sticking her tongue out too, which she loved to do for her first few days!

Daddy doing skin-to-skin with Sophie. These are our favorite parts of the day!

Evelyn just after her CPAP got taken off. One of our first opportunities to see her whole face!

These are the smallest pacis they have... they are too big for our girls, but they still like them (sometimes).

Sophie on her special CPAP

Sophie 

Evie on her nasal cannula! Woo hoo!

Mom's craft to decorate Evie and Sophie's room doors.

Evie after a bath

Evie wide-eyed after her bath

Daddy can't get enough of the girls. :)

One week old. Evie (top) and Sophie (bottom).

Evie giving smiles to Grandpa K.

Sophie hanging on to her CPAP

Evie not wanting to be bothered. :)

Thank you for continuing to pray for our princesses! Both are tolerating their feedings, which are being increased daily. Both girls are now gaining weight slowly but surely. Sophie may be able to take her CPAP off later today or tomorrow! She has been doing great with breathing on her back today!

Love,
Nate, Sara, Evie, and Sophie

NICU Life...

We just love our girls so much!

Everyone told me how amazing being a Mommy was, but I never could have imagined the amount of love I have to give to these little peanuts. Don't tell them I said this when they're older, but I would do anything for them!

So much has happened in the last week! The girls are doing awesome, but both are still having some ups and downs as would be expected for such early preemies.

We will start with Evelyn. She is doing an awesome job with her breathing and was finally taken off CPAP yesterday. She was placed on a nasal cannula, which was actually taken off this morning just before I got there! I was soo excited! She did so great all day without the oxygen! Her problem is that when she gets mad, she is difficult to calm down, and her breathing suffers. She had a little meltdown this afternoon, and even though her oxygen levels stayed okay, we could tell she was really working hard to breathe. The nurse ended up putting her back on a little oxygen, and once she finally calmed down, her breathing seemed much easier.

Evelyn weighed 3 lb., 1 oz. as of yesterday, which is a loss of 3 oz. from her birth weight. This is pretty normal for any baby. Her feedings were increased today from 2 milliliters of breast milk every 3 hours to 4 milliliters every 3 hours. Every few days, they will ramp up the feedings as long as the girls tolerate them. Along with increasing the feedings into their tummies, the doctors decrease the girls' TPN (IV nutrition) so that eventually all of their nutrition will come from breast milk.. So far, there have been no issues with feedings, aside from the first night or two where Evie had some leftovers in her tummy that made her uncomfortable. Preemies are at a super high risk for reflux, so as we increase their feedings, we'll have to keep a close eye on that. I asked the nurse tonight what they normally do to treat reflux, and she said the babies just have to grow out of it. Poor things! We are praying that reflux won't be too big of an issue for either of the girls.

Sophie, our littlest peanut, is doing an awesome job too! While she still has the CPAP on, her breathing has pretty much stayed the same for the past few days. The oxygen level that is coming through the CPAP is equivalent to the oxygen level in the air, or occasionally just a touch more. She just needs the CPAP to help keep her lungs expanded. She is tinier, so it might take her a little longer to catch up to Evelyn. Sophie's breathing is great while she's on her tummy, but she usually needs a little oxygen boost when she lays on her back. We are told this is normal for preemies, and yet again, something she will grow out of. She will need to learn to breathe well on her back before going home, since that is the recommended positioning for sleep when babies are not on continuous monitoring. Sophie is a little easier to calm down than Evie when she gets mad, so her breathing usually doesn't suffer too much if she is upset about something. Occasionally, Sophie will do what is called "periodic breathing," where she breathes really fast for a little while and then stops breathing (apnea) for a while. Sometimes these are accompanied by "brady" alarms, which is when their heart rate drops temporarily because of low oxygen. Another common thing for preemies. The good thing is that Sophie normally comes out of these episodes all by herself and doesn't need us to remind her to start breathing again.

Sophie has gained 1 oz. from her birth weight! Her feedings were also increased today, from 2 mL every 3 hours to 3 mL every 3 hours (the amount they get per feeding is based on their weight, which is why she gets a little less than Evelyn.) She has had no tummy issues, but just like Evie, she will have to be watched closely for reflux as her feedings are increased.

As far as temperature goes, most preemies born as early as Sophie and Evie have trouble maintaining their body temperature. The isolettes that Sophie and Evie are in maintain a specific temperature and humidity level to help them regulate their temps. Every few days, the humidity is weaned down, and by the time the weaning is complete (about 2ish more weeks), the girls should be old enough to be able to keep themselves warm. At that point, the tops can come off of the isolettes and we can start dressing the girls in clothes, swaddling them in blankets, etc. I can't wait!

Both girls have had some ups and downs with high bilirubin levels (jaundice) -- another very common thing for preemies. They have both been on and off phototherapy, which are the blue lights that help with jaundice (don't ask me how.) Evelyn was off for a day or two and then was put back on today. It's tough for mommy and daddy to see them laying underneath that light with little sunglasses on. Hopefully, when they recheck her bili levels in the morning, they will be lower so that the lights can be turned off.

Nate and I have started doing a lot of the girls' care, like baths, diaper changes, etc. It's so fun to be able to take care of our little munchkins! We also love doing kangaroo care with the babies, where we hold them skin-to-skin on our chest for an hour or two at a time. The babies seem to enjoy it too, and there is a lot of research to say that kangaroo care does a lot of good things, like helping babies regulate their breathing and temperature, increasing mom's milk supply, and helping with bonding, which can be an issue when babies are stuck in isolettes all the time.

We cannot say enough wonderful things about the doctors, NPs, and nurses at the NICU here at Mott. They are taking such great care of our girls, and of us too!

Prayer Requests:

• That Sophie and Evie's breathing will continue to improve; that Evie will calm down more easily and that Sophie will learn to breathe just as well on her back as on her tummy.
• That Sophie and Evie will continue to tolerate their feedings and not develop severe reflux so they can grow and the TPN can be turned off!
• That the girls will stay free of infection. The hospital is a great place to pick up a bug, especially with weak immune systems, central lines, and that nasty TPN, which is a wonderful breeding grounds for bacteria. Any infection could set the girls back quite a bit, especially if it's severe.
• That the girls' bilirubin levels will stabilize and they will no longer need to be on the bili lights.
• That Nate and I will get the rest we need. The NICU is quite a stressful place, and it's hard to leave our girls each night, but we have to remember the importance of taking care of ourselves too so that we can be the best Mommy and Daddy we can be!

Speaking of rest, I need to get some. I promise I WILL post pictures soon. If you are friends with Nate or me on Facebook, Nate does have a photo album with lots of adorable pictures of the twins! Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, for all the cards, gifts, and visits. We appreciate it so much!

Goodnight!

The Vander Ploegs