Baby Girls are 2 WEEKS OLD!

Happy 2 Weeks!!! The last 2 weeks have had a lot of ups and downs. This is an exhausting time for me and Nick. Here is an update with some changes both good and bad in the past day or so.

Olivia - needs special prayer again for a PDA (Patent ductus arteriosus) found with her heart. This is a condition in which a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus fails to close normally in an infant soon after birth. The condition leads to abnormal blood flow between the aorta and pulmonary artery. Before birth, the ductus arteriosus allows blood to bypass the baby's lungs by connecting the pulmonary arteries (which supply blood to the lungs) with the aorta (which supplies blood to the body). Soon after the infant is born and the lungs fill with air, this blood vessel is no longer needed. It will usually close within a couple of days. If the ductus arteriosus does not close, there will be abnormal blood circulation between the heart and lungs. The condition is more common in premature infants.

Allie and Olivia have both had echocardiograms for this situation but Allie's is very small (and they believe/hope it will close on its own). Olivia's is considered "moderate" so they want to treat it immediately with 3 doses of a medication that is administered every 12 hours for 36 hours. We found out this afternoon around 1 pm and they were waiting for the pharmacy to send up the meds. So let's pray that within 36 hours they see a significant change!

They also believe Olivia has a slight pneumonia. They are still suctioning a lot of thick junk out of her lungs. Poor girl. BUT I did get to hold her for the first time yesterday for over an hour (skin to skin). She was perfect and we both LOVED the special time together.

Allie - thankfully she is responding very well to her antibiotic. (Thanks to lots of prayer!) Her culture was suggestive of staph but the newer blood draws have been negative. Her foot is looking better every day. They found a new, little blister on her hand today but aren't too concerned. Nick got to hold her skin to skin yesterday. This was the first time he held any of the girls and this was also the first time Allie had been held. (Daddy beat me to it!) I was so excited for both of them to have that very special time together. After their time together Allie was wide awake. I would say the first time we both felt like one of the girls was really trying to pay attention to what was going on around her and focusing on us talking to her. SO SWEET! She has HUGE round eyes.

Yesterday Allie and Norah were started on 1 tsp of Neosure, which is the formula they will most likely be on for the 1st year, for each feeding. They add this to the breast milk to add calories. Both are tolerating it very well.

Norah - continues to be feisty and do well. Nick and I witnessed a little "fit" today. She was crying (which we don't see in any of the girls much at all), kicking her legs and arms everywhere. We think she was hungry b/c it was just about time for her scheduled feed.

Thank you for the prayers! Thank you to our friends and family who have been so patient and understanding with us these past few weeks. We can't always return every phone call and email as quickly as we would like. On top of trying to be there for the girls as much as possible, we are also trying to have some quality family time just the 3 of us this weekend, which has been very nice. We are trying to live a somewhat normal life for Ryan's sake but it's just very difficult to do so. We appreciate all of you! Thanks to those who have said they look forward to the updates. We don't want to overwhelm anyone with emails but it's the best way to keep everyone posted and continue to ask for your prayers about specific situations. As you can see, things change all the time. Much love,Stacie