A Better Day

Today was a nice day.  Despite the gray weather, I can feel that spring and new beginnings are coming.  On our way home from running errands this afternoon, I saw little pink blossoms on some trees downtown.  A good reminder in a matter of a few days life can go from cold and drab to all sorts of warmth and loveliness, especially at this time of year in Washington.  So our babies have found themselves in the right place at the right time :)


Both babies looked beautiful today.  During rounds, they decided to slowly start Lucas back on his "p.o." feeds, which is some sort of Latin phrase for "by mouth".  What that means for me is that we got to start breastfeeding again, which was wonderful, even though we were only allowed a limited amount of time today - and let me tell you, Dad is a very strict timekeeper.  Lucas continues to look improved in his ease of breathing, and there had been no alarms on his monitor for nearly 24 hours.  He also gained another 40 grams, putting him at 3 lbs 10 oz.  When you forget to look for a couple days, it can be amazing how fast they grow. 

Olivia also looked much happier this morning.  However, her breathing sounded a little "wet," a NICU term of art that suggests she had also aspirated some fluid, so after rounds she started a course of diaretics, just like her brother.  We're hopeful that she will have as successful a response.  She actually gained too much weight yesterday- 105 grams - so although it's tempting to be excited that she's almost 3 1/2 lbs, we'll wait until she loses some of that fluid and gives us a "true" weight, as one attending calls it.  Despite the extra fluid, she was much calmer and happier today, and spent an hour snuggling with Mom with barely a desat at all.  There's nothing like a prolonged period of quiet snuggling with the babies to give us strength to struggle through the difficult days and provide a hopeful glimpse of life after the NICU.

My favorite attending comes back on service tomorrow, which makes me excited to get back to the hospital - as though the babies weren't enough of a draw.  There's something incredibly calm and comforting about his demeanor, and he has the most wonderful laugh and smile, which can be in short order in the NICU.  All in all, a good way to start the week.