This morning I got to hold Anna for 3 whole hours!  It was so sweet to just sit and hold her.  When I put her back in her bed, the imprint of her leg and foot were left on my belly!

When I went to visit the girls this morning, the physical therapist came by to talk to me.  She talked about the preemie diapers being a bit too big for the girls and that this can cause them to keep their legs too far apart, so she recommended that they wear even smaller diapers!  The diaper on the right is a preemie diaper!!!!  Look how tiny the one on the left is!

Tonight when we went to visit, Phil did hands-on time with Anna and I did hands-on time with Kate.

Daddy taking Anna's temperature

Daddy changing his first diaper with Anna

Mommy feeding Kate a bit of breast milk straight into her mouth rather than through the tube!

 Uncle John comes to visit his nieces!

Checking out Anna

Our God is so GOOD!

"Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom."  Psalm 145:3

God continues to bless our sweet little girls as they grow and develop each day!

Anna,like Kate, was able to quit light therapy for Jaundice!  NO MORE TANNING BED:)

The doctors talked to us on Saturday about the possibility of putting PICC Lines (peripherally inserted central catheter) in both girls.  They use PICC Lines in place of IV's because PICC Lines can stay in for up to 21 days and IV locations have to be changed every few days.  The doctor told us that this would most likely happen on Sunday or Monday.  When I went today, the girls still hadn't had them put in.  When I asked the nurse about it, she said that they had postponed the insertion of the girls' PICC's because they were doing so well tolerating their feedings and that they may not even need them after all!  What a great encouragement to us as the PICC Lines, although often necessary and helpful, run the risk of getting infected. We know that there is still a possibility that they will go ahead and do the PICC lines if they have to continue to place new IV's, but we are hopeful that they won't be necessary.

Holding Anna

Streeeeeeeeetch! (Kate)

Anna

Anna

Holding Anna for the second time in one day!

"Hands-On Time"

Every 3 hours is "Hands-On Time" for the girls.  The nurse checks the girls' temperature, changes their diapers, and feeds them.   Every night they are also weighed.  Tonight, I got to check both girls' temperature and change both of their poopy diapers...who would have thought I would be so excited to change a dirty diaper!  Here are some pictures of me with Kate during her hands-on time!

Look at that TINY HINEY!

Weighing Kate

Daddy can't get enough of little Kate!

A day full of progress!

Even in the short amount of time the girls have been in the NICU, God has blessed us with many bits of progess that give us hope that they will be home before we know it and also reminding us that HE IS IN CONTROL and loves our Kate and Anna even more than we do!

For the first few days, the girls were not given any milk, they just got the nutrients they needed through their IVs.  Yesterday afternoon, they started the girls on 2 cc's of milk and fed that to them every 4 hours to see how their little tummies tolerated it.  Tonight when we went to visit, they were already up to 8 ml per feeding and are tolerating it very well:)

With all that yummy milk comes meat on those timy little bones!  Today, Kate gained 2 oz. and is up to 3 lbs. 9 oz, and Anna gained 3 oz. and is back up to her birth weight (3 lbs. 14 oz)!!!!!   Also, Kate's bilirubin levels were low enough to take her off of the light therapy!  God is so good!

Look at all that hair! We can't wait to wear all of the cute bows Aunt Melissa made for us!

Kate with mommy this morning.

Anna swadled in daddy's arms.  He couldn't wait to get home from work so he could visit his girls!

Kate in mommy's arms tonight.

Now that the girls are eating more each feeding, the milk is slowly pumped into their tummies using this machine.

I got to hold Kate while she "ate".  Hopefully I will actually get to nurse her soon!

Kate after her feeding....snug as a bug!  Doesn't that look comfy?? (minus all the wires, of course)

I have also finally made some progress.  Until today, I was pumping every 3 hours or so and literally getting a drop here or there.  This morning I finally got more and by the end of the day was quite proud of myself:)

First pumping of the day...

Last pumping of the day...

Visitors

We are so blessed to be a part of such an amazing church!  Today we had several visitors from church come to see us and the girls.  John and Becky came and brought us maple pound cake....yum!  Susan came and was beyond excited that she actually got to see the girls.  Mike, Charlotte, Sarah Beth and Kennedy came too.  We were overwhelmed by everyone's love for us and our girls. 

Susan and Jordan

Susan was so excited to see the girls!  It is such a blessing to have people who already love Kate and Anna!

Mike and Sarah Beth

Adjusting to life in the NICU

Kate and Anna are doing so well!  Today, I held Anna and Phil held Kate.  Although they are losing a little bit of weight (both have lost 2 oz), which is normal for all new babies, they have already made progress.  In fact, Kate no longer has a tube in her nose!  I pray that they Lord will give us these small signs of progress to cling to as we wait for them to grow strong enough to come home.

Sweet Anna

I could just sit and hold her all day long!

 

 

We have our Daddy's feet!

Debbie has been the girls' nurse for the past 2 days.  She let me take Kate's temperature and change her diaper!

Look at that sweet face....with no tube up her nose!

Daddy holding Kate for the first time.