Baby Steps

This afternoon I got to try nursing the boys. And both of them took to it like a duck to the water. They both nursed for fifteen minutes and then pulled off and fell into a deep, deep sleep. They loved it!  Hopefully I will be able to figure out how to feed them both together just as easily and then we will decide if I want to nurse them or keep bottle feeding. I am still undecided. I would really prefer to bottle feed formula, but if this is really better for them (and not just from a breast milk vs. formula viewpoint) then I will certainly consider it. For today, I am just glad they both nursed as well as they did.

Their nurse asked me to bring up their car seats today for the car seat challenge. This is where each of them has to sit in the car seat with all of their leads on and not have any drops in their O2 sats, breathing, or heart rate for two hours. I think they will both do this without any problem, but it is one more thing they must complete on their NICU checklist before we can take them home. 

Once they have completed all of these tasks and not taken any of their feedings through the tube for 48 hours, then we will "room in" with them. Tony and I will both sleep in a hospital room right across from NICU and take care of the boys all night while they are still hooked up to their monitors. The nurses will come in and check on us and help us with whatever we need. I think it is really just a safety check to make sure we are ready to care for premies at home. I also have to complete a CPR course that the nurses will give me. Tony gets a pass on this part of the test. Once we have completed this "rooming in," we get to bring them home!