Life in the NICU

As you can imagine, we're spending several hours a day at the hospital and it's starting to feel like our 2nd home. We have been blessed with WONDERFUL nurses and there are two that hold a special place in our hearts...not only do they love our children and request to take care of them, but they are both named Lisa (my mom's name)...how crazy is that???!!! I shouldn't expect anything less as my mother continues to be my guardian angel.

Kennedy & Hudson are doing great. Kennedy was on oxygen for a day or so because when she was born she took a breath and then decided to hold her breath. But the oxygen didn't last long and now they both just have feeding tubes and monitors which is wonderful. Basically they are healthy, but were born too early and need time to learn to eat properly.

Kennedy is our eater. Apparently, girls catch on to the growth process a little faster than boys so she's been the first to do most everything. They are fed 8 times a day and the goal is for all 8 feedings to be either bottle/nipple. Any feedings that aren't are fed through the feeding tube. Kennedy is at 6 feeds and Hudson is at 5. They don't want to rush the process because they want to make sure the kids really know what's going on before they send them home.

We were a little worried about Hudson because he would tucker out in the middle of his feeding and the rest would have to be fed via the tube and just as we were beginning to wonder if he'd ever catch on, he flipped a switch and has become a much better eater!! It's only been 2 days of awesome eating for him, but we are so proud. As of today, he finally caught on to breastfeeding. I was so excited. Again, Kennedy has been a pro for a few days so we were just waiting for Hudson to catch on.

They both lost weight initially (as all newborns do), but they have surpassed their birth weights and are growing every day. We of course think they are too cute and love that they are becoming more alert.

We are currently going to the hospital at 8am (HG & I), 2pm (me), and 8pm (HG & I) so that we can feed them and get some family time. We typically stay for about 1 1/2 hours. Nana is with us for the 8am & 2pm feeding as she's my chauffeur. I hate not being able to drive, but I've only got a week left of driving Miss Ticey. Plus, since HG can't make the afternoon shift Nana gets to feed one of the babies so she's enjoying her bonding time too!

We change them, feed them, take their temperatures, and just love on them! We can't wait for them to be home. We thought Kennedy might come home this weekend, but it's still probably another week or so before either one will come home and it's possible that they won't come home at the same time.

So that's our life in the NICU. Things are going very well and we really appreciate all the LOVE & SUPPORT!!!!

Kennedy & Hudson