April 16-April 22



Sunday, April 16, 2000

Andrew seemed very overstimulated, probably because of all the people in and out yesterday. So, we decided to make things more like the NICU. Although they want us to wean him off of his binky from the NICU, we gave it back to him and he calmed right down. We also tilted his crib mattress like they have in the NICU. He seems much happier.

Cassie ate well for Dad today, so we hope she will be able to progress.

Elena's oxygen needs are way down on the CPAP. We are so happy! She is no longer gown and glove as the bacteria she grew only lives in water and now that the tube is gone, so is the bacteria.

Monday, April 17, 2000

Andrew is still doing well at home.

Cassie is still not being advanced on her feedings. She was put in bed with her sister and they both love it. Mom really loves seeing her girls together.

Elena is still on CPAP, but was tried on nasal cannula. She did not do too well so the CPAP was put back on.

Tuesday, April 18, 2000

Andrew is loving being at home. He is eating very well and is still sleeping until it is feeding time at night. We have noticed that he is much more alert and active.

Cassie is still doing the same, no advancement.

Elena had a new thing put on her nose as it was irritated and bloody from the CPAP prongs. It is a plastic suction cup thing that does not irritate her nose. Her numbers come down daily. It is pleasing for all who see it.

Wednesday, April 19, 2000

Andrew loves being cuddled, and he gets a lot of it at home.

Cassie is being advanced to two out of three feedings on the bottle. We hope she does really well. She had her last dose of Valium today and now is successfully weaned from her sedation.

Elena continues to astound us. They have started to wean her Valium.

Thursday, April 20, 2000

Home health came to see Andrew today and he weighs 4 lbs, 11 oz and is 17½ inches long. He again charmed the nurses that came to see him.

Cassie did better on her feedings and will hopefully be advanced to full bottle feedings tomorrow.

Elena is continuing to improve. She is spending more and more time off of the CPAP and on the cannula.

Friday, April 21, 2000

Andrew had a few visitors today. He liked it. We tried some new nipples on his bottles as the ones we were using were from the hospital and were starting to break. He really seemed to like them. He is still eating really well, about 10 ounces a day.

Cassie was not advanced on her feedings because she did not do as well as we had hoped. If she can start doing well, we can maybe take her home next week. She is now tipping the scales at 4 lbs, 14 oz.

Elena spent 9 hours on the cannula. She did really well.

Saturday, April 22, 2000

Andrew had a good day again today. He ate a lot and we are thinking of increasing the amount of milk we put in his bottle as we wonder if we leave him still hungry. He is still eating every 3-4 hours.

We received a call that Cassie's feedings would not be advanced because her nose sounded stuffy and the doctor was afraid she had a cold. However, Cassie ate well for Mom when she went in tonight. She is very alert now that her sedation has been ceased. We are hoping that they will advance her feedings tomorrow as she is doing better.

Elena is astounding us all. She spends 5 hours at a time on CPAP and then 3 hours on cannula. She is doing so well on the cannula that tomorrow they are going to have her be solely on it. If she is stable, she can begin eating this week, which is what she really wants to do as she is rooting like a baby who has already been fed.

Both of the girls now weigh 5 lbs, 1 oz.



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(c) Dane Seeley, 2000