Our Feisty Daughters

The good news for today is that Grace's head ultrasound, too, looks good. As suspected, like her sister, Grace has a PDA. She had her first dose of medication today and we're waiting anxiously to see how things go. Unfortunately, like most medical conditions, it doesn't look like we will know right away if the girls' PDAs are going to close or not. That's how things seem to be in the NICU, lots of "wait and see." As such, we're waiting to see how Hope responds to the medication, although there has been no change at this point. After tomorrow, she'll get another echocardiogram to determine if/how the medication is working.

After our doctor examined Grace today and came over to give us the report, he mentioned, "her blood pressures have looked good, she's breathing room air, she's a pistol, I tweaked her sugars and lipids..." It cracked me up that right in there, with all of her medical stuff, "she's a pistol." Well, we tend to agree with this statement. Grace squirms and stretches and does her little exercises all day long. While Grace seemed to be our feisty child, calm little Hope has joined her in the last couple of days. She's "a wild child" according to the nurses. I hope that this means that our two girls are little fighters! If they're like their mom and dad, I have a feeling that they will be. Both girls have taken pacifiers which helps to mellow them out a bit, but we know that in spirit, they are both just as feisty as ever.

Today, I got to join my hubby in the ranks of diaper changes. There are very few parents out there that get excited about "getting" to change diapers, but Will and I are exceptions to this rule. When you are barely allowed to handle your child (for very good reasons, mind you), changing diapers is a privilege. Not only did I get to change Hope, but also sponge out her mouth with some sort of tasty mint solution, which was adorable watching her lick her lips contentedly, and take her temperature (underarm, thankfully).

Pampers preemie diapers worn by Hope and Grace
(photo from http://www.flikr.com)