5 Weeks Old!

Hope and Gracie made it through their five week birthday this weekend in fairly uneventful fashion. As has become typical of life with kids in the NICU, there were accomplishments, setbacks, unanswered questions, and, above all else two girls who continue to mature, develop and act as cute as ever, as evidenced by Gracie gripping her passifier in the photo to the left.

The nurses believe Hope is having trouble with reflux (this is similar to bad heartburn or acid reflux in adults). While there is no real cure for this, it is something that we were told that most premature kids outgrow by the time they go home from the NICU or shortly thereafter. Getting above the 10 ccs of milk hurdle has been a real challenge for Hope. She has made it up into double-digits on her feedings a couple of times only to have monster residuals and be brought back down. With all this in mind, however, she has managed to gain weight and is officially a pound heavier than she was 5 weeks ago when she was born. Hope is now a whopping 3 pounds, 5 ounces. Here she is below looking extra snuggly as she checks out her surroundings in the isolette. This girl is very alert and wide-eyed to say the least!



As for Gracie Girl, she has been dubbed a "wild child" by some of the NICU nurses, and for good reason. Gracie is an active girl and has been known to crawl out of her blanket and reposition herself in her isolette. Yesterday during her kangaroo session with Jeni, Gracie literally jumped off of her mom, and Jeni had to catch her! This made Gracie cry and squeal like you wouldn't believe. Today she tried to climb up me while we "kagarooed. " There is a lot of strength and power in her little legs I'll tell you! Unfortunately, while Gracie is making great strides with her respiratory progress (she is now on the basic nasal cannula, not the heated one), she is still losing weight and has not made it past 2 pounds, 11 ounces. The nurses and doctors are now beginning to fortify her milk with extra calories to try to get this girl to gain some weight. I think Gracie might do well to have a few personal training sessions from Hans and Franz- they need to "pump, her up!"