Hump Day?

When I played football in high school I had a coach who would motivate us by making up funny names for days of the week to coincide with practices. The hardest day of practice was always Wednesday, which Coach Forti affectionately termed "Hump Day." This was the day when we had to do the most grueling drills- "legendary abs," "superman runs," "the pit drill," hitting the blocking sled countless times, offense practice, defense practice, special teams, you name it. While exhausted at the end of the "Hump Day" practice, I always felt a sense of relief and pride of having accomplished something great, and knowing that the next day would be just a tad easier.

When I called the NICU this morning, I was hoping to hear that the girls were doing well, expecting to hear that they were doing fine, and braced to handle a complication or two. This is the general mindset that I have to get in when I call to check up on our daughters. What I got today was a bit of a shock, but in a pleasant way. Around 11:00 this morning, Baby Hope had suddenly jumped from level 5 of the CPAP to the nasal cannula like her sister. Woah, where did that come from? Just days earlier we busted out the Mr. Yuck sticker based, in part on Hope having some respiratory challenges on Friday... now here she is on the nasal cannula. This came as a pleasant surprise. Moreover, Grace's feeds have increased to 17 ccs and she is scheduled to go up from there. Hope is now back up to 9 ccs, plugging away, as always, at her own pace. While both girls' weight gain has been halted temporarily due to them both being on diuretics, we are seeing progress. These girls are making "preemie baby steps" as they mature each day.

As I visited with the girls tonight, I got another unexpected treat. I held Hope for about 15 minutes at first (her hold was cut short due to some desats), but then got to hold Gracie as well after Jeni had finished holding her for over an hour (a new record). I also got to watch Gracie take down her "Hungry Man Dinner"-sized portion of milk and have her first burp with me present. It was hardly the loud Animal House belch I was expecting, in fact she didn't even make a sound, just let loose some bubbly milk and then seemed to look more alert and happy. I never knew a burp could be so adorable.

Being able to hold both girls on the same day marked the first time this has occurred since Jeni held them right after they were born. It also marked the first time that it really hit me that I am blessed with twins. By early July I hope to be able to experience the joy of holding both girls each and every day, and hopefully for more than just a few minutes at a crack.

Are we over the hump yet? I think it would still be too early to say yes. However, in a small way, I feel that, like Hope and Grace, we're all (Mom and Dad included) making "preemie baby steps" on our way to getting there.