Twins Update

Caitlin is quite the mom already - she is determined to breast feed them and hospital agrees that is best for them. But since their "suck-suck-swallow" instincts have not kicked in yet and they can't actually nurse at the breast, Caitlin has to pump the milk so she doesn't dry up. She has to bring the bags of milk to the hospital several times a day for storage. The milk is refrigerated and used to feed via the tubes. To say the least, this is an uncomfortable process for her, but to her credit, she is handling it all like a trooper. Only complication there is that in order for her not to develop an infection herself from all milk not being expelled, a hospital grade pumping machine has to be rented at $75 a month - to buy it would be about $1,400!

A couple of days ago we were told Cadence had developed a digestive tract infection due to not being able to digest the breast milk properly. Apparently her little GI tract is not developed enough, so now they're only able to feed her nutrients through a tube down her tiny throat. She was also jaundiced and was put on antiobiotics. The nurse told us not to panic - "welcome to the world of NICU" - that these kind of complications were normal for preemies.

There was some concern that Cailie would develop the same problem, so they also removed her from breast milk, but so far no infection in her and at this point she's doing very well, the ventilator has been removed and she is not on antiobiotics. When I saw them yesterday, she even opened her eyes and seemed to look right at me. She's quite the little cut-up already and we have pics and video of her stretching, sticking out her tongue and gives these little smiles that melt our hearts.

But today when Angelique met Caitlin outside the NICU, Caitlin instructed her mom not to freak out but that Cadence was being given a blood transfusion. Her counts were low and they said they had a "strong suspicion" of meningitis so performed a spinal tap. Hopefully the results will be in tomorrow, but in any case, they said Cailie will come home before Cadence can since she requires at least 8 weeks of antiobiotics.

Of course this was unwelcome news to our entire family, but we stand strong in our faith and belief that these little girls will both pull through this. Like my friend, Pat, said: "Life is a gift from God and he doesn't take it back lightly."