7 September 1999 - Evening Report
Mom Goes Back
to Hospital
Ah. But it's not what you think. The folks at the NICU have
a stage of
the nursery between full-time care and going home. This is called
the
family learning center and is the "apartment-style" room I described
in
the previous update.
We were a little startled to find out this afternoon that the girls
are now
ready (stable enough) to be moved to the Family Learning Center.
Beginning Wednesday, Rachel will move into the "apartment" and care
for the girls full-time while Dad splits his time between work, home
and the hospital. The girls qualified when both were able to
keep their
own body temperature (without assistance) and were getting pretty
good at eating. Ian will have to wait a little while. Whether
he makes
it to the FLC at all or just goes straight home is up in the air.
The idea
behind it isn't to teach the babies how to live at home, but how Mom
and Dad will manage all of this when they get home.
Ian has made a great 24 hour change in that he is eating better and
his
reflux is not quite as strong. The heart dips continue to a degree
but
aren't nearly as frightening as before. Grandmother McClure was
able
to feed the baby who wouldn't eat in a record 10 minutes this evening.
He still isn't eating as much as the girls, but he'll get there.
We also have some exciting news on the girls weight. Katherine
has
now surpassed her birth weight (babies usually lose weight just after
being born, to regain it 2 weeks later) and weighs 3 lbs 11.8 ounces.
Rebecca is just short of her birth weight this evening at 3 lbs 14.8
ounces.
Ian isn't back to his birthweight yet, but he's gaining and the more
he
eats the faster he'll get there. We're headed in the right direction.
Handling feedings, changes and crazy nurses every 3 hours is going to
be a marathon. Wish us luck and we might bring the girls home
in about
a week.