Some Week Three Photos

Happy Three-Week Birthday, Christopher and Katharine!

What a wonderful week of development for our little ones! Today Katharine is about 3 pounds and 10 ounces, and Christopher is 3 pounds 14 ounces. As we get closer to four pounds, the kids are both almost completely off of temperature controls in their isolettes. Once this is mastered, they should soon be moving on to an open crib!

Both have also recently moved on to “bolus” feedings, a huge step in the right direction for their nutrition! Where they were receiving a constant flow through their feeding tube before, they now receive an increasing amount over a 2 ½ hour period. As this is well tolerated, they will move to receiving the amount in 2 hours, 1 hour, and so on, until they are able to take their entire feeding in a 30 minute period, with feedings occurring every three hours. This will mimic the feeding pattern a newborn would normally follow, in preparation for eventually taking a bottle and breastfeeding.

The kids continue to work on regulating their breathing and oxygen levels. They still have progress to make to become completely independent, but we’re glad to see that they are struggling less with this. We continue to pray that we will see further progress on this front.

Oh yes, and Christopher is still in "isolation", following his eye infection. So we continue to don the yellow gowns and gloves with him.

We had a lot of fun this week trying out some of the adorable preemie outfits we’ve received, as both kids are free of IV’s and critical lines, making outfits possible. We are loving the time we can spend “hands on” with the kids, changing diapers and outfits, singing, and snuggling. The only negative is having to put them back to bed! But they need their rest just as much as they need bonding time with Mom and Dad, and we’re glad to make sure they receive both.

We continue to document as many special moments and milestones as we can with photos. You can check the updates for Week Three at…

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=872086366905%3A542931770&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee

Watch for future posts for photos of Week Four!

We are excited to see how they will continue to grow in Week Four! We are so grateful for your prayers and love! Thank you so much for your support!

With Love,

Andrea, David, Christopher, and Katharine