Quick Update on the Girls

Ok, I know I've been saying I will give an update on the girls, but geeze where does the time go, I swear!?! I don't even have them home yet and I cannot seem to find a minute to sit down at the computer anymore. I rather sleep, to be completely honest.

Today I have been VERY busy cleaning the house and getting everything perfectly ready to BRING HOME CLAIRE AND MADELYNN..... Yes, you heard me correctly. They are growing so good and drinking all of their bottles so last night the nurse said, "please bring in their car seats tomorrow," and this momma almost fell over!!! I was speechless. I am still not getting too excited because anything can set them back a day or so, but they are just doing so well. Claire pulled out her feeding tube a few days ago (which she did a million and one times) and so I kept telling her that if she wants to keep it out then she needs to keep drinking all her bottles and boom, it worked. She has been sucking 38cc's down in 15 minutes, making the cutest little sounds. She will be a porker! She is up to 4lbs 6oz, last night! Madelynn pulled her tube out yesterday morning and since then only had to have a partial feed through the tube, when it was put back in. The nurses allow one time in the 48 hours for them to get tired and need their tube, but that's it, so we'll see how she does the rest of the day, and if she manages, then both girls will have their car seat tests tonight or tomorrow morning and we will get to bring them home TOMORROW!!!!!!!!! Madelynn is up to 4lbs 5oz and also drinking 38cc's, but she takes a little longer than her sister. Both girls have been in open cribs since Saturday, which is so nice.

So, either way, I will at least have one of our babies here tomorrow evening most likely...Claire is pretty much good to go and hopefully Madelynn will be too, but if not, it will only be another day or two for her. I am so excited but trying not to get my hopes up too much, just in case. I can't believe that we will get to bring them home and no one will come and take them! No wires, no nurse, no beeping...heaven on earth (when they all come home)!

Natalee is doing so good too! She is up to 3lbs. 2oz., and is eating 26cc's of a special formula with extra calories. She is the only one not getting any breast milk at this time because of the blood in her stools, which have since cleared up and she is doing fine.  All she needs to do is grow and grow and as soon as she hits the 4lb mark she can come out of her isolate, and the nurses think she will be home before the end of the month. She still gets very tired at her feedings. Currently she is getting every other feed in her tube because we don't want her to burn the calories trying to bottle feed at every feed. During her bottle feeds, she does ok, she is just much smaller than her sisters so sometimes she is interested and sometimes she could care less. It's very funny though, I have noticed her playing games with me already. She will suck down about 5-10cc's and then close her eyes, leave her mouth open and will not want more single drop and after 10-15 minutes of begging her to please drink her bottle for momma, I finally resort to telling the nurse to tube her. Well, wouldn't you know, she suddenly opens her eyes, smiles and makes all these facial expressions, for an hour or so, completely wide awake! It's like she knows, ok I don't have to work anymore, now I can stare at you Mommy! So funny! She is such a sweet girl, I ready find myself calling her "the baby"...she'll always be the baby to us, since she is the youngest and the smallest. Who knows if she'll stay the smallest but she'll always be the baby of the three.

All the girls are on a multi-vitamin, vitamin D and Natalee is also on some iron (from the bleeding her her stool, she became a little anemic).

All of the nurses are so impressed with how much milk I am getting from pumping. Since I've never done any of this before, I don't know how much is a good amount, but they are like, "girl, you will have no problem feeding these three girls with breast milk!" Makes me so happy! I know it's the only thing, that's FREE and only I can give them! They are latching on great too. Of course Claire is the best (with a suck from God) and Madelynn still is kind of relaxed about it all, but still doing good. Natalee surprisingly does really good too, I think she does better at the breast then she does with the bottle nipple, but of course it's hard to tell how much she is getting.

Anyway, I just wanted to update. I'm sure there are things I forgot and will have to add in later, but for now I need to keep getting everything ready around here!!!! :)

I can't help but smile from ear to ear thinking that there will be a baby or two here this week!!!!!! Of course it will be so hard to leave our sweet peanut, but she'll be home before we know it too, and our family will finally be complete, in one house, all of us, together at last! In God's time, it will happen!