Cadie & Maddie's Big Move

Today's visit to the EOPC brought some wonderful news! Madeline has been transferred to an isolette -- what most people recognize as an incubator. When we first visited the girls, we thought the babies in isolettes were actually the "sicker" babies because they are enclosed and the isolettes are covered with a blanket. My good friend, Jenny, a NICU nurse in Oklahoma City, explained to us that isolettes are actually a step up from radiant warmers. This move means they are no longer on a ventilator and they are closer to being able to maintain their own body temperature. This is a HUGE move for Maddie, so we are thrilled! She also received her first feeding of breast milk this afternoon for her two o'clock meal. There haven't been any problems so far; no throw-up or spit-up and no signs of abdominal complications. This is a good indication that her body is mature enough to process milk. Sometimes the decision is made to introduce breast milk and the baby isn't able to process it yet, so they have to restart fluids. They successfully gave her another feeding at eight o'clock. We are amazed at how determined and tough our little girl is! More good news regarding Madeline: she is trying desperately to open her eyes. Babies' eyes are fused shut in the womb to allow development and to protect them from their surroundings. Cadie's eyes weren't fused when she was born, but Madeline's were. We were assured that it is normal and that they will eventually open on their own. Now, she is trying to blink and we could see the slightest slit where her eyes are just barely opening. Hopefully, we will see her beautiful eyes soon.
Cadie is hanging in there with some big changes of her own. She is now the proud owner of her very own CPAP. We are so excited because she has been struggling with her breathing and this is definite progress. The nurse warned that she may fall back to the ventilator again, but not to panic because sometimes it just takes a couple of tries before they can stay off the ventilator permanently. The nurse also mentioned that they are planning to move Cadie into an isolette of her own soon, so we are hoping she will be back by her sister in the next couple of days. If she is able to stay on CPAP, Cadie will get to start breast milk just like Maddie. We were also excited to hear Cadie cry for the first time since she was born. In the delivery room, we only heard a couple of whimpers, so the sound of her crying was precious.