Flying
I remember one of the NPs commenting that Audrey was "flying" in those first few days in the NICU. In other words, she was surpassing expectations and doing everything she was supposed to be doing. I haven't heard "flying" much since that first week, but today, Charlotte's nurse used it in reference to her respiratory progress. And it's truly a fitting descriptor for all three of the babies right now. Their oxygen saturation levels are consistently higher these days with only 21% (room air) oxygen on the CPAP, and they almost always bring themselves right back up when they have dips in their numbers. By the time a nurse starts to look their way or walk over, they've recovered. Furthermore, the girls have both maintained excellent saturation levels without any CPAP at all (when it's removed for cares). Audrey's saturation was actually perfect (100) for much of the time I was there today.
A fun, new development today is that Audrey and Thomas are starting to wear clothes now! And Charlotte won't be far behind. I'm going to take in the micro preemie clothes that I have for them now that they've made the transition. I promise to post photos :) In conjunction with clothes and swaddles, the nurses have slightly lowered the temperatures in their isolettes as they prepare them to eventually move to open air cribs. They closely monitor their temperatures, as always, in this process. So far, so good.
All three are eating more than ever. Thomas is at 28cc, Audrey is at 23cc, and Charlotte is at 21cc. To put that in perspective, Thomas is consuming about 1oz per feed (8 times per day). Thomas is 3lb 3oz, Audrey is just shy of 2lbs 10oz, and Charlotte is 2lbs 7.5oz. Charlotte is tolerating her full feed amount in the one hour allotted, so they might try to reduce that time. Eventually, it has to be under 30 minutes. Audrey and Thomas, however, have both been needing more time; they have been at 2 hours, but the nurses are trying to wean that down. Please pray that that is successful...and that they all continue to "fly."