Holding x 2

I got to hold Charlotte today! Will and I had an appointment with the physical and occupational therapist about what we can be doing to promote the healthy development of our little ones while they're in the NICU. As part of that, she helped us in the process of kangaroo care with Charlotte (and with Audrey for Will), and it was a game changer. Rather than having the nurse transition the baby from the isolette to my chest, she had me lift her directly. This method made for a much smoother and calmer transition for everyone, with no desaturations at all. Yay! Charlotte did a fantastic job. Even when she moved around and knocked off her CPAP entirely, she maintained great oxygen saturation. While she slept, I read my book out loud (softly) to her so that she would hear my voice. 

Last night, when we called into the NICU from bed, we had been told that Audrey was not tolerating her feeds. They had stopped feeding her entirely and had put in an IV to give her all the essentials while they assessed her condition. Ugh. We went in today uncertain of her status but praying against disease or infection. Thankfully, there was no sign of anything bad in the gut, and they decided to resume her feeds. We're praying that she starts tolerating them again, in their entirety. In other news, it was clear today from her oxygen needs and saturations that she responded well to the dose of Lasix. As such, the doctor is actually considering putting her on a different diuretic that she could stay on long term (Lasix is too strong for prolonged use). 

I know I had assumed yesterday that Thomas also received Lasix, but he was actually put on the alternative diuretic for longer term treatment. He responded well to it and was quite stable today from an oxygen standpoint. All that said, the doctor is most concerned with him as far as respiratory condition and PDA are concerned. Will was actually planning to hold him until the doctor strongly suggested Audrey instead (after our nurse had said "no" to holding Audrey but "yes" to Thomas...oh, the politics and heirarchy of the NICU).