News to Me

Audrey and Thomas had their routine eye exams today. They both handled the medicine drops and actual exam well; they seemed more annoyed than anything. Thomas especially had puffy red eyes for most of the day. That said, he now has no ROP. Yay! His vessels are still immature though, so they will continue to monitor. Audrey, on the other hand, has mild stage 2 ROP. Last I knew, she and Thomas both had mild stage 1, but apparently, this is Audrey's second exam with stage 2. News to me.  

Charlotte was tested for the presence of MRSA (a nasty strain of staph bacteria) yesterday, and it came back positive. Apparently, she's been positive this whole time (not infected but just "colonized" with the bacteria). They gave her medicine of sorts and a special bath to try to "decolonize" her, but I guess it didn't work. All of this is news to me. We had been told that all the cultures had come back negative. And we had not been told anything about the "decolonization" attempt. I guess if you don't know to ask the question, you won't get the answer. Awesome.  

While I'm on a bit of a rant...Charlotte had a major brady and desat during a bottle feed over the weekend, which made everyone hold on giving her bottles at all. The feeding specialist and I had been working with Charlotte with a specific position, particular slow flow nipple, and methodical pacing for her feeding. If I had to bet, I'd say that those details were probably not heavily considered (if at all) for the feeding in which she had her episode. The feeding specialist had a similar reaction. I guess we'll never know, but I do know that she has taken a bottle well with me since then. She took most of her afternoon feed today and never dipped below 94% oxygen, and even that was only a brief dip. 

My hospital frustrations aside, the babies are all doing well overall, and they are actually receiving a high level of care. If you stick around anywhere or with anyone long enough, you're bound to notice the warts, I suppose. 

Oh, and Audrey has joined her sister in the 4lb territory! Charlotte, however, won't stay there much longer, and Thomas is eying 6lbs. It's amazing how far they've come. I failed to mention it earlier, but last Friday marked "full term" (37 weeks) gestational age. My due date of June 10 is fast approaching. Homecoming we be here before we know it!