This feeling is a good thing. Both the girls are together, off of O₂, no iv’s or bilibeds, just being babies. They got better fast which we are very happy about. However that means that all of the stuff we would have normally been able to adjust to is crashing in fast. The boys are emotional, we are getting up every 2 hours or so to pump, we are spending long days in the hospital, and doing lots of waiting with pretty healthy girls.

I think we are going to be a bit frightened to bring them home, away from constant observation and machines. I feel we may even revert to our first child fear status. But we will get over it, life will go on, and the craziness of a four child household will set in, in which case the “what the hell were we thinkings” will have time to set in. So now we are completely out of the trouble zone, at least in my mind. Now we just need the OK from the docs to bring them home and start our life.

I am going to keep it short and sweet. Today was good. Lila was transported back to Newton-Welsley at 1:00pm today. She is currently on a very low amount of Oxygen, eating very well, and off of the IV. Her IV is currently stuck in her head because they ran out of places on her limbs (it will be removed soon but babies veins are fragile which is why the IV moves often). Its looks ridiculous but it doesn’t hurt her. Mandi is doing well too, she is about the same as her sister except that her breathing is a little faster. You will notice a blacklight in the pictures below. It is a UV billi-bed which will reduce her billrubin levels. These are high because the girls did not start eating until recently and so toxins have not been expelled, its nothing to worry about and will go away with their excretions. Mandi is being sped up a bit with the UV light. So that’s that, I’m tired and we have another feeding soon. Enjoy the pics below. Carrie and I are going home tomorrow to spend the day with the boys who we miss terribly.

Things are really looking positive as of this morning. Both Lila and Mandi are breast feeding which is awesome. Also yesterday I got to hold Lila for the first time which kicked major butt and she also had her chest tube removed. What does this mean? Well hopefully she will be able to leave MGH and come over to Newton-Welsley to be with her sister and finish out her treatment. I guess the best we can hope for is that they are home by the weekend, but it may take as long as next week.

What and insane experience this has all been. Certainly I feel Carrie and I have held up much better than I would have thought. Carrie has been especially string given the fact her body is raging with post-pregnancy hormone madness. What gets me now is that there is a couple who had twin boys born on the same day, under the same circumstances and they are experiencing the same thing as us. They have one boy here and one at MGH with very similar issues. We run into them all of the time and chat about what is going on, I feel so bad for them for some reason and perhaps I should be feeling that for myself, but I don’t. I guess perspective is the answer to that one.

Now on to medical care, what a pain. I mean obviously the doctors and nurses are doing a good job, because the girls are getting better. However you have to be such an advocate for your child. Most of the staff want to be as clinical as possible, watching the numbers and going by the book. This is understandable but observation and experience goes a long way. I have noticed that the best doctors and nurses are the ones who take observation and experience into account, who bend the rules to accelerate recovery. There is also the parent factor, if we push hard enough, they listen to what we want, but that can be stressful sometimes. Anyway its an annoyance but not necessarily are huge problem. We have always and will always attempt to do what is best for our children.

So if the girls are together this afternoon, I will take some pictures and do another post. Thank you all again for being so wonderful, we really do like the feedback and it makes us feel better that so many of you are pulling for us. i wish i could say I was religious and was praying, but I am not. I have faith in the universe and my childrens’ will to survive. I have faith in my family and friends that they they will be there to support us. Faith in ourselves and positive action and feeling will get us through. Its amazing how far a smile can throw you.