Mamma is Home!

Emmett was waiting for me in the driveway when I got home!

Anne (Scott's Step-Mother) decorated the gates to the driveway.

Jake and Emmett wearing their Big Brother shirts! (What you don't see is my Mother squatting behind them and holding their shirts to get them to stay still for 1 second to get a picture!).

The girls had a good day today, so it was nice to leave the hospital knowing they were doing well and in good hands. We have already had the best nurses, and I met another one of the neonatologists today (Dr. I). I have absolute confidence in the care the girls are getting at Centennial. This morning when I met with Dr. I he told me that Millie's lungs were over expanded when they put her on the ventilator. Once again her lungs are so fragile from the prematurity and not having amniotic fluid to "swim in" the last two weeks, so the pressure from the ventilator was too much for her lungs to take. It caused some small tears throughout her lungs which caused some fluid to leak and swelling to occur. I am not sure that I am describing it in the best way, but the end result is that damage to her lungs occurred, but it should heal with time. They lowered her vent settings to decrease the pressure, but the good news is that she is tolerating the low setting just fine. Her nurse told me that normally they take babies off the vent when they get to this low of a setting, but they are leaving Millie on to allow her lungs to heal.

Both girls are tolerating some of their feeds (Millie every 6 hours and Ruby now every 3 hours). Both girls bilirubin levels have come down, and they have decreased the number of bill lights shining on their skin. When they get completely off the lights then the nurses can swaddle them somewhat to make them more comfortable. They both twitch and jump a lot. Their immature nervous systems can't handle all the sensory input they are getting.

It was great to come home to the boys today. I tried to get a picture with the boys, but there were two problems. The first is that the boys would not stay still long enough. The second is that when I saw my picture it was clear that I am not fit for public viewing. 12 weeks of bed rest combined with anemia from pregnancy and blood loss have not been kind to me. Not to mention that I have not highlighted my hair since June (apparently my natural color is brown with some gray highlights), and blah blah blah. It's not about me, but it is my blog and you're not getting any pictures of me at the moment!

All of the calls, texts, emails and Facebook messages have warmed my heart and given me a lot of peace. I may not get to respond to all of you, but please know how much it means to me, and I am very grateful to have wonderful friends and family. Elizabeth