A Correction And Exciting Events

So, first the correction. It turns out that the info I was originally given regarding head ultrasounds was not entirely accurate. The neonatologist was talking with me between interviews by the bed without the charts in front of us, so he gave me a quick run down without details and he gave me one wrong name (which is easy to do when there are four babies from one family and you don't have the info directly in front of you). Here are the actual reports on head ultrasounds that I read for myself today.

Brooklyn - normal head ultrasound (originally I was told she had some ventricle enlargement)

Kynlee - marginal enlargement of the 3rd ventricle, all other ventricles are unremarkable

Gage - asymmetry of the ventricles that is within normal limits

Westin - germinal matrix hemmorhage (bleed) that is mild

Hopefully all is self limiting and will resolve spontaneously. The repeat ultrasounds are on Wednesday (we had been told they were today, but that was a mistake). They have also been measuring head circumference to watch for warning signs and so far that looks great on everyone. They are all staying on their appropriate growth curves!

On to the exciting news of the day:

BROOKLYN TRIED BOTTLE FEEDING TODAY! That's right, the nurse mentioned to the doctor that she was staying alert and sucking her pacifier through the entire feeding and he said we could try bottle feeding one time per shift and see how she did. I was there for the next feeding and so the nurse let me try it. Brooklyn did great! She is taking 42 mL total right now (tube feeding) and she was able to take 27 mL from the bottle today before having to switch to tube feeding for the rest (she just got tired and stopped trying after a while). What an amazing first effort! The nurse was impressed not only with the amount, but also by the fact that she didn't experience decreased oxygen saturation or decreased heart rate with the feeding. I have been told that the babies may lose some weight when they first start bottle feeding just because of the extra effort, but that's okay, they'll make it back up. Brooklyn has also lost her umilical stump (the first one so far). I guess she's my little over-achiever. The nurse says it's because she was the first born. She's the "A" baby and she's going to keep it that way.

Brooklyn' s first bottle!

I am also happy to report that all four babies are officially over their birth weights. Kynlee took the longest to achieve this milestone, but she finally made it. I think she is going to be our petite little princess. And Gage is the farthest above his birth weight (he is up 7 oz!). He may have been the smallest at birth, but he isn't going to let that slow him down. Mom says he's the scrappy one. Westin comes in second with 6 oz over birth weight. I'm pretty sure he is a lot like his brother, alert and active, but a little lazy too. If I were going to guess, I would say either he or Kynlee will be my last good bottle feeder. It's so funny how they already seem to have little personalities, but I remember that with Jackson too from the very beginning.

Current weights are as follows:

Brooklyn: 4 lbs 10 oz

Kynlee: 4 lbs 3 oz

Gage: 4 lbs 7 oz

Westin: 5 lbs 6 oz

Kynlee with her eyes open (Sept 12)

I think that's it on updates for today. Everyone is doing great. We're just praying for good reports on Wednesday!