Today's NICU update

We arrived at the NICU today to a new doctor and an update. Both Ethan and Sydney tolerated their feedings well and both went up on their amount of milk. They measure this by pulling back on the syringe that is connected to their feeding tube to see how much partially digested milk is in their bellies. If they digest a good portion, they consider that good. Ethan went from 10 cc to 12 cc (almost 1/2 oz) and Sydney went from 4 cc to 8 cc. We are hoping this will help them gain weight!

Both their bilirubin levels went down. This means they lost one of two lights that were on them (and now there is more room by their beds--yeah!) Also, tomorrow they may pull the lights all together if their bilirubin levels are better. That was great news. We are excited to see their eyes more often. The sunglasses are cute, but not as cute as their eyes.

They have been on 3 liters of forced air per second on the high flow nasal cannula going into their noses. It's been amazing watching how Sydney caught up with Ethan. In the beginning, Ethan was 12 hours "ahead" of Sydney as they turned down their respiratory support. Now, they are even. They have been at a 3 for a day or so, and the doctor said they are going to 2.5 today and then down .5 every day. They tend to go down and end back up at 3 a few times, so we're excited that we're on a gradual decrease now.

One of my favorite shots of Sydney tonight--with her hand over her face. I think this is exactly what Ethan did last night.

I've had a few questions as to whether they look identical in person. They do look a lot alike--I think part of it is that their features are so small. I am starting to be able to tell a difference, but I have not seen them side by side ever. They may look different when I see them right next to each other.

We were both able to hold the babies tonight. Doug held Ethan and I held Sydney. They are so fun to cuddle--can't wait until there are less tubes. We are hoping one of them can go off of their IV soon so they will put them in the same bed together. There may be a few more days until we know.