a little set back ..

We are dealing with a potential set back as T3 has come down with some sort of coughing cold .. no fever, but it is not safe for us to go visit the kids if he has something. Neither Tom nor I feel bad or have the cough but we took him to the doctor anyway. He seems to have a virus and we are going to see how we all feel tomorrow before we go. Masks and gowns might work.. I don't think I can stand to be away from them another day so that might be our plan. It feels so selfish though that we would go just because we miss them .. it is high time for us to set ourselves and our own needs aside and put their health and well being at the very top of our list. I think we have been doing well so far, but this one is so hard! Our hearts ache..

My mom and dad have decided to leave tomorrow which makes me so sad.. They have been invaluable to this journey thus far and the fact that they are leaving means that we are moving into the next stage of this experience. .. the long haul. God help us! There are no words to explain how grateful I am to them for coming at a moments notice, dropping everything and enduring that past two weeks willingly and graciously. They both need a good rest, a strong cocktail and some blood pressure medicine!!

Updates:
We talked to the NICU today several times and found out that Grace is up to 14ml feeding now which is so great and Austin is at 18ml! I am so proud of them both.. AND the tech said that their brain ultrasounds looked "unremarkable" - HUGE sigh of relief. This means that they haven't had any bleeding in their brains thus far. We were really sweating that one and feel soooo blessed that we got even that preliminary news. It's not official yet, but good enough so that we can sleep tonight. They have both gained weight as well and are close to their birth weights, another milestone. The only hitch we are dealing with is that they keep having decels and brady's which is when they forget to breathe.. I can't wait for that to pass which will be around 34 weeks. It is so scary when the alarm goes off, ugh.. We are told that this is very common in babies their age and size but you never get used to it.

All in all, things are going well and I can't wait to hold them again. More details tomorrow I am sure.

Love and hugs,
Erica and Tom