Some set backs but we are TWO weeks in!

Today was a little rough although I hate to admit it. I had to go in by myself which is always a bit lonely.. Tom has been taking antibiotics for a cold and hasn't been able to come with me for a few days. Things started looking up when my friend, Andrea decided to come by. She came and stayed with me for a few hours and we were able to catch up and she could see the kids for the first time. I loved it and it was just what the doctor ordered.

What was hard about today was hearing that Austin had a bad morning. He had a spell of apnea with color change which essentially means he wasn't breathing well at all this morning and it was so much so that he changed color. This is a first for him so they scheduled a chest xray which ultimately showed nothing. They also checked his white blood cell count and it was normal, phew!!  He has fluid in his lungs which is to be expected however if it continues, they will need to put him on a diuretic to get rid of it. Grace was having some trouble today too which is just so stressful. I was able to hold each of them for an hour but spent the majority of it watching the monitors, waiting for the alarms to go off (which was quite frequent) and then breathing out when they came back up. I have to admit that it is exhausting and I just wish that I could push fast forward through the next few weeks when they are so truly fragile. I know in my heart that this too shall pass and that God is watching over us.. again, I have to remind myself that I can only control what I can control, the rest is up to Him. And I need to be stronger for them.. they need me more than ever right now.

On a lighter note, I have some really cute pictures that Andrea took. Other good news is that the kids are officially 2 weeks old! I am so proud of them and I know they are fighting very hard. I absolutely loved holding them and having some snuggle time. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for them.

Updates
Grace
She loves to hold my finger when we snuggle and her skin is getting more fair. They are off the lights for billirubin and that is great news! She is breathing forced room air with a little bit of extra oxygen when handled. She is tolerating her feedings well for the most part, They have decided to hold off on increasing the amount until she can learn how to breathe better during her meals. She has lost a little bit of weight and is down to around 2lbs. 14 oz. which is still above her birth weight. Yay!

Austin
He also loves finger holding while snuggling except he gets so comfortable, he crashes and then forgets to breathe. No Austin No! He is getting such a spanking when he is big enough..He is staying around 27ML for now as well.. just giving him some time to learn as well. He has lost some weight too and is around the same as Grace now, 2lbs. 15 oz. which is below his birth weight of 3lbs. 2 oz. but we will work on that. He is getting a little more oxygen than Grace at this point and will continue to until he shows improvement. And don't laugh at the second picture, he looks like a little monkey but it was because he was all red. haha

Much love to you all,

Erica & Tom