The Fairy and the Mermaid

Cora had more blood work and x-rays today. Her feedings are still discontinued. She is on fluids, lipids, two antibiotics, and a tube was placed from her mouth to belly to remove any excess gas. If she has an infection, they are still not 100% sure, they believe it was caught early and the worst is over. The cultures from her blood and urine will not be available until Monday. The nurse practitioner said Cora is not acting sick and we may never know what caused this. It is not unusual for a preemie to get an infection while in the NICU, especially ones that were as small and young as our girls. Cora's belly was normal size today and soft. She is on the mend. When we held her today, she was alert then fell fast asleep. When we left, she was sucking on her pacifier like crazy. The nurse said not to be surprised if she gets cranky soon, she will be hungry. Hopefully she will be back on milk the beginning of next week. With all of this going on, Cora still gained weight. She now weighs 3 lbs. 6 oz. This could be a combination of her and the extra IVs and equipment attached to her. We were told not to be surprised if she loses weight.

Hazel is doing great! She continues to gain weight, 2 lbs. 11 oz. Her acid reflux is still bothering her but she is having fewer bradys (one causes the other). When she has reflux, she is unhappy, thus she has a brady to let everyone know there is something wrong. She has only had two today. Both were when we were there looking at her sister. This was just a coincidence (we think). The struggle of trying to get a picture of Hazel smiling continues. Today's post is the first we have gotten of her elusive grin. Even though she smiles all the time, we've had a hard time catching it on camera. She looks like she is planning something.

Both girls were put on a cream for diaper rash today. They have been pooping so much it has irritated their little rump. Like everything, it will continue to be monitored.