Family time...Making the most of our NICU time.

All in an evening...This Saturday we took advantage of being on the town and we went out to dinner for a momma date.  The hospital is just on the fringe of the popular midtown section of the city and a block from the famous "fabulous" Fox.  We chose an awesome open air cafe as the twilight weather was sublime for a bustling 4th of July weekend summer night.  It was great to be out and about-especially to have time just the two of us together...talking the whole time about our incredible babies and being parents!

Then back to the NICU.  A typical visit at the NICU now looks like this...with the highlight being their Saturday night bath time and getting to try out a fresh changes of clothes as they are moving from preemie to newborn size. 

 

Bathing our big girl Peggy!

Hannah holding Peggy and Charlie in a blanket from Sandy Spring Friends' House (the Quaker retirement community next to Sandy Spring Friends School where Hannah went to boarding school and home to Laura's Spiritual Director and Friend Betty Kay Brody).

In the first couple pictures below from one week ago our Peggy was 3 weeks old.  The second picture with our favorite bib purchased by Momma Hannah is from a week ago as well.  Can you tell the new growth and her checks filling? Peggy has finally gotten over her birth weight this week!  Contrasted with the first two pictures, in the 3rd picture she is almost a month old... can you observe the change?  Her parents, nurses and visiting friends can tell!  We are all feeling very thankful that Peggy's experience of acid reflux is lessening due a few patterns that help, like air venting her feeding tube between feedings to let the tummy gas out, and lots of holding time in which Peggy gets to be upright for a time and have love poured into her. 

Peggy almost a month old and filling her checks and her dreams with food!

 

Here is a video of all three of them napping very well- the best thing for their growth.  All of three of the babies get the hiccups at least once every feeding cycling (just like they did when growing inside?). They are becoming more versed at trying a a couple daily bottle or breast feedings.  Doing this eight times a day and within 30 minutes will be what they need to do before they can come home- so learning to feed more by mouth (instead of the tube in their nose) has become their new major life experience other than napping.  Even just when they are talked to or held by us or visitors like Godfather Lewis, it is easy to feel them feasting on the love we're pouring on!

More pictures of the babies in their next size up newborn clothing...practically all from Nana Jana of course!  Thanks Nana- We love being cozy and warm!!!

In the next pictures, John and Charlie are bedding down...TOGETHER!  Last week there were a LOT of babies in the NICU.  This meant there was a need for more NICU cribs, and thus Charlie and John are getting now to be together in one nice open air crib.  It has bars so their have plenty of oxygen flow around them to be enough which is important for newborns.  We love getting to look at them look at each other when they wake and even connect by touch at times when they fidget.  Look closely at the picture below...John gives love to his brother who is napping hard.

 Charlie watches is brother nap and looks at his mommas with a little half grin.  Or is it that Charlie's look says "Time for my feeding mommas?"

What night would be complete without bilingual Spanish-English story time?  Oh, have we posted about the great library at the NICU?  In the lobby, where we scrub in each time we enter using fancy brush sponges and nail cleaning tools, there is a cart of books provided by March of Dimes.  There are tons of great board books and many are in bilingual or in Spanish!  Thanking this organization! Join us for a fundraiser march next year...a new friends and family tradition...? Link:  March of Dimes  

Laura has already placed at least one order to collect our favorites from our NICU book time at our favorite feminist and family friendly bookstore!  Link: Charis Books & More and Charis Circle 

We love watching each other grow as well as the babies.  We notice each other becoming more and more comfortable and confident in the daily tasks of infant care.  Though we are in the hospital while we learn this doesn't change how powerful and joyful it makes us to watch each other go through the motions of motherhood as a new family.