Ellison Caught Up!

This little beauty has come a long way! She officially weighs as much as Haley! Both girls weigh 4 pounds, and little Tyler is gaining quickly and is at 3 pounds already! Ellison made up the 8 oz difference in less than 3 weeks! Because of that, she had her feeding tube removed and started bottle feeding today! These milestones are so amazing for us to witness - especially considering they are still 7 weeks from their original due date! Haley was also allowed to try the bottle again. Both girls did great - our nurse did the feeding and really taught Jeff and I so much about what to expect out of them. I think this will be a learning process for he and I as much as it is for the babies! Actually, Ellison took to it right away and did much better than anyone expected her to do! They both had some problems with coordinating their breathing and keeping their heart rates stable, but now we know what to expect and how to help them through it. Not to say we've got it figured out - NOT EVEN CLOSE. I looked at Jeff tonight after 45 minutes of trying to feed Ellison - he had sweat dripping from his forehead and she was sound asleep. Not a good combination! I can't claim to be any better - Haley's hair was dripping wet by the time I got done with her. I looked at her when I was burping her and she had her mouth wide open and her tongue sticking out, panting like a dog. Lord help us!

Tyler is still doing great! They are increasing his feedings every day and decreasing his need for IV supplements. He will be bottle feeding before we know it! We've noticed he's finally started sleeping more hours in the day - his little body doesn't need to work so hard to breathe, so he can just relax and focus on growing! I think he'll be crawling before he comes home! The nurses try and keep him in the middle of his isolette, but he keeps creeping forward toward the hole at the end. I think he's trying to escape! He has pulled his feeding tube out of his throat more times than we can count. He ripped it out so forcefully today that it left a small bruise where the tape was! I really think he just wants to come home. Hopefully he won't be too far behind his sisters - it won't feel right until they all come home!

Here is a photo of Ellison and her first feeding! I'll update photos of them all sometime next week!