Here I Come to Save the Day

Do you know how in the movies, at just the moment when all seems lost, the hero comes riding in on a proverbial white stead and saves the day... Well, apparently sometimes the hero rides into town on a Boeing M-90 non-stop flight from St. Louis. Grandma Finck arrived today, and none too soon to help Rachel and me split time between our beautiful daughter and tough little son. They are still in opposite wings in the NICU, and it is very tough to leave either of them, because once you are there you never want to leave their side. Anyway, Grandma is here, and now she can help us to find time for ourselves and not feel guilty for leaving the kids alone down in the NICU.

She got to meet both babies today, and got to see them both with their eyes wide open. Malorie showed Grandma her dimples, and Micah got held by Grandma Finck for a few minutes.

Both babies made great strides today as well, as if to show off for their Grandma. The big news of the day for Micah was that he got to eat his first meal. He had 9 ml of formula, and wolfed it down like a man possessed. Also, the heat in Micah's bed has been shut off because he can sustain his own body heat. he is still on oxygen for the time being, but may get a chance to try to come off of it again tonight, as his respiration rate has held within acceptable limits for most of the day.

Malorie passed her hearing test and her car-seat test today - two major landmarks showing that a baby is nearing being able to come home. Unfortunately, she is still fighting to stay warm, and is back on the heated bed. She will be re-evaluated in the morning to see if there may be something other than weight preventing her from maintaining her body heat. She is also being a difficult feeder, taking very slow, lazy gulps. If she does not start eating better, she may have to be tube fed to ensure nutrition, but we are hoping it doesn't come to that. OK, it's off to make the nightly rounds, hope to update the blog more tomorrow.