Happy Birthday Grandma :)

Today was a very good day for the babies! Both babies went up in feeding amounts again. Maggie is now at 12 mL (2.4 tsp) and Fin is at 13 mL (2.6 tsp). They are also getting some extra calories in their milk now. Similac makes a milk fortifying powder that is getting added in. It adds calories and vitamins/minerals to every feeding. Maggie has been a champ with taking these down. Fin had a few mLs from the first one that he didn't digest, and his belly has had more air in it. He should start to get used to it after about a day of having it in his feedings.

Both babies are now on a regular c-pap instead of the bi-pap. This means they are getting a constant stream of low flow air instead of the little puffs. So far, they are doing well with it. They haven't had more Bradys since switching. It is looking very promising! We are one step closer to getting them to breathe without any support!

They both had to match bilirubin levels this morning at 8.9. It was a significant jump for Maggie to be there, and a small jump for Fin. This won them some more time under the lights. We will hope for just a day under the light for each of them.

We just finished checking weights for the night and we continue to see progress! Fin is just an ounce away from his birth weight at 2 lbs 13 oz. Maggie is 2 ounces away from her birth weight at 2 lbs 9 oz. This milk fortification should help even more.

John got a chance to hold Maggie skin to skin for the first time today. He did such a great job! I think she was a little thrown off by the chest hair for a second, but then she settled right in. She was not happy when she had to go back into her isolete under the spotlight!

I held Maggie for a bit this morning as well. She got the hiccups when I was holding her. Here is a quick video of that (because it was so darn cute).

We had a couple of visitors today. Jason and Lori made the trek over after Lori was done with work. I think they were both in awe of how tiny these babies are in person. Lori also couldn't believe how long their limbs are. The nurses have commented on how long each of them are as well. John's response 'You're welcome' :)

Mom came to visit again today. I think it was a birthday present to herself since she loves her grandkids so much! Last night, we had talked to the night nurse about wanting to make her a card. She replied with 'Can we do it?' They were very excited to take it on. She got a card with pictures of both kiddos and copies of their footprints. Mom absolutely loved it! We also took her out for a birthday lunch at Granite City. They give a free desert for birthdays, so she got a fancy cookie sundae.