Okay, here's a baby update...things change so quickly in the NICU though, so don't be surprised if things are totally different by the time you read this!!
Mackenzie, the tiny one, is such a little fighter and is doing great - apparently having to fight for everything in the womb is serving her well now. She's still on room air, breathing on her own. She's getting breastmilk by tube feed every 3 hours, but gets one feed per 12 hour shift with a special bottle made for cleft babies and is doing quite well with it. She will try breastfeeding on Monday. She hates the feeding tube and pulls it out often. She is not jaundiced, her heart and kidney tests all came back normal, and she is very alert. She looks right at me, and will almost instantly calm down when she hears my voice or I put my hand on her. She loves to be held - which works out well, since her daddy and I love to hold her!!
Makayla, on the other hand, is headed in the wrong direction. She's on CPAP to help her breathe, though is only getting room air through it so far (thank God). The respiratory therapist said she may need to be intubated briefly for a second dose of Infrasurf (a surfactant which helps the lungs function better). She's having some sort of heart problems (episodes of low heartrate and lots of irregular heartbeats) and so far they haven't figured out why...her EKG was abnormal, and we have an echocardiogram pending. She's also got an infection somewhere - her blood culture was gram positive - and they are starting her on strong antibiotics. She's not taking any feedings at all yet. I did get to hold her for about a half hour yesterday, but today she's too sick to be held. She's also getting jaundiced and will probably have to start phototherapy tomorrow.
I'll try to update as often as possible, but it is a daily roller coaster in the NICU!!! Thanks for your prayers - we just want our girls healthy and home with us ASAP!!!
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