The doctors did not say much about Lilah's heart rate dips. They are going to try repositioning her (like a rolled up towel behind her neck for extra support) to see if that helps. If that doesn't work they will look at doing another septic work up to check for infection. They are pretty confident it has something to do with her reflux. This evening when we arrived she was awake and happy.

Alec is still doing good. He isn't taking his full feedings anymore but we know he will get back up there.

Tomorrow both kids will have routine eye examinations and brain scans.

Lilah had a heart-rate dip when we walked in the door this morning which she hasn't had in a few days. Most of her trouble is right around feeding time due to the reflux. Today was also the third day after they stopped her caffeine so that might be part of the trouble. She had a few this evening too. We are hoping she is just tired and will do better in the morning. I will let you know!

Alec had a bath and continues to do well with his feeds.

I forgot to post something last night before I fell asleep!

Alec took 36 ml by bottle yesterday evening. And last night he took his whole feeding by bottle! His total feed is 45ml. The nurse practitioner said that it all comes down to feeds now as far as being able to come home. Alec is now 5 lbs 7.0 oz

Lilah took 22ml and her total is 40ml. She has been a bit behind Alec due to the transfusion so she is doing great! She weighed in at 5 lbs .4 oz this morning.

Our visit to the NICU was pretty short tonight because we had an appointment to meet with a pediatrician. It seems sort of funny to be looking for a doctor even though our kids see doctors a few times every day!

Alec is 5lbs 4oz and Lilah is 4lbs 12.5 oz today. They are continuing to work on feeding and keep most of it down despite the reflux.

Alec has now moved up to newborn sized diapers! The nurse today commented on how big both kids have gotten over the few days she has been off work.

We are taking bets on which kiddo will be discharged first. We had our money on Alec but today Lilah blew Alec out of the water for feedings! At this point it is anyone's guess.

Yesterday one of the nurses mentioned hearing a murmur in Alec's heart which caught us off guard. The nurse practitioner I spoke with today said that because he is gaining weight, doing great with feedings, and not needing breathing assistance that they are not worried about it. They will reevaluate both kids before they are eventually discharged.

Both kids now have a "Going Home" checklist of about 20 things. Five of them are already checked! It is hard to believe they could be home with us in less then five weeks.

Alec weighs 5lbs today! He is also just a little too big for a few of the preemie outfits we brought in.

Both kids have started one bottle feeding with a nurse at night. The better they get at breastfeeding and bottle feeding the sooner they can come home ;)

Lilah was wide awake when we arrived tonight. The nurse told us that the little girl next to Lilah was crying just before we showed up and the louder the cry, the faster Lilah would suck on the pacifier! As the baby calmed down, she slowed down too.

The kids had many visitors today! Both sets of grandparents and a good friend came to see the kids this morning.

Both Baca and Papa did some holding (see below).

Lilah is now 4lbs 7oz and is doing great. Alec is 4lbs 14oz, which is still some water weight gain but he is doing well too!

Yesterday they both passed a hearing test. My dad asked me how they test them and I had no idea! So I looked it up:

http://preemies.about.com/od/takingyourpreemiehome/f/HearingTest.htm

When I walked in this morning Lilah was wide awake and looking great! She didn't have any more spells last night, so they are not going to run tests at this point. She continues to do well tonight other then a bit of reflux. She must have just needed a day to rest (don't we all sometimes).

Alec is weighing in at a whopping 4lbs 14oz. He does look a little puffy so we are assuming some of the weight gain is water retention. He was recently wiened off of a dieretic so the doctors want to give his body a few days to figure out how to get rid of the extra fluid. They will keep a close eye on it.

Lilah has had a few spells today that are a bit out of the norm for her. They are keeping a close eye on her and will probably run some tests on her to see if she has a UT infection which is common for preemies to have.

She had a similar bout like this a few weeks ago and they put her on antibiotics. It only took a few days for her to bounce back but they never figured out what it was. I am hoping this time we figure out what it is so we can avoid it going forward if possible. I will let you know if they decide to take action.

Alec is doing well. He is 4lbs 11.5 oz!