Cameron got a puppy dog on his butt. They're also on his feet.
Wyatt got little boy blue jammies with mittens since he keeps trying to pull off his oxygen.
First outfits are a big deal in the NICU. They're not as dependent on a perfect environment which means they're getting stronger. Soon it could be bath time!
With this development, we now have choices. We can hold them "skin to skin" or we can hold them swaddled. One of the benefits of holding them swaddled is that we can actually see their cute faces while holding them.
They're also getting really good with their pacifiers. Preemies aren't born ready to nurse. They have to learn to coordinate breathing, sucking and swallowing. They also have to build up their stamina.
Wyatt has really taken off with his binkie. He holds it himself even.
At first, I thought it was coincidence that his hand was holding the binkie, but he's done it enough that we think he's actually, knowingly, holding it himself. Smart boy!
He's also waking about 30 minutes before it's time to eat. He roots around, sticks his hands in his mouth, sucks on his binkie for over a minute and has given the nurses enough cues to tell them he's ready.
Ready for what, you ask?
Ready for non-nutritive nursing.
Sounds like great fun!
It's part of teaching them to nurse and Wyatt is ready to learn. Today was his first day "on the boob". I was instructed to go pump so as to not drown the poor boy with milk on his first go. We timed this for when he was hungry to increase the rate of success. The point of the exercise isn't for him to eat but to just let him play around and get used to a real live binkie.
With all of the tubes and things preemies may get in their mouth, sometimes they have oral aversions and don't want anything in their mouths.
Wyatt suffers no such thing. He was eager to learn about breastfeeding and did really well. After about twenty minutes, he was tired and giving cues that he was done. So I held him to my chest and let him sleep and it was the first time he really felt like he was mine.
As a NICU parent to a micropreemie, you have to ask permission to do anything. You ask if it's okay to touch them, ask when to change their diaper. The nurse feeds them, the doctors make decisions about their care. You stand by, feel useless and very unlike a parent.
For me, as a new mom, this was a great day.
Cameron loves his binkie, but he's still trying to remember to breathe.
He also tires out pretty quickly sucking on his binkie. But he does root around some and occasionally he wakes up a little before it's time to eat. He's not far behind Wyatt and soon he'll be ready. The nurse said if he's wide awake around his feeding time to go ahead and try with him. We'll see how it goes. Today he cuddled with Daddy.
In the picture above, his eyelids are a little swollen from his eye exam. Another problem with being a preemie is ROP which can cause blindness.
Vessels in their eyes can over grow if they're oxygenated too much. The vessels pull on the retina and can cause the retina to detach. So once a week, they get an eye exam to watch the vessels closely. They can do laser surgery to zap a stray vessel if they need to. So far, their eyes look good.. Even when they go home, they may continue the eye exams.
The exam is no fun. I haven't watched it. The nurses said it isn't something I'd want to see. They numb their eyes so it's not painful to them, but the tools they use to hold their eyes open are cringe worthy. So I take the advice and try not to be there during them.
So that's the latest on the Tiny Mighties. They're still showing us that superheros can come in little packages.
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