Opened up the Doors

I have been neglecting my duties. I haven't updated this since Sunday. Shame on me.

Monday saw another improvement in Henry's conjugated bilirubin, meaning that we seem to, finally, be on track for Henry to be free of liver problems. Also with Henry, each day has seen an increase in his feed and a corresponding decrease in his TPN volume. This was the plotted course and we are really pleased with how it is going.

Charlie is going through the various tests that he needs to pass before he is declared ready to leave. His release date remains set for April 7th.

Aly's days have always been full at the hospital but these last few weeks have been non-stop. With the boys being fed (by mouth) every 3 hours and with the continuing throughput of doctors, occupational therapists, physical therapists, respiratory therapists and lactation consultants (to name just a few) there are a lot of distractions. When they were in their isolettes, there was a strong case for keeping them in a warm dark place to simulate a womb as best as we could. There was also a case for not treating them that way because they weren't in the womb so they needed interaction. I bring it up because that argument is long behind us now. There is absolutely no argument that now when the boys are awake, we need to let them know we are there for them and we love them. That is what Aly is doing so well and what I am so grateful to her for. It also presents our biggest challenge next week. How do we take care of Charlie at home without leaving Henry neglected at the hospital? Neglected sounds harsh. Anyone that has read this blog knows that we don't think for one second that our nurses would neglect our boys. However, you know what I am trying to say. We want to be there for them both.

Enter Granny Mo from Scotland*! My mum is flying over to help out. We have been offered help ever since the boys were born but, with it all being as emotional as it was, we needed to keep our circle very small. As we move ahead now, we are ready to widen that circle and, as we said we would, accept the help that people have been so generously offering. Aly has it all planned out and our boys are going to get all the love, care and attention that they need.

* My mum now lives in England but she will always be "from Scotland".

Here are some of the great photographs that the volunteers took on Wednesday.

(D)