Some see a weed…

Some see a wish! 

Mummy and daddy didn’t come to the hospital this morning because all of the babies in the room were having the eye test for ROP disease. They took Beau Jangles on a super long adventure instead where she got very dirty and needed a bath. We can’t wait for our first bath, we have to wait at least another month, mummy says we stink but she’s only kidding.

The phone in our room rang lots this morning but the nurse was on her own and too busy to answer. We know this will have made mummy anxious, the nurse knew this too and eventually she was able to answer and tell mummy that we were OK.

Mummy and daddy arrived in the afternoon and although they did our cares, they didn’t give us any cuddles and we are glad because we had such a horrid day we just needed to rest. 

Our ROP test was clear again. We will be tested again on two weeks.  Like last time, the nurse gave us sugary water to take our mind off what was happening…a different lady came with a clamp that held our eyes wide open whilst they tested us for retinopathy of prematurity disease (ROP). This is when the eye has abnormal blood vessels and may lead to loss of sight or blindness. Babies who are premature and who have oxygen to help them breathe are particular prone because the oxygen encourages the extra blood vessels. It is quite common for babies as premature as us to have some level of ROP. Both of our tests showed no sign of ROP this time and the test will be repeated in two weeks. There is still time for ROP to develop as we are still only equivalent of 32 weeks gestation and are on a fair amount of oxygen.

We were weighed again today…..drum roll….Aunty Lynn will be pleased….

Austin 3lb 12oz (8 oz gain)

Rory 3lb 3oz (5 oz gain)

Rory is now on three hourly feeds and I (Austin) on two hourly feeds, the aim is to tolerate larger amounts, 3 hours apart and then we learn to suck, spit and swallow and feed like a normal baby (I can do this already with my dummy and my thumb – better than Rory) and then we learn to feed on demand….and then we can go home, but we need to learn to breathe first.

We are doing well with our breathing though, Rory is now on high flow 2, and in about 30% oxygen and I am stable on the Cpap. About 45% oxygen. We have a way to go but have come a long way from the days on the ventilator and our pulmonary haemorrhage and chronic lung disease. 

Here are some pictures of us today…

💙 55 days to go 💙