17.8.2010
We arrived at the hospital at 3pm today after registering the twins’ births and shopping for car seats. We are going for Maxi Cosi Pebble and Family Fix Base. Very exciting! The car seats also fit onto our buggy chassis to make a newborn buggy for ease of travel.
Louise has Esther today and Derota (sp?) has William, so it should be a nice afternoon and evening.
Both babies are doing well. William has gained another 70g so now weighs over 3lb 8oz. Esther has lost weight, just a bit and is still roughly 2lb 11oz.
Esther is off CPAP at the moment and desaturating quite a lot in ambient oxygen levels between 30 and 34%. William, in contrast, is in 24% oxygen and his levels are high. He also looks very stable. Such a cutie!
Esther’s Hb level is low. 10.2. The doctors are keeping an eye on her and if she starts to struggle anymore than she is then they will have to transfuse.
I have to take William’s elephant blanket home to wash again as he has pooed on it over night! I did his nappy when I arrived at 3pm but I think that he has already filled it again, 4pm!
Because of his new weight William will now be fed 12mls of milk hourly. 288mls a day! His next jump will be to 13mls an hour but not until he weighs 1.73kg! Esther will go up to 10mls an hour when she weighs 1.34kg and to 11mls when she weighs 1.47kg!
I definitely want to be here for the doctors’ round tomorrow to hear what they say about William’s weight and the fact that for the last two days his heart murmur has been louder than before.
While the babies were off CPAP I read them their Bookstart books, This Little Baby and Tickle Tickle. They are not very exciting. I was actually very disappointed with the Bookstart pack as it only contained 2 books and lots of adverts and catalogues. A pack makes you think it will be a pack of books not just two! Very disappointing!
At 4.30pm I went to do milk and when I came back Esther had moved herself in her cot so that she was lying diagonally. She may be tiny that one but she is very strong! William has had an extra blanket put on as he was a bit cold. The temperature in his incubator has been reduced to 30 degrees. They take the temperature down in 0.5 degree increments until it gets to about 28 degrees and then they can come out of the incubator as long as they weigh over 3lb 5oz, which William already does!! Poor Esther! She still has a long way to go with her weight and her temperature. Her incubator is still set at a balmy 33 degrees. Her ambient oxygen is now on 29%. She needs a bit of a boost our Esther. A growth spurt perhaps?
I read Esther a Milly Molly Mandy story before she went back on her CPAP. When she was back on I changed her nappy and oiled her scaly skin. I then read William two Mother and Son Tales. I am going to buy a copy of that book for William and a daughter version for Esther too.
You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be —
I had a mother who read to me.
— Strickland Gillilan (1869-1954)