Look Mom - No Cannula

Brooklyn getting her transfusion

Tayden getting his transfusion

The blood

Mommy feeding Brooklyn

NO CANNULA!!!!!!

Tayden has been off his nasal cannula since midnight last night (Sunday).  So in an hour and a half it will be one whole day!!!!   I don't want to speak too soon, but this is the longest he has been without oxygen support and he is breathing very well on his own.  He officially hit 6 lbs. tonight!  Brooklyn weighs 5 lbs. 4 1/2 oz.  They take blood gas counts from the twins each week.  Their numbers should be in the 30s and numerous nurses had told us that it would be very rare if we were to take the babies home without them having a blood transfusion.  Today their numbers were a little lower (Brooklyn 21 and Tayden 24), so they decided it was time for a transfusion.  This is extremely common in preemies because they have such a little amount of blood to begin with and then they take tiny amounts frequently to monitor their progress, so their blood supply starts running low and they become anemic.  They told us that this would improve their energy for bottle feeding and hopefully even help Tayden with his breathing independently.  The blood they give preemies has been screened numerous times and is ultra clean.  They hooked the babies up to tiny IVs and gave them the small amount of blood (around 2 1/2 ounces) over three hours.  They tape their arm to a little pillow to keep it stable throughout the transfusion.  When we got to the hospital they were about halfway finished and we were able to sit with them until they were done.  They had no trouble getting Brooklyn hooked up, but they did have to stick Tayden a few times because his hands have gotten so chubby - making it hard to find a vein.  We attended a discharge class from 6:15 - 7:30 to learn infant CPR and many other useful tips for how to best take care of the babies once they are home.  We learned a great deal of information.  After the class we were able to go and love on the babies while they ate.  Tayden got his feeding tube (he only bottle feeds once a day) and Brooklyn took 33 mL from her bottle.  Earlier today she took 35 mL, so she is definitely moving in the right direction.  She eats 46 mL at each feeding, so she is getting close to finishing a whole bottle.  They were both sleeping very well when we left for the night.  It was a very eventful day, but full of many celebrations.  We greatly appreciate your prayers - please keep them coming!