Getting Closer?

We are officially just waiting for the final milestone...the boys being able to consistently take full feeds orally, whether through breast feeding or through a bottle. Yesterday, Nathan and I gave them their first bottles, and they both did great. They were at 38 ml feeds, and Levi drank 22 ml of that while Asher drank 19 ml. Their nurse today gave them a bottle twice and said that Levi didn't really drink much of it while Asher drank about half again, but I'm wondering if she was just doing something wrong with Levi because he drank from the bottle just fine when Nathan gave it to him yesterday.

As for feeding them the way nature intended (I'm being subtle for you guys out there), according to the nurses, 15 minutes is a full feed. If the boys feed between 6-10 minutes, the boys are only given half of their milk through the tube. If they reach 15 minutes, they aren't given any through the tube. Yesterday, both boys fed for about 12 minutes. Today, Levi only did about 9 minutes, but Asher managed to feed for 16 minutes!!!! YAY! It's the first time either of them has been able to forgo being fed through the tube! We're getting closer!

I can't remember the boys' exact current weight in terms of grams, but I believe they're both at around 4 lbs 2-3 oz. So they're continuing to grow like weeds. Also, the boys had their 1 month head ultrasound (a norm for preemies) yesterday and it came back completely normal. We weren't expecting to see anything abnormal, but it's still nice to know for sure.

As for us...we want so badly to bring these boys home. We're tired. In the past 11 weeks, I've only been home for 2 of them. I'm tired of getting different stories, suggestions, and techniques from different nurses. Don't get me wrong, the nurses and doctors are still doing great. I think we just see the light at the end of the tunnel and are getting a little impatient for this whole chapter to be over. Yes yes, I know, we'll miss the nurses' help when we're home. We know. But that doesn't change us wanting to have us all home.

And yet...beyond that impatience....we are still completely aware of how blessed we have been through all of this.