Good report on both boys!

Duncan on Tuesday... he looks much less "tied down" now!
Grandma and Duncan
Jackson looking cute as ever
Grandpa and Grannie with Jackson

Little man Duncan has been successfully tolerating all of the changes in his little life... Monday was his big surgery, which involved putting him on the ventilator. Then, Tues and Wed were spent waking up from his groggy anesthesia-induced sleep. Wednesday afternoon he successfully began breathing on his own and became more active. The fact that he didn't need alternative oxygen assistance was a really good thing. Today he got his lines taken out of his umbilical chord and traded them for a peripheral line. Also, today oral feeding was introduced, using my milk. The fact that he took it from a bottle was HUGE (many babies need a feeding tube, either through the nose or surgically installed in the abdomen). So Duncan is headed in the RIGHT direction. We are so proud of him and his progress. The next steps are to increase his milk intake little by little, so that the IV providing him calories can be taken out. Slowly but surely, he is losing his tubes and wires and monitors. Pretty soon he'll be completely independent. We are well aware, however, that with a few steps forward, Duncan could take steps back. So we need to be prepared for anything! The biggy is feeding right now. And so far so good... it feels awesome to be able to hold him (which I did today) and start the bottle feeding (which I did today too!).



Moving on to Jackson. He had a big morning - his first outing in the world! We headed to his first pediatrician appointment, where his weight, length, and overall check-up was done. He is exactly 5 lbs. and is 18 inches long (Oh, by the way, Duncan is exactly 5 lbs too! In terms of weight/size these boys refuse to let the other win! Their weights have been in sync since birth!). That's 3 ounces above his birth weight and a quarter inch longer. Dr. McClellan, our pediatrician, feels that he is right on track. He will be monitoring Jackson (and soon Duncan) very closely, he said, due to their preemie age. We will be going to his office to get weight checks weekly. So, lots of field trips for the boys!



Thanks to everyone for their sweet cards and prayers. Wow, are we blessed!



I also want to let folks know about my mom. As mentioned before, she is currently at the Hospice facility in Louisville. For several days now, she has increased her sleep time to nearly full days and nights. Verbal communication is not happening and neither is eating/drinking. She is in no pain. We are all dealing with this as best we can. Prayers for my Dad and Grandparents, who are baring the weight of visits to the hospital and overall time with Mom the heaviest.