A very happy Mother's Day

The babies are 6 days old today and it turned out to be a very good day for both Mom and Dad. Elliot finally came off the ventilator this morning and has been doing very well. He is on a nasal CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) to help support his breathing a bit so his breathing muscles don't get fatigued, but he is only on very minimal pressure support and has not needed any supplemental oxygen. Mommy finally got to hold him comfortably and safely today for the first time. Trying to hold him while on the ventilator was too stressful for him so we have not been able to handle him much until today. He did so well and finally seemed to benefit from the snuggling and interaction. It was a great day!

Ava continues to thrive and rise above the curve! She has continued to breathe well completely on her own since she was 24 hours old. She also continues to do well with her feedings and is already ready to graduate to the lower level NICU as she is needing less and less intensive support. The staff is going to try to keep her in the level 3 NICU with Elliot as long as space permits to make it easier on us, but hopefully they will both be ready to graduate soon. Once they move to the level 2 NICU, they should be able to be kept together in one bed which we are very excited about. We are hopeful that they will progress even faster once they are able to be together again.

We are very grateful for everyone's prayers and concern and we ask that you keep praying for our babies. As you can imagine, this has been an indescribably challenging and emotional time for us and though we truly appreciate everyone's phone calls, we are asking that everyone just keep checking the blog for updates as we promise to post any changes and news as it comes up. We very politely and gratiously ask that everyone limit phone calls for a short while as it has just become very difficult to discuss the babies' challenges at this time, and unfortunately, every time the phone rings we fear it's the hospital calling with bad news. We hope that everyone understands and please know that we love you all and appreciate all of the tremendous support!

Mommy and Elliot (off the ventilator!), Mother's Day 5-10-09