Today, we got a special treat. As the pictures show, we got to hold two babies at the same time! This is the first time we've gotten to do this - very cool!! Casey held Ryan and Lila while I held Brooklyn and Britton. After we were done with those four, Casey and I took turns holding Jack. The babies' beds are situated with Brooklyn, Britton, and Jack on one side of the room and Ryan and Lila on the other side. Because of this, Ryan and Lila will always be held together when two are held at the same time. Britton will either be paired with Jack or Brooklyn, but Brooklyn and Jack can't be held together. We generally hold each baby for an hour each day, but oftentimes we only get to four before we run out of steam or time or both. Now that we can hold two at a time, we'll be getting all five held every day and we'll probably get a little more than an hour each time. As you might imagine, we are very excited about this new development!!
And now, onto "Perspective"...
We've gotten a lot of comments to this effect and even we've noticed it ourselves - the babies look like "normal" babies in most of the pictures. In a lot of ways, that is accurate, but I thought I'd try to provide some perspective that the pictures don't quite communicate...I guess these pictures need more than 1000 words!
- The babies' toes are the size of a grain of rice.
- Take a match and break it into thirds. One of the pieces is the size of their fingers.
- Britton's whole hand wraps only half way around the tip of my pinky.
- Their arms from the elbow to the tip of their pinky is the same length as my pinky.
- Their heads are about the size of a baseball.
- You could probably fit at least three, if not four legs (around their calves), into my wedding ring.
- Jack weighs about 15 ounces more than Britton. Not much until you consider that this is 33% of his body weight.
- Jack and Brooklyn (the two biggest eaters) are fed 24 mL of breast milk every 3 hours...that's about 5 teaspoons.
- Their total caloric intake over 24 hours is 90 for Lila and Britton and 120 for Jack, Brooklyn, and Ryan...that's one beer, a single serving of pudding, or 1/4 cup of ice cream (Blue Bell Cookies 'n Cream to be exact!).
- Their hearts are about the size of a grape.
- Our friends' baby girl who was born a week before the quints weighed 8 pounds at 41 weeks...that's roughly 4 times the weight of Lila and Britton on their birthday.
- The babies' toes are the size of a grain of rice.
- Take a match and break it into thirds. One of the pieces is the size of their fingers.
- Britton's whole hand wraps only half way around the tip of my pinky.
- Their arms from the elbow to the tip of their pinky is the same length as my pinky.
- Their heads are about the size of a baseball.
- You could probably fit at least three, if not four legs (around their calves), into my wedding ring.
- Jack weighs about 15 ounces more than Britton. Not much until you consider that this is 33% of his body weight.
- Jack and Brooklyn (the two biggest eaters) are fed 24 mL of breast milk every 3 hours...that's about 5 teaspoons.
- Their total caloric intake over 24 hours is 90 for Lila and Britton and 120 for Jack, Brooklyn, and Ryan...that's one beer, a single serving of pudding, or 1/4 cup of ice cream (Blue Bell Cookies 'n Cream to be exact!).
- Their hearts are about the size of a grape.
- Our friends' baby girl who was born a week before the quints weighed 8 pounds at 41 weeks...that's roughly 4 times the weight of Lila and Britton on their birthday.
- One more - the babies sneeze a lot when they are out of their isolettes, maybe 10-20 times an hour. Funny thing about their little sneezes, while it is a full-bodied sneeze, it wouldn't blow a feather off a flagpole...funny stuff!!
I have new weights as of Saturday, the 31st. Here they are:
- Brooklyn Faith: 2 pounds, 13 ounces
- Britton Grace: 2 pounds, 2.1 ounces
- Jack William: 3 pounds, 1.7 ounces
- Lila Addison: 2 pounds, 11.3 ounces
- Ryan Elizabeth: 3 pounds, 1.3 ounces
And let's wrap it up with some GREAT news. All five babies have gotten their PICC lines removed which means that they no longer have an IV!! The PICC line is a really long IV that goes in their wrist and feeds all the way up to a blood vessel right near their heart. They were able to remove this because they are getting as much nutrition as they need from their milk feedings. Removing the line greatly reduces the risk of infection and hopefully means they will not need another IV!!! Life is going exceedingly well for all five!!
God Bless,
Ethan
http://www.joneslife.net/
- Brooklyn Faith: 2 pounds, 13 ounces
- Britton Grace: 2 pounds, 2.1 ounces
- Jack William: 3 pounds, 1.7 ounces
- Lila Addison: 2 pounds, 11.3 ounces
- Ryan Elizabeth: 3 pounds, 1.3 ounces
And let's wrap it up with some GREAT news. All five babies have gotten their PICC lines removed which means that they no longer have an IV!! The PICC line is a really long IV that goes in their wrist and feeds all the way up to a blood vessel right near their heart. They were able to remove this because they are getting as much nutrition as they need from their milk feedings. Removing the line greatly reduces the risk of infection and hopefully means they will not need another IV!!! Life is going exceedingly well for all five!!
God Bless,
Ethan
http://www.joneslife.net/
9 comments:
That's great! Big step with the PICC lines out, and I'm jealous - I didn't get to hold both of my babies for a few weeks, when they were always swaddled and we didn't really do kangaroo care anymore. That's so awesome!
2 days after birth my littler one was only getting 3 mL's each feeding, and they were still pulling all out. One day you will look back and not believe all of this!
Yeah for no PICC lines! That is exciting!
I was wondering, why can't Jack and Brooklyn be held together?
Keeping you all in my prayers!
This is my fist time commenting here, so firstly, congratulations on the babies!!! They are beautiful.
Secondly, wow. Just wow. I know they are tiny, but when you think of how small a grain of rice is... wow.
I'm with 'Buggles' ~ WOW!
I have been following your blog and your cherubs since their birth and I just sit here shaking my head as I read. They truly are just five little miracles.
Congratulations to you all xxx
I believe every baby is a miracle, but I think these tiny little ladies and man must be fighters. I mean, they are. And I truly wish them happy, long and healthy lives.
That's great news that they don't need those PICC and really hope they continue to do so!
(I too wondered about Jack and Brooklyn, why they can't be held together.)
oh my goodness, so tiny, and so beautiful, I can't wait to meet them all!
I imagine that Jack and Brooklyn can't be held together since Britton is in between them and their cords wouldn't reach, yes?
Thank you for posting the perspectives. I saw the picture of you holding a little leg and seeing the size of your finger (the one with your ring) and thinking that the ring would probably go all the way up to baby's thigh. I didn't realize that 2 or 3 baby thighs would fit in your ring. That is super tiny.
Congrats on the weights. It sounds like they are doing what they are supposed to be doing there in the NICU - eating and growing.
Keep up on the practice of holding more than one baby at a time. Before you know it, all 5 will be home with you and you'll have to hold more than one at a time just to get anything done. (Or at least that what it feels like. And I'm referring to just my twins.) Bless you! Bless you all!
I am so happy for the both of you....I love your blog! Casey-when i look at your older daughter she reminds me of the way you looked when i first met you...sooo beautiful.
I read your comparisons to my 9 year old after she saw the pics and said, "Wow! Look at the tiny toes!!" She was just amazed they were so little!!
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