Doctor and Feeding Update

We've actually had a bit of a break from the multitude of doctors appointments. But, we've had a few this week and need to report.

Thursday: Eye doctor - ROP check-up

It was a great appointment. Abby's eyes checked out completely mature. They look like full term babies' eyes. She doesn't have to be seen again for 6 months! Natalie also had a good report. She has one that is mature and one that is still stage 1, Zone 3. She will have another check-up in 6 weeks.

Both girls are still at risk for other issues, like lazy eye, even after the ROP is gone. We just have to watch for any odd eye activity and they will continue to see the eye doctor regularly. But, it was a great report and we are very pleased.

Friday: Pediatrician - the dreaded weigh-in

I declare - these girls have their weights watched more closely than a wrestler. The news was good though.

Abby weighed in at 11lbs 4oz! Her last weight two weeks ago was 10 lbs 10oz, so she's gained 8oz which is great. It's still a little less than desired, (12oz would have been better) but it's still great.

Natalie did even better. She weighed 10lb 4oz, up 12oz from 9lbs 8.4 oz! That's terrific!

Since they are doing so well, we are going to take a few days and try a 3 hour feeding schedule. They need to eat about 80mls each time for it to work. They've been taken 70-75ml pretty consistently. The worst time of day is in the morning. They just refuse to eat. Usually they eat well for Ben at 6 or 7am. You would think they would since they haven't eaten on 5-6 hours. But, sometimes, they still only eat 50-60mls. Then, they usually refuse to eat at 8am. We've been getting up at 11am and then only because my guilt propels me out of bed. I try to feed them and they STILL don't want to eat. They only really get going in the afternoon.

Hopefully, we can get them started well, and we can start the 3 hour thing. Feeding every two hours is getting pretty tiresome. The good news is that the plan has been working. The girls are growing and gaining weight. We do have another Duke Clinic appointment next week and this time I'm looking forward to it.