Life is very busy in Care by Parent! We are slowly learning the needs of the girls and establishing a routine. Each girl has their own concerns.

Ella has been taking all of her feeds orally for the last four days or so. She pulled one tube out before Christmas and it was out for a while. A new tube was put in and used only once before she pulled it out. Her major concern is bradycardias. That is when her heart rate decelerates and she stops breathing. She is very enthusiastic about eating and sometimes in her excitement she is unable to co-ordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing. This is common in pre-mature babies who have chronic lung disease. We work hard at getting her to breath but sometimes she still has a bradycardia. It is important that she learns how to eat without these because they cause her distress. In time, if feeding is stressful, she may develop an aversion to having anything in her mouth. This would mean a return to NG tubes.

Lucy is working hard at taking all of her feeds orally. She is almost at 48 hours, but it takes all her energy to accomplish this and she sleeps the rest of her time away. She is steady at her sucking but is not very strong and it takes a long time to finish her sixty mls of milk. She also pulled out her NG tube. They are fine-tuning her blood thinner medication and she will remain on it for some time. Lucy will be coming home with oxygen; as she grows new lung tissue this will be weaned. Her arm is healing well and she will get continued physiotherapy. She is getting very good at worming her way out of the splint.

We are learning a lot about how to care for the girls at home. We are giving the vitamins and iron now. I have also learned how to give Lucy's blood thinner medication. I was fairly nervous the first time giving the needle but I know this is what it takes to go home.

If all goes according to plan, and at this point we are aware that plans don't always materialize, we will be home at the end of next week. It is incredible to type those words!