We've been upgraded!

The babies have graduated from the NICU and been moved to the special care nursery. We were just moved at 5:30 p.m. today so we are still learning the ropes. We have a huge private room all to ourselves. Our room is bigger than the nursery we shared with two other babies over in the NICU! We'll take pictures soon! Happy Halloween!

We have a 4 pounder!

Emily and Michael turned six weeks old yesterday (34 weeks gestational age). It was also a big day because Emily was moved from her incubator to a bassinet. So far she has been able to maintain her body temperature on her own. They are both continuing to work on bottle feeding and growing. Michael's latest weight is 3 pounds 11 ounces and Emily has grown to 4 pounds 3 ounces. The nurses are optimistic that the twins will be moved to a garden room or the special care nursery sometime in the next week. The garden rooms are still in the NICU but are away from the regular ICU nurseries. Both locations specialize in "feeders and growers";these are the babies that no longer have any major medical needs and just need to learn how to eat and get bigger. The doctors are still closely monitoring Emily's PDA (heart ductus) and Michael's brady episodes. They seem to get bigger and stronger everyday! Hopefully they will be home in 4 to 6 weeks in time for the holidays!

Emily on Bottle #3

Bottle Feeding Made Easy

Emily had her second bottle today....Michael had his first. The occupational therapist said they did a good job and should be good eaters. They obviously inherited this from their mother.

Getting Bigger!

Hey Everyone...Here is the latest and greatest with the twins....Emily is now 3 Lbs 11 Oz. and started bottle feeding today. She polished off her bottle in 10 minutes, so we are taking this as a good sign of things to come. Michael is now 3 Lbs 5 Oz. and graduated from C-PAP to the nasal canula. Emily is completely free of any breathing tubes as she is strictly on nose power.

The Twins turn 1 month!

The twins are 1 month old today and are doing well. Emily has grown to 16 1/2 inches and weighs 3 pounds 3.8 ounces. Michael has grown to 15 3/4 inches and weighs 3 pounds. Michael continues to try and pull off all of his equipment; we think he is trying to escape. Emily is so laid back that she sleeps through or patiently waits while the nurses examine her.

Week 3

The twins continue to grow everyday. This week we experienced our first "NICU hurdles". Emily received medicine for her PDA (heart ductus that didn't close like it was supposed to), however the treatment was not successful. The doctors say she is not having ill effects from her PDA so they will continue to observe her. The hope is it will correct itself, if not she will eventually have surgery to correct it. Michael was treated with antibiotics for an infection and also given a blood transfusion. Unfortunately he had to be intubated and put on a respirator to help him breathe while he was weakend from the infection. We are happy to report that he was taken off the respirator and put back on the nasal cannula on Thursday; he seems to be stronger than ever!

The Twins Birthday

The twins were born on September 16, 2008. Emily Ann Schwabe was born at 5:22 p.m. She was 2 pounds 8 ounces and 15 1/4 inches long. Michael Zumwalt Schwabe was born at 5:23 p.m. He was 2 pounds 4 ounces and 15 inches long.