August 9th 2008

Our little girls are 2 weeks 3 days old as of today and quite honestly it feels like we've been here for months. The days tend to blend into one another and fly by. The girls are doing great, progressing along as expected for their size and gestational age. We are holding them alot more now, the nurses say that it is beneficial for them, but let's face it, we love it and are doing it for purely selfish reasons. Elle weighs 1lb 12oz and Melia now weighs 2lbs 6oz. You can tell they are gaining weight just by looking at them. Melia's cheeks seem to be filling out and Elle's fingers are getting chubbier.

Elle getting some shut eye.

We got to bathe Melia today which was amazing. She didn't cry once, she just looked around wide eyed. It absolutely melts our hearts when they just stare at us. Elle had a pretty lazy day today. We assume when they sleep all day that they need it and are growing so we tend not to bother them too much. All in all we are doing great with some expected set backs and progress. We know that we just have to put in our time.

Melia before bath time

Melia during her bath

August 6th 2008

So it's been a couple of days and our little girls are doing very well - practically eating the hospital out of house and home. This could only mean one thing and we are grateful for it, they are gaining weight! Being that these darlings are Canadian, we have held them to the sky and nick names have surfaced. Now that Elle "Night Owl" Melton has been born she does not want to miss a moment of living - reminiscent of children who struggle to stay up late to watch the apple drop at New Year's. Melia "Diva" Melton, on the other hand, spends most of her day lounging with legs over-stretching the bed taking her time in making her presence known. At the end of the day we have all the time in world for both and consider this the most wonderful "preview" until we are able to take them home.

August 4th 2008

So it's been a couple of days since I've posted and I'm happy to say that I have nothing new to report. The girls are doing well, surprising us everyday with their strength. They are gaining weight and resting. The nurses are letting us hold them more often but we find ourselves torn between holding them and letting them rest. The nurses reassure us that holding them actually helps them, as well as helping us. We still have a very long road ahead of us and we are thankful for the good days.



Melia loving her break from her breathing mask. So anglelic!












Our beautiful little Elle holding daddy's finger during snuggle time.

August 2nd 2008

So today's visit held another surprise for us. Our little munchkin Elle is off of her breathing mask again, she seems to be doing really well off of it so they are going to leave it off unless she tells them otherwise. She has been under the weather for the past couple of days so everyone is amazed at her strength. Melia is doing great as well, they are both growing and resting like they're supposed to. We have our moments when we wish could take all of their ouchies away and go through this for them. It's hard to see your children this way but we know the end result is worth the wait and journey.

July 31st 2008

Tige and I had a good day with the girls. The doctors are still monitoring both girls closely just because of their size. They are both doing very well but that doesn't mean that they are going to not pay as much attention to them. This makes Tige and I very happy, we had some concerns they would were going to be lenient with them because they were such fighters but they reassured us the this wasn't going to happen. We love the attention they are getting both medically and because people just love them. I personally think they are the cutest babies in there! We were able to handle them a lot today, and they were so responsive to us. That gives us a feeling that is unexplainable, a love we never imagined.

July 29th & 30th 2008

So it's been a couple of days since we've posted and lots has gone on. Yesterday we went to the hospital to find our girls were doing exceptionally well. Our little Elle was off any breathing apparatus for 24 hours and Melia was being weaned off of hers for a few hours at a time. We were surprised when the nurse recommended we could do kangaroo care, this is when they have you take off your top and babies lie skin to skin on you. They also moved the girls to the front of the NICU which means that they are not considered critical patients anymore. It was graduation day for them, I'm sure their first of many. Obviously Tige and I were overwhelmed with emotion and love we were grateful for the great day we were blessed to have.

July 30th 2008 - Today proves the ups & downs of having preemies. Elle is back on a breathing mask, she is not recieving oxygen and neither is Melia, just room air. The mask just helps them get air in easier, and by having this they don't have to work as hard and lets them use their energy for other things. They seem a little fatigued today, probably from their busy day the day before so they are keeping an eye on them to make sure nothing else is going on. Tige and I are happy that the staff is so observant and we know that good and bad days are par for the course. We are so happy we had such a good day yesterday, but we just want them to take their time growing and developing. We will wait as long as it takes to make sure they come out healthy and plump.

July 28th and July 29th's morning update

ELLE

So, yesterday I spent a few hours with the girls as Tige had to go home and pick up some more stuff. I walked in and noticed something different about Elle, I couldn't put my finger on it and then it dawned on me...she had her breathing mask off!!! It was just amazing, my little girl was breathing on her own. She was under the blue light to help with jaundice so her eyes were covered but I was able to see her hair and her nose. When I told the nurse that I have never seen her face fully she uncovered her for me and I was able to see her entire beautiful face. Tige and I visited her later in the evening - boy was she fiesty. Daddy changed her poopy diaper and she put on a show for us.

This picture is of our little fighter's beautiful face.

The girls are utter inspiration for us.

July 29th's AM update - NICU has been amazing and allow phone calls anytime of day. We were informed that Elle is off of the blue lights and is progressing nicely. Feedings are moving up from every 4 hrs to every 2 hrs to see how she tolerates it. The nurses keep commenting on how many times she has bowel movements and the size of them. She MUST be my daughter!!

Her spirit amazes us and we fall in love more and more with her everyday.

MELIA

Our little diva is doing well, she still has the breathing mask on but is breathing room air which is fantastic. She was really responsive to me during the day. As soon as I would take my hand off of her she would fuss quite a bit and would stop when I would touch her again. What an amazing feeling. I heard her cry for the first time and open her eyes, it was a very busy day for us. Daddy was able to give her a swab of my milk in her mouth and apparently she was licking it all up. I think this one will be our little porker too.

July 29th's AM update - Apparently she had the breathing mask off for about and hour and did well, they put it back on to not stress or make her work too hard too soon. Tige and I are very content with them taking their time, we know that everything needs time to develop and we are more than willing to wait to make sure they are as healthy as they can be when we bring them home. They are going to be feeding her more now as well and will see how she tolerate its.

Melia with her soother she loved it