And on the 7th day there was poop!

We are happy to report that Clara finally had a bowel movement today! Every three hours the nurses do assessments on the babies; they change their diapers, take temperatures, and give feedings. The assessments are 9:00 a.m., Noon, 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. ...you get the drift. This morning we went to the hospital together for the 9:00 a.m. assessment. Morgan had to go to work and Chris wanted to make sure she got a chance to hold Clara after her assessment. Luckily, Clara's body temperature was warm enough that Chris got to hold her for over an hour. During this time, while rocking Clara, Chris gave her a very stern lecture about the importance of pooping. At the noon assessment Clara had this surprise for us.

Clara finally has a poop that registers on the richter scale!

To the question posed in a previous blog...who has better parenting skills - well, when Morgan talked to Clara about pooping she gave him the middle finger. When Chris talked to her she listened. Just sayin'...

Clara is holding steady at 8 1/2 cc's of breast milk every 3 hours. Her chest x-rays showed her lungs were a little wet so the doctors prescribed two doses of Lasix to help rid her body of excess water. This seems to have helped  because her breathing is a little more stable today and her color is better.

Unfortunately, Wilson had two stools with blood in them yesterday. Well, they think it might be blood but they are not sure. It could be left over meconium. Regardless, the doctors stopped his feeds yesterday and today said they could resume but only at 7 cc's every 3 hours. (He was at 13 cc/ 3 hours, so this is a significant drop). Again we are reminded that feedings are one of the most challenging parts of our NICU stay. The feedings are so difficult because their digestive tracks are not fully developed. As new parents (probably any parent), this is really tough on us as well because we are pushing them to do things they shouldn't have to do. Clara and Wilson aren't supposed to be here yet, today they are only 29 weeks, but we are asking them to digest breast milk. We know this is the path to healthy babies, but it is still hard to know we are asking more of them than what is fair. We hope by the time they are ready to go home they'll be in the parking lot smoking a cigarette and drinking a Mountain Dew (like many of the patients) while sharing their wisdom with the full-term newborns and bragging about how they have had this whole breathing and eating thing down for a month.

Yesterday Chris got great news from her doctor; she can drive AND she can start exercising - walking and jogging! Her incision only has to be covered with a band aid and will close on it's own shortly. Morgan is happy Chris regained her independence, although he is sad to give up the only family car with air conditioning.

Thanks for the prayers, good vibes, and constant thoughts. They are working and helping us get through each day!