2 Months!

Weight Check
William - 3lbs 15.4 oz - the big guy is going to reach 4 pounds tomorrow!
Aaron - 3lbs 11oz - he's catching up!

Our power has been out since noon, but everyone is fine.  I've been reassured that our chest freezer will keep the hundreds of ounces of milk frozen for several days, but I'm still thankful my dad brought down a generator before the storm!

On to the boys - another good day for the boys.  I made it into the hospital this morning and bathed both (hence the Saturday weight check; they are usually Sundays and Wednesdays).  They are so much more awake in the morning than in the afternoons, my usual visiting time!  I bottle fed them for the first time (for me) after their nursing session this morning.  I'm not sure of the last time I ever gave a baby a bottle - I don't recall ever needing to give one to Anna myself, so maybe while babysitting in high school?  Feeding preemies is different than older babies - they lay down on their sides to take the bottle to help prevent choking.  They both did well. 

Aaron's cannula is removed again, at least for a trial period.  I'm fairly confident that he will end up coming home without needing oxygen.  I have a feeling that William, on the other hand, will be coming home attached to a few machines.  He'll get there, though, and we still don't know when the homecoming dates will be. 

It turns out that Aaron is the brother with the CMV virus.  This was a surprise to me - just because Aaron has been generally healthier the past few weeks, and is breathing better, I was certain it was William.  Pediatric Infectious Disease examined him yesterday and did determine that it was picked up after birth.  This is really good news, as contracting it in utero has potential of severe neurological consequences, and the little guy doesn't need anything else against him in that arena.  Contracting it after birth isn't much different than catching a cold.  It's possible that he didn't catch it from me, but that's the most likely scenario.  This raises the question, though, of what to do about William.  Do we take him off of breast milk (no!)?  Do we freeze first it to kill the virus?  The second choice would be an interesting option, I'm not sure that I would want to work out the logistics of always giving William frozen and Aaron fresh.  I went to Pub Med last night though and found out that freezing isn't really proven to work anyway.

At the end of the day, the doctor decided to do nothing to prevent William from getting it.  Chances are, he's going to get it anyway if the rest of the family has it, and again, the symptoms would be similar to a cold and then he'd be fine.  It's so ironic if Aaron did pick it up from me, as much of an advocate as I am and have been at the hospital for fresh milk.  Oh well :)

Today is their 2 month birthday!  I took pictures again of them with the little ties.  I'll start putting the ties on onesies when they get home, but thought it would be better to do just diapered pictures after their baths in order to compare better to last month.  The ties are the same size in all of the pictures.

William

Aaron