Another Week Down

Weight Check
Aaron - 2lb 11oz
William - will be weighed after midnight, to be reported tomorrow

The only real update for today is that William does indeed have bilateral inguinal hernias.  Again, this is a common occurrence with preemies, and especially boys.  He will have surgery to repair them a few days prior to discharge.  According to the doctor, it does not cause him pain, and it will not lengthen his hospital stay.  Also, there's a good likelihood that Aaron will develop a hernia at some point in the next few weeks as well simply because he is a preemie.  I did ask if this would increase the chance that the boys come home at different times (it won't), or if the doctors could plan the surgery so that they leave together (they can).  They are currently on track to leave together, but that could change.  Other than the hernia news, today was not much different from yesterday.  Anna visited for a little while, and I had good kangaroo time with both boys.  William was very awake during our practice nursing session today, and he was a natural :)

We did learn a few things last week from our preemie parent friends as well as the physical therapist, which were interesting.  One is that the boys should not use any type of toy that encourages early standing - exersaucers, jumparoos, walkers, push toys, etc.  While one would assume that such toys would be beneficial to their muscles and coordination, they are quite the opposite.  Studies have shown they cause delays in gross motor development and train the muscles improperly.  The best thing for them will be plenty of playing time on the floor, tummy time, crawling, etc.  This is good in a way because we don't have enough space in our house for doubles of the big toys, but now we need to find a new way to contain them when needed :)

Life will change a bit tomorrow with my return to work.  My only concern is getting enough sleep, but this is shared with all new parents.  Thankfully, I will be part-time through the end of the year.  Until the boys come home, my plan is to work in the morning and be at the hospital in the afternoons.  I will be sticking to a strict schedule in order to keep my pumping in line with their feeds, and to be able to maximize the time I do have with them between holding and nursing.  Even though my time with them will be decreased, I'm so thankful to have the time I do as there are several NICU parents who can only see their babies on the weekends (due to circumstance, not desire).  Our boys are fortunate to have usually both of us there daily and receive so much skin to skin contact.