Three Pound Charlie!

What a great day! Brooke and I have had a lot of good days at the NICU lately, but tonight was absolutely fantastic! My face still hurts from smiling so much!

First, we arrived tonight to find that Charlie had gained another 30 grams... which means he now weights 3 pounds!!! Our tiny boy, who started life at 1 pound 13 ounces, now weights 3 pounds! In addition to this, both of us got to hold him for a while today, and we got to see him dressed in a shirt that was TOO SMALL for him! I was surprised to find that shirts existed that would fit our babies, but to realize that there are clothes that are too small is just awesome.

After finding out about Charlie's weight gain, we went to visit the girls, only to find that their nurse was about to bathe and weight them-- that's the best time to be there! Usually we miss it because they do it before we get back for our night visit, but we were earlier tonight and the nurse was behind schedule a bit. Lucky us! First, Annaleigh came out, completely naked and breathing nothing but room air. She was just the cutest thing! She wiggled and looked around and could not have been more beautiful.

And then we got the Lily Show. Oh, how we love to see the Lily Show. First she came out for weighing. Just like her sister, she was completely naked, but Lily needed to stay on the oxygen. She stayed relatively calm and kept the limb-flailing to a minimum. She actually gained weight again and is now 200 grams heavier than she was last Sunday (weighing in at 1225 grams, or 2 pounds 11 ounces). Her weight gain is very noticeable, especially in her belly, which she proudly stuck out at us during her bath. Oh, how we laughed!

It was such a great visit. We couldn't have asked for anything more.

Tomorrow is a big day for the babies. They are scheduled to have their first eye exam, which is a big deal in the NICU. Preemies are especially susceptible to eye problems because of their immaturity. The fact they they're constantly getting extra oxygen pumped in to them can also cause a number of eye complications. The nurses all warned us that the eye doctor (Dr. Barry Wasserman! The same guy who is constantly on the radio and the same guy who did Brooke's Lasik surgery five years ago) will probably find some problems in each baby. It's normal and expected. Most times, the babies will grow out of the complications, but laser surgery isn't uncommon and isn't a particularly big deal, at least in terms of baby surgeries. Hopefully there won't be anything out of the ordinary.


Lily sportin' her new St. Peter's bathrobe.


Lily kept her arms thrust out like this the entire time she was being carried from her isolette to the scale, the entire time on the scale, and the entire time back from the scale to her isolette.


Annaleigh just after her weighing.


Annaleigh on her way to the scale for weighing. She looks so scared, but she actually does very, very well when the nurse is "bothering" her. She never once struggled with her breathing, despite the fact that she was off the oxygen for quite a while.


Uncle John came for a visit today and Charlie was so happy to see him that he pooped. John has the effect on people.


Lily was checkin' out her mommy during a morning cuddle.