DAY 26 - TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2008

ANDREW - Today Andrew continues to do very well and is getting plenty of rest. He has fewer wires and tubes connected to him than he did just a couple weeks ago. Sometimes during our visits he is awake and we get to see his beautiful eyes. But sometimes he is fast asleep and we hate to wake him to change his diaper and feed him because he looks so peaceful. The nurses have been taking very good care of him during his stay in the Special Care Unit (SCU) and they really treat him like their own. Although it sometimes seems that it is more noisy in the SCU than it was in the NICU, because the babies there are usually very healthy and are just waiting to get stronger before they go home. So many of the babies have well developed lungs (and love to use them), but Andrew seems to sleep just as well there as he did in the NICU. In fact he seems to sleep a lot better better he feels so much better than he did before.   It is sometimes like a shell game in the SCU, they like to move the babies around in their cribs once in a while. There are three separate rooms in the SCU where the babies are kept. So we are never too sure which room he might be in from day by day. But so far he has stayed put for the last couple of days. The first time we discovered that they move them around, we went to the crib where he was the previous day and found a different baby in the same place. At first it was a bit unnerving to think your baby has gone missing, but the nurses quickly pointed us the right direction. Most of Andrew's feedings have gone went very well today and he was able to finish several of his bottles, so we know that he is making great progress on a daily basis. They also started to give him a vitamin supplement twice a day, which helps us feel very confident that his esophagus is healing nicely.

AARON - Today Aaron never ceases to amaze us. In spite of the challenge it is to be a newborn baby, he has to deal with two absolutely clueless parents on top of everything else. But he just takes everything in stride and doesn't complain very much. Each little challenge we have faced with caring for Aaron has seemed like an insurmountable problem. So thank goodness for Grandma Rawlings who helps us and guides us through this uncharted journey called parenting. It is comforting to know that she is only a phone call away. In spite of the challenges we are having with his constipation and the occasional fussiness, he is overall a very content and mellow baby. However we know that as he gets older our content and mellow baby may change, so we will remember those quite peaceful early days and continue to love him just the same. On one hand we can't wait to see both boys grow up and see how they turn out, but on the other hand we know that as newborns this is the most special time in their lives and we want to enjoy every minute of it.