Phoebe reached a real milestone today, when Helen was able to give her a bath for the first time! She really enjoyed the experience and was quite chilled-out about the whole thing (Phoebe, that is)!
She looks much bigger on that photo and it's not until you see things in perspective that you realise just how tiny she still is - check out the size of the bath in this one. I will need to buy a new washing up bowl for when the girls come home!
As you can see, Phoebe is making steady progress. She is now on 22mL feeds of Helen's milk every 2 hours. Her feeds are likely to be extended to be 3-hourly over the next day or so to mimic "normal feeding patterns" as much as possible. She is off her "flow driver" for 6 hour intervals and is tolerating breathing on her own really well.
Lydia is still on her flow driver constantly and gets very tired quickly when she is taken off it for short spells. She is on hourly feeds and is now getting about 8mL each time, which they have today just started adding some calories to - this is to try and bulk her up as quickly as possible so she can have the surgery she so desperately needs. Apparently it's a real balance between bulking her up and not putting unnecessary strain on her heart. The medical staff looking after her are fantastic, especially the nurses, who have to put up with me, and my shambolic attempts at changing very nasty nappies and putting on baby-grows without disconnecting any wires, pipes or drips!! I'm so used to handling Sam and Daniel that I forget just how fragile Phoebe and Lydia are!
