Blake hits 7 Pounds!!!

Blake did it lastnight! He is now 7 pounds, .5 ounces. I can't get over it. As I sit here thinking to myself that our little former micropreemie boy has hit seven pounds, I am in awe. I look back at the days when we were praying for the two pound mark and remember how much of a difference a mere ounce makes on such a tiny body. We could hardly see two pounds in the future. Anything over three pounds was just incomprehensible. Look at him now, a good newborn baby size. I couldn't possible explain the feelings we have knowing how far our babies have come already. The amount of growth and development that we have witnessed in the last 14 weeks........102 days is truly amazing. A miracle.

Jenna weighed in at 6 pounds 10.5 ounces. Yay Jenna! She slept so peacefully lastnight while we were visiting. I can't get over how chuby her cheeks are. Her skin looks so pretty, it has a good color. Her hair is starting to come back more now. She has dark "peach fuzz"' hair and of course still has the line of long dark hair in the back that she has held on to since the very beginning. That is what she kept from having a full head of hair when she was born.

They both look really good. Blake's cheeks are really filling out. Both seem to have double chins. The baby fat is so wonderful to see. I did not get their length yet, I was just so excited about their weight gain. We are rather surprised at Blake's gain because he had a massive diaper change lastnight before getting weighed. We thought for sure he had lost a pound with that one-haha.

Blake is now on four nipple feeds a day. Jenna is still doing well with full nipple feeds. She will be getting an MRI today. We knew she would be getting one close to the end of her NICU stay. It should give us somewhat of an idea of where we stand with things as a result of her ventricular bilateral brain bleed. We pray it will bring good news.

I had a wonderful baby shower yesterday hosted my Christine (sister-in-law) and my mother-in-law. The house was very nicely decorated and the food was very tasty. We had a little over thirty people show up. Needless to say, our house was packed. It was great to see everyone. We received so many beautiful gifts. The cake was made my Kathy, a good friend and former coworker. It was delicious. We had many friends and family members attend. My mother, sister and niece came in from Bryan. I also was happy to see a former kindergarten student, her sister and mother come as well. Taylor is now seven years old and still just as precious as before. It was a great shower. Next Sunday I will be in Bryan for a shower that the Patranella side is throwing for me. I am looking forward to visiting with some family members I have not seen in a while.

Well, it looks like we are pretty ready for Blake and Jenna's homecoming. We are more than ready to trade in our daily visits to St. David's NICU for the daily routine of taking care of them at home. It will be so surreal when we walk out of the NICU unit as NICU graduates, I can't imagine the overwhelming feeling we will experience. We are hoping and praying that we will get to leave the NICU as a family, all four of us. We dread the thought of having to leave one in the NICU and bringing one home before the other. There have DEFINITELY been harder things to cope with during this terrifying yet amazing experience but we would love to find closure together, all four of us, on one single joyous day. Keep your fingers crossed!