Elijah & Noah's Debut

After 32 weeks the twins decided to make their grand entrance, 8 weeks early, but grand the same. Elijah Jonas was born on 1/8/06 @ 1:30AM followed shortly by his brother, Noah Michael @ 1:31AM. Elijah was 4 lbs 1 oz, 16-1/2" & Noah was 3 lbs 9 oz & 16". They are both currently in NICU & will be there for about another 4-6 weeks. Overall, they are in good health considering their early arrival. They are both breathing on their own & have never required oxygen. They are now completely off of antibiotics & are only receiving additional nutrition to fatten them up. Noah has a little water on his lungs, but the doctor feels by next week that this won't even be a concern. We call him Noah Van Winkle, because he spends 99% of his time asleep (which is what they want him to do (the more he sleeps the less energy he expends, thus the more calories he intakes, thus he grows)). Elijah on the other hand continues to eat, eat & eat. Elijah as of yesterday was 4 lbs 4 oz & Noah was 3 lbs 9-1/2 oz.
This has definitely been an eye-opening, heart-wrenching journey, but after seeing the other children in the NICU with so many long-lasting health concerns & the agony & grief in their parents eyes, we consider ourselves truly blessed. The boys will be just fine, they just need to fatten up & learn how to suck, swallow, breathe (something fetuses generally don't learn until after 34 weeks of pregnancy) & they will be home with no lasting health concerns.

Enough of the rambling...