The Little Hedgehogs, 8 weeks++

Harlo holding Jessica's finger, Day 60 - wearing a onesie from Cullen!

Harlo and Danielle, Day 60

Jessica, Dany & Rhys, Day 60

Dany, Jessica, Jason & Rhys, Day 60

Harlo and Rhys continue to grow - Harlo is over 2300g and Rhys is over 2000g and has almost doubled his birth weight (2030g). Rhys has been on a course of antibiotics for a small skin infection that is rapidly clearing up.

The Littler Hedgehogs,8 weeks+

Harlo, Day 53 and Rhys, Day 54

Harlo, Jason & Jessica, Day 54 - their first visitor!

Rhys sans all tubes, Day 57

Rhys, Danielle & Harlo, Day 58

Rhys, Day 58

A few recent pictures for everyone to enjoy. Rhys is now eating every 2 hours through his stomach - a big change from continuous feeds to his small intestine! Harlo is our chunky monkey - over 2200g.

The Littler Hedgehogs, 8 weeks

Today marks 2 months since Harlo and Rhys first saw Jason and I. We have come a long way! Rhys is now breathing independently and weighs over 4lbs. Harlo is up to 4 1/2 lbs and has officially doubled his birth weight. They welcomed their first visitor to the NICU on the holiday Monday this week and should get their first vaccinations soon. We feel we have plateaued a bit again - waiting on them to get older and a bit bigger so that the eating falls in line with the breathing. They are only 35 weeks!

The Littler Hedgehogs, 7 weeks

Harlo and Danielle, Day 50

Rhys' first bath, Harlo sucking a finger, Harlo's first bath

Jason and Harlo

First double cuddle

Harlo and Rhys are 50 days old! Rhys is a giant 1736g, and Harlo is 1890g. Both are so much improved - last night we had NO ALARMS the entire time we visited including a bath, an hour off breathing assistance for Rhys, and our first attempt at breastfeeding with Harlo. We just can not relate how soothing and exciting it is to interact with each of them without worrying so much.

The Littler Hedgehogs, 6 weeks++

Just a quick note with a promise to post pictures soon.

Harlo and Rhys have continued to do great over the weekend. I changed the title to "Littler" because Rhys is over 3 3/4 lbs, and Harlo broke 4 lbs. yesterday. On Saturday, Harlo also came out of his isolette into a crib. On Sunday we gave Harlo his first bath, and then I held them both together for the first time. Yesterday they both took a trial at being off any breathing assistance, and Harlo is still off almost 21 hours later! We can't wait to start working up to independence with Rhys during cuddles this week.

The Littlest Hedgehogs, 6 weeks+

Harlo, Day 43 showing his true colors before a cuddle

Rhys and Danielle, Day 44

Harlo and Jason, Day 44 - look fewer tubes for a few minutes!

The last two days have been really exciting for Jason and I, but probably less so for the little beans.

On Thursday, Harlo and Rhys were promoted out of the acute care area into "the back" which is for growing babies without major complications. Our new room has 4-7 babies instead of 12 and 2-3 nurses instead of 6. It is amazingly quieter. Best of all, they are finally next to one another! Jason was the first to touch them both at the same time, ever, on Thursday night.

On Friday night we walked in and thought they had moved Rhys again because we didn't recognize him in his CRIB! He wears a onesie under a long-sleeve footie to stay warm, but he is outside! We had our first side-by-side cuddle, and Harlo and Rhys could see each other for the first time, if they could see that far.

We have also held Harlo for an hour each of the past two nights without his breathing assistance, and he is doing really well. Harlo also got changed to 3-hour feeds from every 2 hours, and the result has been almost an asking for food at 8pm when we cuddle him and he gets fed. He thinks he is ready for a boob and even leached onto Jason last night. Rhys is much more awake when we cuddle and working hard on sucking practice.

The Littlest Hedgehogs, 6 weeks

Harlo and Rhys are 6 weeks old today! Both are over 3 1/2 lbs and growing bigger. Yesterday they both had eye exams to check for a common problem in preemies concerning overgrowth of capillaries on the retina, and so far both sets of eyes look good.

On Mother's Day, I got to hold both Harlo and Rhys (still separately) without their breathing assistance. It was really neat to be able to "see" each other without all the tubes in the way. Harlo in particular seemed to love it and was awake the entire hour. Rhys did too - every time he fell asleep he was so relaxed he would forget to beat his heart!

The Littlest Hedgehogs, 5 weeks + a couple days

Harlo and Rhys are both over 1500g now and breathing great (with some help). Here are the latest cute pictures.

Danielle & Harlo, Day 36

Rhys, Day 37

The Littlest Hedgehogs, 5 weeks

Harlo, Day 27 with smiling bear feet (above)

Rhys & Jason, Day 32

Harlo and Rhys are doing really well this week. Both look down right chubby at the moment. Rhys and Harlo are over 1400g each and breathing with the least amount of assistance. Harlo was even breathing all on his own for 2 hours today. Rhys had his IV out yesterday and was very awake during cuddling time. Jason and I continue to visit them every evening, and we call for updates during the day. Right now, we are struggling with continuing to wait for them to come home. Even Gus wants to see them soon.

Rhys, Day 34 - check out those 2 bald spots! (left) and Day 30 (right),

Harlo, Day 34 (below)

& Gus (far below)