The Schlegel Family: Breathing on their own

Both boys are now breathing completely on their own! Carter got his cannula removed a few days ago, but we wanted to make sure it wouldn't have to be put back on before we shared his news. He is doing great. Here's a picture of his face without all the extra tubes!

Carter is doing really well. He had some issues with his tummy this weekend, so they removed the growth fortifier for a few days. At one point, he did actually cross the 3lb threshold, but now is back down to 2lbs 15oz. Luckily, his stomach issues are gone and he has the growth fortifier back in his diet. We are hoping he will gain lots of weight the rest of this week. Breathing on his own definitely has taken some of his energy and calories, and he is also completely regulating his own temperature, so keeping himself warm also takes calories. Since all of these things are relatively new to him, the doctor is not surprised or worried that Carter has not gained weight.

Carter is still doing well at feeding. This weekend, Ty fed him 15ml from a bottle, which is more than half his feeding. He has good days and bad days with the feeding, but as he gets older and bigger, he will figure out all of the feeding stuff. He is also getting taller. On Sunday, they measured him at 15 inches. The doctor was a little concerned about his lack of bone growth (determined by some number in his lab work), so they might be adding additional calcium and phosphorous to his diet. His billirubin count also was slightly higher this week, so the doctor is continuing to watch this as well. Finally, his shots to raise his hemoglobin have been going well. He has had 4 now and they seem to really be helping him. The doctor believes they will continue these shots for the next 3 weeks to help him out.

Despite all of these issues, he really looks great. His color is definitely better and he is getting some fat on his face and body. We are excited for him to continue growing so that he can join his brother in the open crib. He is already regulating his own temperature, so now he just has to gain at least half a pound before they will put him in a crib with his brother. Here are a few more pictures of him:

Carter got a new hat from his Bama (Ty's mom)

On his 1 month birthday!

Telling Dad to STOP taking all these pictures

Anderson is also doing very well. He had similar tummy issues this weekend, so the growth fortifier was removed from his milk also. He was not as affected by its removal and is now weighing in at 4lbs 8oz. He is 17 inches long and almost getting too tall for the preemie onesies!

He is now eating 37ml at each feeding. He is getting a little better at breast and bottle feeding, but is not quite as proficient as his big brother yet. Similar to his brother, as he gets older and bigger, he will learn to put it all together.

The biggest news for Anderson is that he got moved to a big boy crib! Here is a picture of his new digs:

And an aerial view:

He is now pretty much just working on feeding and getting bigger. He is able to make better eye contact now and it's really fun to sit with him. Now that he's in an open crib, we can hold him whenever we want, so that is very nice.

Here are a few more pictures of him: