5:00 NICU visit, 5/31

We got in early for our 5:00 visit and the first thing we noticed was their belly tubes were gone.  The nurse practitioner had decided since they had started eating and their air buildup was not too bad it could come out.  Evie got her first bath and then I fed her a bottle while Jessie changed then nursed and bottlefed Ben.  The nurse decided to see if she could handle 10 mL breast milk, and she finished it in about 15 seconds.  She got another 10 mL and gulped that down too, so then she got another 5 mL.  We decided to stop there but she was still awake and making sucking faces so I bet she will be able to eat even more next time.  Jessie started out breastfeeding Ben and he latched right away and ate for 10 solid minutes, then had part of a bottle.  It seems like taking the tube out of their mouths made a huge difference.

Evie before her bath, no mouth tube!

Evie's first bath

Evie's first bath

Evie's first bath

Ben before eating, no mouth tube!

Evie after her bath

Ben after he ate

Ben after he ate