Thirty Weeks

The boys are 30 weeks gestational age today. Even for preemies, gestational age is important because certain systems and abilities (for instance, swallowing) develop on somewhat the same schedule as they do in the womb. That's part of the reason why the rough estimate for when preemies can come home is on their due date (which for our boys is August 11). Of course, depending on how they're doing, it may be a bit earlier or a bit later than that -- and not necessarily the same time for both babies.

The basic things that the boys have to be able to do are 1) to regulate their body temperature, 2) keep up their breathing and heart rate, and 3) eat on their own. (And of course, get bigger!) Some of the milestones along way involve moving to different types of cribs -- the next step up is an isolette, a more enclosed type of crib that is still temperature-controlled, and then after that they go to an open crib (and might even be able to be reunited and share the same crib at that point!) These steps also involve reducing the number of tubes and wires they have attached to them, which will make it easier to hold them.

I'm still just taking things one day at a time, but it's nice that the nurses are starting to talk about the progressions and next steps. We're looking forward to the babies' continued growth and improvement, but trying not to get too impatient (especially given the constant reminders that progress isn't always linear; it's not uncommon to have setbacks).

The morning update is that the little guys are doing well; today it was James rather than Matt who gained weight! (We're realizing that there does seem to be a margin of error in these weight totals, though! I'm not sure I really believe that James gained 60 grams in a day.)