life is good :)

Elliana is awake!! :) Talk about making a Mommy feel good. She was stirring a little bit this morning, but wasn't budging. Clif and I had to run some errands, so we didn't get to spend as much time at the hospital as we normally do. I'm sure that we bugged the nurses with all the phone calls to check on all the babies, but especially checking to see if Elliana had woken up.
We went back for the evening care times...and while I was pumping, she woke up! Her little eyes were so puffy from the fluids they gave her - it's hard for her to open them! But we did get to see her peek out a few times. :) I can't even tell you how much better that made me feel.
She still had her breathing tube in (she has been hooked up to a respirator since surgery), and her nurse tonight was chomping at the bit to get it out. :) She said that the tubes were actually hindering Elliana...that she was breathing on her own, and that she really needed it out. SO, the nurse finally got the "ok" from the nurse practitioner... and took the tube out! Thank goodness she waited until we left...but we just called back, and everything went well! She is breathing wonderfully on her own. Praise the Lord!!!
Eli & Easton are doing wonderful as well! They are both off of everything...except for heart monitors (which they will be on until they leave the hospital). Both of their isolettes are set at 27.5, which as soon as they get to 26.0, they can go into open cribs! They have started to wear clothes...which is absolutely adorable. :) They are wearing hospital shirts right now - but I just took their preemie clothes up there tonight! I can't wait to see them in real {little} people clothes! It will be PRECIOUS!
We were there for their weigh in's tonight...and...Eli is no longer the "big brother". Easton weighs in at 4lb3.3oz, and Eli is 4lb1.3oz. They are neck and neck! I was able to offer both boys their bottles tonight...Easton took 11ml for me, and  Eli took all but 3 (out of 35) for me :) Made Mommy feel really good.
Tomorrow will {hopefully} be the day that I finally get to try to nurse them! YAY! :) I'm looking forward to seeing how they react! I think Eli is going to do great - he seems to have really good suction on the bottle nipple...so we shall see. And Easton tends to go NUTS when I'm holding him close to my chest, because he smells my milk :)
Well...it's been another long day, and I'm ready for some sleep...not before pumping, of course ;)