She took the bottle!

Wow. Where to begin, I just don't know. We had another great day in the NICU today. Abby had her second developmental assessment and they decided to try the bottle. You wouldn't believe how much goes into teaching a baby to bottle feed. Ok. Maybe you will believe. Or maybe you already know. But anyways, for those of you who don't, you see...babies in the belly start swallowing their amniotic fluid around 34 weeks. As a preemie, she never had the chance to practice her swallowing. So today was her first time. Can you imagine...she TASTED for the first time today, having never had put anything in her mouth before. And I must say, she seemed to like the milk! It's fascinating what they look for, including whether or not she has her tongue on the roof of her mouth (I can't remember if that is a sign she wants more or a sign she is done, but whatever...I'll learn). Oh, and they teach you where to position your fingers on her back so you can feel if she's breathing or not. Those 'lil preemies sometimes forget to do that! So anyways, they gave her 5cc's from the bottle, stopping after each little gulp to make sure she swallowed it. And sure enough, she did! I was so excited I almost cried! I wanted them to give her more, but they didn't want her to get tired and have it be a frustrating experience for her. "Let's end on a positive note" the therapist said, "so come Monday she will want to take the bottle again."

Like I said earlier...it's a slow process, and they are in no rush, that's for sure.

She also had an eye exam. They were looking for signs of ROP (you can Google it if you want to know what it is). She had to have her eyes dilated and then they put little clamps on there to hold them open while the doc examined them. Ugh. Daddy and I excused ourselves from the room when the doc showed up. There's just something about the eyes and examining them that freaks us out (think Rachel in that episode of Friends where she has to go to the eye doc). When we were called back into the room just minutes later, we got the great news that he didn't see anything suspicious and said she is at very low risk for any problems. They will check her again in 2 weeks to make sure there are no changes. But my little Peanut, you should have seen her eyes, they were all red and puffy. I felt so bad but they insist it didn't hurt her and she certainly won't remember.

So once again, nothing but good news. Oh! They also changed her bed out. She is still in an incubator, but now she's in the Cadillac model, if you will. Before she had the Rolls Royce. It's a good thing though, because the Cadillac is used for the healthier babies. Just another indication of how well she is doing!



Daddy was trying to imitate her pose in this one:

#1 goes down and Happy Birthday Grandpa Larry!

I don't want to make anyone mad or anything...but wow! What a victory for Oregon State!

And that's all I am going to say about THAT subject.

What else? Oh yes...HAPPY BIRTHDAY Grandpa Larry! I bet you thought I forgot. :-)

I wish I had new pictures to post, but I didn't take any today (I know,I know...bad Mommy). I can tell you that Abby is doing awesome. She had her first developmental assessment and impressed everyone with her movement and reactions. She will have another one tomorrow and if it goes as well as today, they may even give her the bottle for the first time. It sounds like the bottle feeding will be quite a chore, but I think she is up to the challenge. She also has an eye exam tomorrow. Word on the NICU street is it's pretty yucky so I think I will have to step out of the room for that one. Maybe Daddy can stay and hold her hand.

If you can believe it she has already outgrown those little onesies Daddy bought online. Luckily she got to wear all of them at least once. We found some adorable (and bigger) preemie outfits yesterday at Babies R Us so I am excited to put her in those. Hmmm...something tells me I see a photo shoot in Abby's future. Stay tuned for the pics...

Do you notice what's different?

She's not naked! And why is she not naked you ask? Because she had her pick line removed!

See the little onesie she's wearing? It's hard to tell just how small it is, but think half the size of a newborn onesie. That's about how small it is. But didn't Daddy do a good job shopping online? He surprised us last week with some micro-preemie clothes. We have just been waiting for that horrible IV to come out of her arm so we could play dress up with her. And today we had fun doing just that. You should have seen the look on her face. She didn't fuss, but looked at us like we were nuts as we oogled over how cute she looked and how fun it was to dress her. I'm guessing SHE could care less whether or not she's dressed.

As for her progress, we had such a great day in the NICU yesterday. Abby hit 3 big milestones. Her pick line was removed. She is up to 3 pounds. And she had outstanding results on a routine head ultrasound. We just couldn't have asked for more.

Thank you

I am humbled. I am humbled by the fact that more than 100 of you look at my blog each day. And what is most humbling is that I am sure I don’t know the majority of you. I know 100 is not many, at least not compared to some of the blogs I read, but it is a lot to me.

I originally started this blog simply to keep my close family and friends updated on my pregnancy, because it seemed like the easiest way. Little did I know that it would open up this entire new world for me…the blogging world. I’ve found friends and even family that I hadn’t spoken to in years. I’ve read fascinating stories of other families and their struggles and realized that in the grand scheme of things, I don't have it so bad.

And what is most amazing to me is that there are complete strangers…many of you…who check in on my blog daily just to see the updates. It’s not like my blog is all that exciting or creative or fun to read for that matter. It doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles the other blogs have. I don’t have any fascinating revelations to share. All I do is talk about my daughter. My tiny, beautiful daughter and her life in the NICU.

So, from the bottom of my heart I thank each and every one of you who check in to see how we are doing. For every ounce of support you provide; be it through reading, commenting (and I do love the comments), prayer, whatever…me and my family say "thanks".

It's Bath Time!

Abigail had her first bath today. Good thing because she was a little stinky yesterday (and I say that only with the deepest mother's love.) Actually, it was her bag that was stinky (think poopie diaper), but Nurse Mandy changed that today too. The little stinker weighs a whopping 2 pounds 15 ounces and is up to 15cc's of milk every 3 hours. They add fortifier to give her more calories and she is tolerating it well. In 3 days she will be on full feeds and then comes bottle-feeding! Can you believe it? She will also have her pick line removed when she is on full feeds, so no more invasive IV! The bottle-feeding will be a slow process, starting with 1 feeding a day, but hopefully she will pick it up quickly so we can break her out of there and bring her home. I am already thinking about Halloween costumes (Planters Peanut anyone?), although they can't promise she'll be home by then. How can I resist dressing her up, no matter where she is???

So, last night I was talking to her cousin Hannah on the phone. She's 5. She asked me where the baby was and I told her "in the hospital". She said "Will she be home in time to come to my birthday party? I really want her to be there." Is that the sweetest thing ever? By the way her birthday isn't until November 20th...plenty of time to get the Peanut big enough to come home. :-)

Well, it was such a treat to see her today during bath time because she was disconnected from all of her wires and leads. Such a treat that I went a little crazy taking pictures. Let me apologize in advance for how many I posted, but I just can't pick a favorite.

Happy Birthday Grandma Jean!

Just wanted to wish Grandma Jean (Brian's Mom) a big Happy Birthday! Posting a couple of pictures from today...just for you Grandma.

Shhhh...she's sleeping

We stared at her today. For an hour and a half we just sat and stared. And took lots of pictures, trying hard not to disturb her. She never once woke, but yawned and stretched and changed positions every once in a while. No bradys. No de-sats. Just peaceful sleep.