Emily now has a clean face... no oxygen and no feeding tube. She has been taking all of her bottles by mouth, so they were able to pull out the feeding tube last Thursday and she's been doing great ever since. Now she's taking 45 ccs (1.5 oz) of breastmilk every 3 hours and she weighs 4 lbs. 12 oz! At this rate, she'll be 5 lbs. by this weekend!
All squeaky clean after her bathOn Sunday Emily was having a lot of de-sats (several in a row), so her doctor decided to put her back on oxygen again. She told us that it wasn't necessarily a "setback" but instead a reminder that Emily is only 34 weeks gestation and is still really young. But today her doctor decided to try removing the extra oxygen once again, and Emily hasn't had any de-sats all day. Maybe this time it will stay off for good... Time will tell.
Studying her mommy
My friend Jenn came to meet EmilyHopefully just a few more weeks before Emily can come home. We're getting the house ready. We just had new carpet installed today, and we've moved Audrey into a toddler bed so the crib is ready (although we'll keep Emily in our room for the first several months). With such a difficult pregnancy (18 weeks of bleeding and bedrest) and the loss of Brianna in the not so distant past, it was hard to know how to prepare for Emily. In many ways, I didn't allow myself to believe that Emily would be a baby we could take home. Even while she was in the NICU, I didn't really envision her here at home with us. I guess I wanted to be prepared for the worst. A few weeks ago I was brave enough to purchase a large letter "E" to put above Emily's crib, but I haven't been brave enough to hang it... yet.
Now that it's looking more likely that she will be coming home at some point, I'm kind of in shock that we actually have a baby! A baby! Our baby!! I know I've been visiting her several times a week for the past 7 weeks, but it hasn't really sunk in until now. The nesting instincts are kicking in, and I'm starting to get excited. Time to wash the baby (preemie?) clothes, move Logan to the 3rd row of the car, set up a place for Emily to sleep in our room... Hard to believe she could be home in a couple weeks!
We do not ever take for granted how far we have come. 28-weekers do not have any guarantees. I had a friend online during my pregnancy with Emily who also had a subchorionic hematoma and also delivered her baby at exactly 28 weeks. She and I had very similar pregnancies. However, this friend's baby girl died at 12 days old from intestinal failure. It's so hard to know why God would choose for some babies to die and some to live, but having been on both ends of the spectrum, we know that God is good. He has a plan through both life and death, and through it all he remains the same: good.
Thank you, God, for Emily's health and progress. We don't take it for granted, and we know you have a plan for Emily's life. Help us to trust your good and perfect will and to lead Emily in a life of service for you. Amen.
p.s. Ending with a quick little video:
5 comments:
She is a miracle. I love hearing where your heart is, Kim. Its so very meaningful for you to share your heart's journey as a Mama through all of this. Its the stuff not everyone talks about but sometimes the things that most help others in their times of struggle. Thankful for the joy... for the life of this little one. xoxo - sjp
When I saw Emily's pic at the top of the post, I let out an audible, "Awww...." The rest of the update brought tears to my eyes and goosebumps all over. You've taken the words out of our hearts from our experience with our girls in the NICU... in the last week, Lisa and I have kept saying to each other, "We have two healthy girls, can you believe it?"
Never let that sense of wonder, amazement and gratitude to God fade... God is good, all the time.
Praise the Lord!! She is so cute and I just can't believe how much she is growing. I'm so happy for you guys! Your friend Jenn has a child in my son's preschool class! What a small world.
Precious, Kim! She is such a sweet baby and I'm so glad I was able to finally meet her! Praying that her oxygen levels stay up for good, but knowing that it's incredible that her desats seem to be her only "issue" that she's working on. Praise God! I hope she's home in no time! And what a good little girl, smiling on command for her daddy in the video. Too sweet!
With Love,
Jenn
Dad and I are SO EAGER to see Emily tonight. It has been 2 weeks since we have been there so I'm sure we will see MANY changes. Thanks for sharing your testimony of God's goodness in ALL circumstances of life.
Love you,
Mom DG (Nanny)
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