Emily's Homecoming

I thought we'd share a few pictures from Emily's homecoming this past Monday. Better late than never, right?

At this point, we're all trying to get adjusted. Logan is interested in Emily -- he often asks where she is or what she's doing -- but she's just not that much fun for him yet. She sleeps a lot, and that's ok with him. I think he's proud to have two sisters though. We've been talking up his role as big brother, and I think he's going to be a great protector of his little sisters. Audrey, however, is very jealous! She wants me ("I want Mommy") all the time and is very whiny whenever I'm in sight. She wants to drink out of Emily's bottles and wants to be held whenever Emily is eating. Out of all three kids, Audrey is definitely the most work! We look forward to Audrey's daily nap time! :)

And Emily is a sweet baby girl. She is a good eater and sleeper and is generally a pretty mellow baby so far. She eats every 3 hours but only squirms or grunts a little to let me know she's hungry. Then she's awake for maybe 10-30 min. and falls back to sleep again until her next feeding. She had her first pediatrician appointment on Wednesday and now weighs 6 lbs. 3 oz! She's growing fine! Unfortunately, she picked up a cold on Thursday (probably from Logan and Audrey who have had drippy noses all fall!), and she has been congested ever since. I brought her back to the doctor on Friday to make sure it wasn't going to her lungs, but so far it just looks like nasal congestion. She tested negative for RSV, so that's good too. We have the cool mist humidifier, saline drops, and bulb syringe in frequent use. I hope she feels better soon.

Luke and I are just staying busy taking care of the kids. Three kids feels like a lot of work! Luke usually manages Logan and Audrey, and I take care of Emily. I'm trying to work out the breastfeeding, bottle feeding, pumping routine (which all takes 1.5 hours and starts over every 3 hours) and am trying to cope with very little sleep. Thankfully my mom has been here this past week to help with the kids, wash the bottles, and give me breaks to eat, take a shower, or nap.

Today was a chill-out-at-home, rainy day. It's so nice not to be driving back and forth to the hospital anymore! We are so happy to have Emily home!

Home

Blissfully exhausted

But, as of 5:30 tonight, after 62 days in the hospital...

Emily IS HOME!!!

To God be the glory, great things he has done!

Will write more soon.

And post pics. :)

The night before

We are so excited to bring Emily home tomorrow. These are a few things I'm looking forward to:

-Holding Emily without any cords or wires

-Introducing Emily to Logan and Audrey

-Having our family all together for the first time

-Not having to drive 5 times a week to visit Emily


We are ready. Luke and I took the required "Infant CPR" course last week and Emily passed her car seat test yesterday (she has to sit in her car seat for an hour without alarms going off to demonstrate she can sit upright without any problems). Bibs and burp clothes are washed, clothes are folded and hung, bottles are sterilized, preemie diapers are purchased, car seat is installed, and moses basket is clean and waiting for a new occupant.

This feels so different from the way I prepared for Logan and Audrey. When I got these things ready for them, I was hugely pregnant and ready for labor. In a way, I feel like we're adopting a baby that isn't ours. And when I think about Emily being "our" baby, it seems surreal. But maybe this is a more accurate picture... because all of our children (even those in heaven) aren't really ours. First and foremost, they are God's children. Emily is a gift, a loan, and we are so thankful for the opportunity to bring her home and nurture her, but ultimately her life is in God's hands.



Emily is coming home without any monitors or equipment. She has no major follow-up appointments scheduled at the hospital and no red flags for any medical problems. She is a success story. A gift. Thank you, Jesus!

Daddy's girl

Another day with no alarms. Emily is now 5 lbs. 7 oz. Still expected to come home on Monday. :)

Home is just around the corner!

These two little munchkins are eager to meet their sister!

Emily is now on a "5-day watch" which means she needs to have 5 days without any significant alarms going off. If she passes that, she will come home! The earliest date she could come home is this coming Monday! It's sooo soon!! Of course, if she has a de-sat or something in the next 5 days, we'll have to start counting all over again (which we hear is very common), but she has done great today so far. One day down, four more to go... The end is in sight! Praise God!

Emily is now 5 lbs. 5 oz! She passed her second (and final) eye exam yesterday (which is a huge sigh of relief because eyes are a big concern for preemies) and passed her hearing screen last week. Eyes and ears are fine. She's looking so good and doing so well, it's hard not to want her home now.

Thanks to all of you who have prayed for us, sent cards, brought meals, and more... I'm losing count of all the kind things people are doing for us. I could be writing thank yous for a week! From the bottom of my heart, Luke's heart, and my children's hearts (although they don't realize), thank you!

We're on the home stretch. Pray that Emily will continue do well so that she's able to come home soon. :)

Three Mouseketeers

Meet the three newest mouseketeers!

Mickey Mouse:

Minnie Mouse:

And Baby Mouseketeer:

Emily is now 5 lbs!!! What a big girl, considering she's almost twice her birth weight! She continues to grow and do very well. I have been able to breastfeed her twice now, and she is doing a great job, although it still takes a lot of patience and learning from both of us. She had another de-sat last night, but that was it for the day. Hopefully over the next week or two we'll see her de-sats stop completely.

Logan and Audrey had fun dressing up in their costumes and trick-or-treating around the square in Valparaiso with their cousins, Meredith and Kaitlyn, on Friday night. Audrey loved being in her costume and didn't want me to take it off at the end of the night. What can I say, she is her mother's daughter! :)

A clean face

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 bath

On 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 Emily

Hopefully 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: