Another Update on Baby T

Here is Baby T all comfy, cozy in her isolette. As of Friday the 15th the top is off and she is regulating her own body temperature at room temp. She is still hooked up to the monitors but really has no need for them - that is just protocol.

On Saturday the 16th, she is up to her full feeding level of 42 ml per feeding and they are now starting to fortify it so that she is getting extra help to grow. She gained a half an ounce and so her weight is 4 pounds 5.2 ounces.

The nurses do weights at midnight each night. On Sunday the 17th at midnight, she gained 3 ounces!!! That is huge. The doctors said not to get our hopes up too high that she will continue to gain like that though - more than likely they said she may lose some of that again. She had a big day today...Daddy fed her her first bottle - she took some swallows but then got startled and would not take any more - total of 4 ml by bottle today. She had her first professional pictures taken - the NICU has professional photographers come in and volunteer their time to take pics of all of the babies and their families (unfortunately with RSV and flu season they do not allow siblings under 17 into the NICU). Later on this week we will receive a disk with all of the pictures on that they took. I will definitely be posting those when I get them. She also passed her hearing test as well and did two BF's. Whew! That is a lot for such a little girl.

Monday the 18th does not slow her down...she must know how much Mommy wants her to be home so that we can all be a family... Today, she gained a little over half an ounce so she is back up to her birth weight. She was also measured during the night, her head has gained a cm and she is now up to 17.52 inches - up from 17.25. Mom went to one of the workshops that they provide for NICU parents and she made a bracelet with T's name on it...I might have to take that up - it was kinda fun, besides now I need one for each of the other kiddos. She took her first full bottle this morning at the 3:30 feeding and also did 2 BF's. Hopefully she was awake enough at 9:30 for the nurse to try another bottle. (I picked up the other kiddos and brought them to my sisters not being able to make it back in time to BF).
Isn't she beautiful! It is so nice to be able to count on my family to help me with the other kiddos because I don't know what else I would do with them. I think that the kiddos are getting kind of tired of not being home though. I think this is taking it's toll and hopefully if T keeps up in gaining and feeding we will be home very shortly. I can't wait to have all of us just be home. Of course that will have to wait to be completely true until Dan gets back from this job in Canada. It was either go on this job or not have ANYTHING for awhile (who knows how long!) so in order to pay the bills he had to go! I am sure it is harder on him being gone but we will survive until he gets home.....