Well, just as I comment about the "tough" days of the NICU, some good days came.  There was a little girl that they had to resuscitate last night, which was scary, but she was still there today and strong.  She was born at just 15 ounces.  I think she was born in April, I can't really remember, I'm just trying to operate off of memory and reading a sign from a good distance away.  I saw her come out of her isolette the other day and she looks like a good size, so I hope the resuscitation was merely a small thing for her.  It was quite scary to see.

Anyway, the good stuff!


That's right!!!!!  Back to the 3lb mark!   Now, see that huge IV board?  That "could" be why she went over the threshold.  It might weigh 1/2 an ounce, but that still means she is growing.  She also grew 1/2 an inch in length!   I can't believe she's already 11 days old.  Where did the time go?

That big news was last night and this afternoon... we got to hold her for about 45 minutes.  She keeps teetering with her oxygen levels between 21% (room air) and 35%, but hardly ever any higher.  She is getting good at pulling her nasal cannula out (where she gets oxygen), and the nurses said that's a sign she may be getting ready to get rid of that too.  She'll stay on oxygen monitors regardless to make sure she can maintain on her own, but it could be another week or 2 or longer before she looses the cannula all together, but she's progressing really well.

And, the bigger news! Dr. Grant & Dr. Vincent were in to see her today.  They are bumping her feedings quite a bit now.  She was at 12ccs yesterday and her noon feeding was 13ccs in a 50 minute infusion.  Her nurse was Christi (actually her scheduled nurse had to leave on transport, so Christi was her "babysitter" until her nurse returned).  Christi said they should have her to 18ccs by tomorrow morning and hopefully to 25ccs by tomorrow evening and then once she is holding down 25ccs of formula every 3 hours, she gets her IV OUT!  YAHOO!  Go Addy!  Our baby girl is doing it... she's really fighting and we haven't seen any major setbacks yet.  Keep all those wonderful prayers going.  She's doing amazingly well for a 30 weeker and progressing quickly. 

We just can't wait to get her home where she belongs.  But for now, her amazing nurses and doctors are doing a fantastic job.  Her last few feedings, she's had no residual (leftover formula).  She really likes to suck on her pacifier, so we give that to her during feedings and it helps her to produce gastric juices that help break down her formula.  So, again, a great thing!  It'll be a bit before she gets to bottles and she won't get kicked out of level III unless they need the room.  Right now, she is one of 5 babies in level III.  There is one other baby back in level III that will probably beat her out of there, plus they had a transport come in.  I'd say another 2 weeks back in level III is a good guess.  Right now, they have to get a little weight on her before they move her though.