Getting Closer...

Lucy is doing great!  As I said before, waiting on her to take the bottles is the hardest time.  It just takes a long time for preemies to learn to eat and when they do, they get tired easily and can not finish or take every bottle.  Currently she is taking 3 or so bottles a day in full and then 2-3 around half-3/4...then is tube fed about 2 times a day in full.  So, she is getting there!!

We asked about a time frame to come home yesterday.  They estimate maybe 3 more weeks...could be sooner if she does well on her bottles.  We will see!

Today she had her 2 month vaccines.  :(  The nurses said not to be surprised if she had to go back on her nasal cannula for a day or two after the shots.  Hoping she doesn't have to, but it would not be a step back, just some extra support while her body deals with the shots.

As of last night she weighed 5lb5oz.  She is growing out of her preemie clothes and we are about to have to switch to newborn size!  Amazing!

Lucy is super sweet and is starting to be a lot more alert when we come to see her.  She opens her eyes wide and looks around and listens to us talk to her.  It's getting harder and harder to leave her at the hospital because of this!

Mason has been busy lately too with the last day of school, first Ranger's game, and play time with cousins!

Prayer Requests:

- Eating...hoping she gets better and better so we can come home!

- That she will tolerate her vaccines okay and not get a fever or have to be on the nasal cannula at all or for very long.

- We will have follow-ups on brain scan and eye development coming up...hoping all is good.

-Patience and rest for us.  

Picture overload time!

Sleeping after a bottle

 When I burp Lucy, she always turns her head to look at me...so sweet!

 My happy girl!

 Sleepy!

 She loves bath time and snuggling in her towel

 Some awake pictures...

 Letting Mason see Lucy before he goes to Grandma and Grandpa's house

 Mason finished school and had a program last weekend. Last photo in his classroom.

 Mason with Mrs. Amy.  He just loved having her as a teacher.  FBC Early Learning Center is such a wonderful place and I am so glad Mason gets to go to school there.  He has learned so much!

 Mason's first Rangers game

Just a little Update

Here is a short update on Lucy, mostly because there is not much to report.  She is doing great off of her nasal cannula this time.  Her breathing and oxygen levels have been fine.  Her nose has seemed to clear up a lot too, so she can breath better...thank goodness.
They are giving her 4-5 bottles a day out of 8 feedings.  She usually takes 2-3 of those a day in full.  So, we are getting there slowly but surely.  Pretty much once she takes all 8 we will be headed home!!  :)  She seems to be waking more easily every 3 hours now, so hopefully soon she will get the idea she has to eat all of them every time.
Her eye and hearing exams came back good this week, so that is another thing we can cross of off the list.

Basically, now we just wait on the bottle feedings to happen.  It's hard to be patient because she is becoming more alert and a lot more snuggly when I go see her.  Very hard to leave!

She weighs 4 pounds, 12 ounces now!!

Prayer Requests:
- that she will continue to do well with feedings...8 bottles a day!
- no more bradycardias.  She has to be free of them for 5 days in order to come home.  Right now she has 1-2 a day when fed, but they are not counting those.  Other than that, she has about 1 a day and pulls herself out within a second or two.  Hoping she will stop that completely.
- She seems to have reflux (probably why she has the random bradycardias)...pray that it is not painful for her and that it will go away soon.
-Patience/peace for me.  It is getting really hard to be away from her.  I feel very torn between her and Mason right now and guilty for not being at the opposite place.

And finally here are several pictures from our week:

"Do NOT take my paci!!"

 Sweet girl looking around in bed.

 HI!  Looking at Mommy

 Mason's last day of pre-school...had fun in the bounce houses after he got brave enough to do them!

 My very favorite time of day currently...snuggling with my sweet princess.

 Mason made a sign for his room not too long ago and he asked me this week if he could make Lucy one like his.  So sweet!  It now hangs in the entrance of her room.

 Mason's finished painting for Lucy's room

 After eating her bottles she passes out on Mommy.  Love!

 :) Oh, I can't wait until she is home!

 Little side smiles for Mommy

 We took Mason to the Perot museum last week.  We had a blast and will definitely be going back.

 Perot museum kids area.

 Taking a bottle for Daddy

 Resting peacefully...so hard to leave her at the hospital.

Pictures and More...

This past weekend was the Preeclampsia Promise walk.  Thank you so much to those of you that donated to our walk or joined our team.  We had a fun time and I can only hope the money we raised will help other women in the future avoid what I, and many friends, have gone through with preeclampsia.

Lucy just continues to do well.  She has moved to an open bed now that she is maintaining her own temperature.  She completes around 2 bottles a day, and eats maybe 1/2 of another 2.  So, slowly but surely she is working her way up to 8 a day.  She got her cannula removed on Saturday again, so we are hoping this time she is able to stay off of it.  So far she is doing well with that.  Her eye exam on Wednesday showed everything to be growing in a normal way, so that is good news.

Basically that is about it right now.  She continues to have eye drainage which they think is clogged tear ducts and we have to massage them.  She also gets very stopped up about once or twice a day and they have to suction out her nose.  It relieves her, but at the same time also irritates her nose and it swells and/or bleeds.  The nurses try not to suction as much as possible, but have to when it's so constricted her oxygen levels drop or heart rate drops, of course.  Hoping it is just a cold or something that will go away now that her cannula is gone.

She weighs 4 pounds, 7 ounces as of last night!  Big girl and over double her birth weight now.

Mason got to see her again on Saturday since she now has her cannula off again.  He wasn't quite so in shock this time.  I can't wait until he is able to touch her/hold her.  He is just so ready for her to come home so he can be a big helper.  :)

Prayer requests-

-That her nose would clear up and soon.  I hate when she is so stopped up and also that the suctioning irritates her so much.  

-For her eye drainage to go away soon as well.  

- She will have a hearing test and another brain scan coming up before we go home.  Pray those both come back fine.

- Pray for patience and rest for me.  right now is the time that drags as far as getting her home (waiting on her to eat on her own 8 times a day), but also goes by really fast as far as getting things ready for her to get here (we still don't have a carseat, need a clean house, need to finish her room, etc)

-for the NICU staff.  They have been really busy the past week with new babies, but they are always smiling.  Just wonderful people!

- For the parents and babies that are currently in the NICU.  

Now, picture time.

Lucy was moved to an open bed.  One step closer to going home.

Mommy and Lucy.  We try to get a photo of her in each outfit.  I can't believe how she fills out her preemie clothes, even at 4 pounds.  She will need newborn size soon!

My silly boy with his funny ring pop.

Right after bath time.  Even though baths wear her out, she gets wide awake and loves to be snuggled afterward.

My sleeping beauty.  This was on a rainy day and she wanted to just sleep all day!  I don't blame her.

Nasal cannula gone again!!  Trial #2.  Hopefully she will do fine without it for good now.  We will see. :)

Sleeping peacefully

Promise Walk for Preeclampsia.  Thank you to all that donated and thought of us!

Mason waiting to get started on the walk

Here we are walking.  It was hot!!

Mason and his friend Layla at the walk

Sweet Lucy

Mason getting his 2nd look at Lucy.  This time instead of shock on his face, he just stared at her with such a sweet look

Signing "I love you" to baby sister.  That boy loves her already and tells me so every single night at bed time.  

Mason in grandma's wildflower patch.

Short Update

Lucy is doing well still.  Over 4 pounds now...4lb1oz!!  She is starting to take a couple of bottles a day and eating the whole amount.  Big girl.  So, we are making progress, slowly but surely.  :)

Prayer Requests:
-Continue to do well on eating her bottles, breathing (hopefully get off of her cannula again soon), and keeping her temperature on her own(she'll be in a regular bed soon)
- Eye exam and hearing screen coming up...that they are normal.
- Patience for us.  This is the time in NICU that becomes long and drawn out.  It takes time for her to work up from not eating from a bottle to eating 8 full bottles a day.  That is a lot of work for a tiny little girl!
- Hoping I am not getting sick.  I have not been feeling well today, so I only went to see Lucy once.  Now, I am not sure i should have gone at all.  Pray that I did not get sick germs on her.  I think I just have allergies and will hopefully feel better tomorrow.

And a few Mother's Day photos...not sure Lucy was impressed with her outfit, but I thought it was so cute!  :)

Lucy's Mothers Day outfit.  It took us 3 tries to get it on her and wore her out, but she looked so cute!  :)

 We made these for the Grandma's and I might have made one for myself too!  

 All wrapped up and ready for bed.  I can not leave her until she closes those big eyes!  

 Daddy giving her a bottle

 So tired!

 My pretty girl!

 Happy Mother's Day to me...one of my babies

 :)

 And my other baby with his goofy 4 year old smile

 This past week was nurses week so we sent them a cookie basket from Cookies In Bloom Lewisville.  The nurses are just so special to us and although we can never thank them enough for taking care of our babies, we can send them treats sometimes!!   The cookies were a hit in their pink and gray scrubs to match the nurses scrubs.  :)