9/25 Update: 11 days old

Our first update to Cailin's blog will start with the phrase Tim and I have been hearing over and over again, "Cailin is stable and doing what we would expect for someone born at her gestational age."

And that is true. The first few days she was in what they call the "honeymoon phase" where she seemed to be doing better than anyone could expect. But, this past weekend we saw our first true signs of her actual gestational age. And after a difficult weekend of ups and downs, Tim and I were introduced to a second phrase that we hear all too often, "This is the life of a preemie. One step forward, two steps back or vice verse."

All in all though, she is doing well. It has been 11 days since her birth and she is doing "as well as can be expected." In some areas she's doing extremely well and in others she needs a lot of assistance. So, we continue to pray and be hopeful that she will be the fighter we know she is.

As for Tim and I, we are still trying to sort out our new routine and are finding ourselves very frazzled trying to fit the normal life stuff in with time we want to spend with our daughter. So, please call or email us your words of encouragement as we certainly need them. Or, you comment on our blog posts on-line. But, keep in mind, your responses are visible to everyone who visits her blog. Whatever option you choose, we would love to hear from you. Just please understand if we don't get back to you right away.

We’ll try to update the blog at least once a week. As always, please keep our little angel in your thoughts and/or prayers. And, if your interested, we will post some pictures of her in her first few days. Take a look. We think she’s adorable! Lauren and Tim