What A Week!

It's hard to believe it's been less than a week since our last post. Looking back, it's actually been an incredible week!

Starting with the first big event...late last week, Cailin graduated to being able to wear clothes. While this may not seem like a lot, in the life of a young preemie, this is big news. Being able to wear clothes is good from a clinical sense because it means she is finally starting to maintain her own body temp, rather than relying on the isolette to regulate it for her. And for me it's good news because I finally get to dress her in adorable pink "onesies" (Preemie size and still too big - but baby steps, right). She just looks so grown up now wearing clothes. And while she still has electrodes stuck to her with too many wires, they're nicely covered up by her clothes. A definite plus for mom and dad. Sometimes I fool myself into thinking they're gone.

More great news is that Caili is now 3 pounds 9.5 ounces! She is on the move. It's amazing; if you look at her growth plotted over the last three weeks it's just a steady slope up. In fact, with all this weight gain and because she is able to better maintain her own temp, we are told she may only be a week or so away from graduating to a crib. Of course, it's a crib that lives at the NICU (not her newly painted pink bedroom) but a crib nonetheless. Once she is transitioned to the crib, we can fill it with toys, stuffed animals and a mobile to keep her entertained. But, don't try this at home (frowned upon due to the risk of SIDS), it's only possible because she is on a heart rate monitor. Huh, maybe there is one advantage to being in the hospital...

And, as if this isn't enough great news, probably the biggest news is yet to come! This Sunday, we had the same nurse that we had a few Sundays ago. The nurse that wanted to "see what Caili could do with a bottle." If you remember, that showed Caili had a good start but that she was missing one of the three key components. She was able to suck and swallow a few times but she didn't seem to know what to do when it came to the breathing part. It actually appeared to us that she held her breath. But, she did show she was interested. So, this Sunday that wonderful nurse (Nancy) decided she would give it another try. And much to everyone's surprise, Caili put all three steps together. In fact, she drank 5 ccs. Now, before I go on bragging, there are approximately 30 ccs in one ounce. So, we're not talking about a lot of milk. But, to us it was a big step. And more importantly, she showed us that she COULD put it all together. She just needs more practice and more importantly, more strength. It's hard work for those little (and still sick) lungs.

The docs have told us that we shouldn't try this more than two times a day for now. So, since Sunday we have been doing just that. However, we’ve been alternating between nursing and bottle feeding. Both are going very well. In fact, Caili drank 12 ccs today.

There isn't an hour that goes by without reflection on how lucky we are. It's crazy really, I wouldn't have thought that we could feel "lucky" in this situation. But we do. Caili has come so far, and, as we have written about in several posts, there are too many people suffering around us. While I am certain we took healthy babies for granted a year ago, both Tim and I now have such an incredible appreciation for new life and feel blessed that Cailin has been so fortunate. She has such a sense of determination about her, and I thank her each day for having that will to survive.

So, all this good news. Are you now wondering when she is coming home? We certainly are. But, I'm afraid it's still a ways away. I have been subtly hinting (for those of you who know me, you know that's not too subtly) to the doctors and nurses that we would love to have her home for Christmas. Or, based on their reaction...New Year's. But, only time will tell. What we do know for sure is that Cailin needs to 1) prove she can be in a crib since we don't have an isolette at home 2) come down on her "flow" or level of pressure and percent of O2 that she gets from her nasal cannula 3) be more consistent with her oxygen saturation levels 4) have fewer or no episodes of apnea (common for a preemie) 5) get to 5 pounds and 6) be able to eat her entire feed through nursing or a bottle (she gets 41 ccs 6 times a day right now).

Sounds like a lot and it is. But, we can wait!

Thank you all again for your continued support and prayers. And for reading this incredibly long post! I promise I'll post more pictures soon. You won't believe how big she's gotten :)