May 19

Graduation Day! Today she is being transferred from a warming bassinet into a crib.

 

Chillin' in her new big girl crib!

It means she is maintaining her own body temperature to their standards. Never mind that yesterday the heating system over her area went haywire and was blasting icy air, while outside we were having another freak blizzard.... luckily it was fixed before bath time, and she was all snuggled into blankies with one of us for most of the day. :)

Another silly little milestone that other moms will appreciate-- her first 'blowout' diaper-- but the seriously good news about it is that it means her digestive system is waking up and responding well to the formula feedings. Amazing how meeting other moms yesterday whose babies have so many problems in their digestive tract, scary sad stuff, helps us realize even more what a blessing it is to have a healthy digestive system.

Kiley our Physical/Occupational Therapist (PT/OT) came by to teach me some physical therapy stuff to do to encourage Audrey to use her injured left hand, especially to extend her little fingers. Baby complains a bit at first, but after just one session with Kiley and I encouraging her, there is a major noticeable improvement in Audrey's range of motion and comfort using that hand. She is now clasping her hands in front of her, moving her hands to her mouth, reaching for things that bug her, and even sometimes holding her pacifier in her mouth, even sometimes extending those left hand fingers whereas before she was just keeping them in a little fist shape and held close to her body almost all the time. It is so encouraging to see. I am really starting to trust Kiley a lot, and I feel grateful she was a great ear today for me needing to vent some frustrations today.; We have a similar style of nurturing toward the baby and I have very much appreciated the things that she has done for her, and the way she observes Audrey's cues. She is a great advocate for Audrey's own wishes, and I am so glad she is on our team.

Kiley, our Occupational Therapist, has been a wonderful help to both Audrey and I, in her thoughtful whole-person approach to physical therapy.  I feel so lucky to have her on our team, and am so thankful for her enormous support!

A little disappointed to learn that the Replogle has been pulled out three times in the past day and a half-- I can't help feeling that this is done out of impatience by nurses who mean well but don't realize the need to keep it in as much as possible in order to prevent irritation to her nasal passage. It blocks up fairly often, about every two to three hours, with thick gunk from the bottom of her throat, and when Justin or I am here we have so far always been able to clear clogs without pulling it out. I feel helpless and frustrated knowing that when we are gone, nurses have been pulling it out. Makes me anxious about leaving her. We are starting to brainstorm what we are going to do once Mom and Dad R go home on June 10th. Their living at our house has made it possible for me to be here. I am also starting to wonder if her esophagus will actually grow on its own with only the top half free to extend downward; if hers is the only case like this, then she may just buck the trends in this way too. There has not been a change in the depth of her Replogle in at least the past week. If it doesn't grow closer together, at the moment we are feeling pretty strongly about Boston. I hope that doesn't need to happen.... please pray for her esophagus to grow.

I am getting really excited for the kids to come meet her, hopefully tomorrow! Last night's bath was a funny experience-- the nurse had us do it completely on our own, and even with both of us here it was a clumsy comedy! Audrey kept looking up at us like, "You silly grown ups." She loved having her head massaged, but when we cleaned her limbs and torso, then spent a couple of minutes untangling her cords before wrapping her up, she let us know her displeasure by royally peeing all over Justin. I was laughing so hard, and he said, "who knew girls could shoot?" I laughingly apologized to the nurse for messing up their numbers, since they weigh all of her diapers, and this would have been a heavy one!