Photo Time!

I just realized that we have been jabbering a lot recently, and have not been posting many photos. Tuesday was a great photo day! I was there in the morning, and she was very alert! Most of her alert times have been around 4am, which of course makes us very sad, but yesterday she really interacted with me, and I almost cried, I was so happy!

She had another good day. Yesterday's milestone was a big one - she had her PICC line removed (photos taken prior to, which is why you still see the PICC line and her arm board)! She is eating 20cc per feeding. 21 cc's is considered a full feeding, so this afternoon, she should be taking in all her nutrients through her tube. I'm so proud of her! She is still tolerating her food well, with the exception of 2 urp ups (which are gross).

She is not gaining weight as quickly as Dr. Balsan wants. On Saturday he had switched her from her ISC moniter (which is a little wire on her skin that allows the bed to regulate her body temp) to NC, which gives her the chance to regulate her own body temp. She was using too much energy to regulate her body temp, so they've got her back on the ISC to give her a chance to retain some calories and gain more weight.

Aunt Stephanie came to visit today, and in this photo, Maria is holding her hand. Maria is getting very good at grasping with her hand, and is improving her sucking abilities. I never thought I'd be the type to shove a binky in a baby's mouth, but she needs to learn to suck. We often try to get her to suck a binky when she eats, so that she associates sucking with feeling her belly fill.

Melissa came to visit again in the evening. She was so nice to bring a couple of preemie outfits. Funny, the outfits look so little, despite the fact that they are for 1-5 lbs preemies. When I looked at them, I thought, "is there such a small baby?" But then I looked at Maria and thought, "she'll never fit into these!"

We love to bring visitors into the hospital (let us know when you want to come!). Hopefully Maria will continue to grow and to stabalize her breathing. When she can achieve these two things, we'll be able to hold her more often.

I leave you with a photo that makes her look like she is no one else's kid, but Joe's...sometimes, she just needs to kick her feet up!