We had lots of good news today - Dr. G said Baby Girl did so much better last night, she had been a little fussy the night before, but they increased the amount of milk they were giving at each feeding and she stopped complaining! Then they increased it again before we left for the night.
We've been moved to a regular crib! She's holding her body temperature steady enough to get rid of the warming bed.
The Occupational Therapist came by this morning and worked with her on some stretching. She and Dr. G both commented on how much more limber Baby Girl's arms are - her shoulders and elbows are much more loose, her wrists and fingers still need a lot of work. They would like to go ahead and start working on some splints for her wrists, but her thumbs have to be more mobile before the splints would be effective. Her legs and knees are still a little stiff, so those will get some extra work as well.
The OT also worked with her on her sucking ability. Her smaller chin and jaw make it difficult for her to get a good rhythm going and she's having difficulty sucking and swallowing at the same time, so there are no plans to remove the feeding tube yet.
BUT they did take out the nasal canula and she's been off oxygen since 10:00 am! That's a huge check mark because the two requirements for going home are eating and breathing on her own.
Thursday will be a big day - we'll meet with the Orthopedic Surgeon about casting / splinting for her ankles / feet, she'll have some imaging done of her diaphragm to see how it's functioning and what options there are there, and some imaging done on her neck.
I got to meet one of the other moms whose Little Angel is right next to Baby Girl. I think she could see how overwhelmed I was today (there were a lot of reports and doctors and therapists, and we had a long day after an off night yesterday) so she came over just to give me a hug and pass along some advice she was given when her baby first arrived - focus on what you CAN do today and let everyone else worry about what you CAN'T do - odds are there is someone around who can take care of those "can'ts". They've been part of the NICU family for 3 months and still have a lot of progress to make so please pray for them too! We also got quite a surprise - a goody bag with some books, snacks, a stuffed animal and the cute outfit below. There's a family who lost their little one a few years ago, so every year they bless the families having a NICU Christmas by making their day a little bit easier.
My parents and younger brother and his wife came by to visit, but here's the best part of today:
She got to meet both of her big sisters!!!!
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