Growing like a weed!

Hey everyone, Emily here...

Brontë is doing really well the last few days. She has been moved yet again to another portion of the NICU , she is now in a room with only 7 other babies, all of whom are doing well and getting close to reaching their goals to go home... SO THIS IS VERY EXCITING THAT WE ARE THERE NOW TOO! We're still not sure when she will be able to come home, but it ensures us that we are definitely on track and that it may be sooner rather than later... We just celebrated her 1 month birthday and Nick and I sang Happy Birthday to her in the NICU... just as we did on her actual day of birth. 

I hate to use the phrase "supposed to" because God always knew and planned for her to come when she did, but it is hard to believe that we are still 7 weeks away from when she was "supposed to" be here... with that said, the NICU staff always tells parents to plan to have their babies home around their due date... give or take a a couple weeks... However, if babies are really thriving it may be realistic to have them come home a month before their due date... so if Brontë's homecoming truly is coming sooner rather than later it maybe just over 2 weeks from now! 

The real determining factor of when she will be able to come home now is how well, and how fast, she catches on to bottle feeds and nursing. As of now, her doctor has ordered 1 bottle feeding per 12 hour shift, and 1 dry breast feeding session each 12 hour shift to practice nursing. Normally, the suck - swallow - breathe coordination doesn't set in until closer to full term, but they begin to learn the skill on average at 34 weeks gestation... She is equivalent to 33 weeks currently, and they started her with this practice last week... she is progressively getting better with her bottle feeds, and the nurse is now working on getting orders from the doctor to increase her bottle feeds to twice per 12 hour shift and also to start true breast feeding possibly this weekend! 

Brontë weighed in last night at 4 lbs 2.5 oz and has been growing like a weed... her little preemie clothes that were falling off of her just 2 weeks ago are now leaning more towards being too tight! (though we can probably make due with them for another week at least) She has been gaining about an ounce every day... sometimes more, sometimes less. 

It is amazing to think of the progress she has made in this first precious month! As many of you know she has been hooked up to nearly every contraption, and on almost every medication that a preemie could be on, but now, only a month later... She is off EVERYTHING with the exception of her feeding tube!

As far as prayer requests goes please pray... 

1. That Brontë continues to develop her feeding skills... specifically breast feeding as we will soon be trying it for real... 

     2. Her brain bleed is still present. There have been no changes (good or bad) since they found it... They are still saying that as long as it’s not getting bigger then it’s just a matter of time before the blood is reabsorbed... please be praying that it doesn’t get any worse, and that it begins to go away.

     3. Nick and I are both sick right now, and as such, are not allowed to visit the NICU until we are symptom free... pray this comes quickly.

     4. That Nick and I are able to get ready for Brontë's homecoming... there is still so much to do and SO much we need to get... all the essentials like a car seat, a crib mattress, diapers etc, etc. (A clear indication we didn't have the expected 3rd trimester prep time. LOL) If any of you feel like helping us with this, we would appreciate it. You can check out our registries at both BuyBuyBaby and Babies"R"Us

http://www.buybuybaby.com/regGiftRegistry.asp?wrn=%2D280714111&

http://www.toysrus.com/registry/search/index.jsp?_flowExecutionKey=_c83941C5D-9C17-9D29-4979-DDD83034663B_kC706F22B-0115-6E09-6CF1-34AA944892C2&overrideStore=TRUS