24 Days Old

Something unexpected happened to me this week. Most days when I walk into the NICU and look into the isolette where Dalley is, I either break down into tears or fight them off. It's never been easy to see my tiny baby in that condition. I image even years from now I will look back at pictures of this time and it will still be difficult to remember. But on Tuesday, I walked into the NICU and this is what Dalley looked like and when I saw her, I smiled. No tears. Just a smile that was quickly followed with some baby talk as I questioned her about how her day was going. It was one of the first times that she looked like my baby and not like a NICU patient. My tiny little pink burrito. This kid has my heart.

This week has been euphorically boring.  Her oxygen saturation has been relatively stable. She finished her 10 day antibiotic treatment today with no signs of any further infection. Her PIC line was also removed today. They have been steadily increasing her food volume and have even been fortifying it with additional calories to help with growth. She was moved from room 1 (critical care) to room 2 (very low birthweight center). She has even sucked on a pacifier a few times.

She's also starting to show little bits of her personality. When she sleeps, she likes her hands to be either touching her face or her head. Even when the nurses swaddle her, it's usually only a few minutes before she has one or both hands free and raised up to her head. I obsessively take pictures of every new pose because every position is so darn cute.

Drama Queen

"No more pictures please!"

She also hates being bothered. She'll give you the one-eyed pirate scowl when you raise the blanket and let light in while she's trying to sleep. She also doesn't like noise. Looks like she takes after me in more ways than her abnormally long monkey toes.

I can't believe we've made it 24 days. She's almost 4 weeks old! We have also officially made it through 2 weeks of Adam being back in school. I know it's really hard for him to be away from us during the week. He says that it's taking a lot more effort for him to try to focus on school with everything that is going on.... but he's doing it. He misses his girls... and we miss him too. I haven't looked forward to Friday nights with this much anticipation in years.... because this is what I get to see....

Normally I love winter. .... but I wish it were May already. 

Dalley agrees. 

We love you all and thank you for your continued love and support.