I Love Today!

Have you ever had one of those days when you just want to say, "I love today!" Today was one of those days. We got to the NICU right after lunch to say good afternoon to our sweet pea. As always, when we arrive, we throw down our coats, lift up her isolette cover and let her know that we are there and how much we love her. When we went through our routine today, Elise strrrrrretched her little legs and arms out and took in a deep breath. Our hearts melted. We were off to a good start on this cold Monday. We also heard the nurse say "You've got mail!" Several cards had been sent to the NICU by family and friends. How nice to open them and read them to Elise.

She says "thank you" and gives a tiny thumbs up to all of you :)

The doctor came right over and told us how she and her team were so proud of Elise. She had a wonderful blood gas this morning...so good that they got to turn down her oscillator! She is still making great wet diapers and continues to lower numbers that need to be lowered and raise numbers that need to be raised. When listening to her heart, the doctor heard no murmur, which is a good sign. Wednesday is the day she will get her heart ultrasound to re-look at her PDA. The doctor gave us a small chance of hope that it could be small to medium instead of large (it was large when they looked last week). She also said if her kidneys continue to improve, Elise could be a candidate for the medicine to close the PDA rather than having to bear the surgery. Regardless, the medicine and/or the surgery is very hard on these preemie bodies, but I have a strong momma intuition that Elise will remain a "tough chick" for us!

During hands on time at 2:00, Daddy got to change his first diaper with a little guidance from Donna, her nurse. Mommy got to take some wipes and try to get some little crusties off her mouth and eyes. She is SO close to opening those eyes for us! Elise did not care much for the wipes. It killed me to keep wiping so I really wanted to coddle her afterwards. The nurse showed me how and Elise immediately stopped frowning and became very relaxed. Ohhhh the best feeling! 

Mother's Love

Daddy's Touch

My favorite moment to the day? I've been trying to get her little fingers to wrap around my pinky finger. So far, she's been under so much sedation that her feet have been sensing my touch, but not her hands. Today, I tried again. She dug those little nails into my pinky finger and held on tight!! I just let the tears flow. Down my face and onto my sweatshirt. I am in love with this little lady. If she had the strength, I would have let her turn my finger blue!

After having such a wonderful hands on time we needed to grab some things for the condo before heading back to do a little laundry. We were walking into Macy's at the Castleton Mall and going up the escalator when I grabbed G's hand and said "I love today." We both smiled really big and said how much we were blessed by today's series of events: news from the doctor, her stretching when we said good morning, G changing her diaper, and her squeeeeezing my finger. Next big step will be those beautiful eyes opening to take a look at this world :)

If we think our hearts have already melted, I think we are in for a lot more melting (hopefully not Wizard of Oz style...) with our little miracle lady. As she improves, hands on time will go from every 6 hours to every 4 hours. So many things to look forward to! Our situation could always be worse. It could always be better too, but it could always be worse. We will roll with God's little blessings each day.

Looking forward to hands on time at 8:00 tonight.