"The More You Dress Up...

...the more fun you'll have." ~ Author Brian Molko

Rockin' the leggings from Aunt Suzi! 

Look at Little Lady playing 'dress up' with Nurse Karrie! Elise is bringing back the "baggy" style too! ha! Rather baggy than tight, right ladies?? The leggings will eventually fall into place. Until then, they are scrunchy (but adorable) sweatpants. 

Polka dot fun! --and someone keeps trying to pull her vent tape off! (notice the reinforced tape -ha!) 

Elise continues to have very good days in the NICU. It's the doctor's plan tomorrow (Friday) to remove her breathing tube and put Elise on CPAP. Elise has been making great strides on the ventilator this week (lowering her rates and breathing over the vent), so the doctors are pretty confident she is ready for CPAP. I think sometimes CPAP is just as hard on the parents as it is the preemie. Since Elise won't have a breathing tube while on CPAP, her cry and sneezes can be heard. Although her sneeze is precious to listen to, the cry is so bittersweet. We LOVE hearing her cry and knowing those lungs are working well, but there is very little we can do to help soothe her. She simply wants the CPAP off, and quite frankly, who wouldn't? It is our hope and prayer that CPAP will be for a few days rather than a few weeks. After CPAP, she will then transition to nasal cannula. Whoo-hoo! G and I have already discussed that when Elise is on nasal cannula she will definitely remind us (even more so) of Nana Lisa. Mom made nasal cannula look so stylish when she had to wear it 24/7. We will make sure her granddaughter is stylish too! 

Another big announcement................

Little Lady is over TWO POUNDS! It's official now! She weighs 925 grams which converts to 2 lbs 1 oz. The nurses and my preemie mentors say the next pound(s) will come even faster. When she was born she weighed 1 lb. 4.5 oz. After dropping to 1 lb. 3 oz. during the first 2 weeks, she then started a slow weight gain because she wasn't getting any milk...just the TPN (IV nutrition). Now that she is on milk every 3 hours with extra calories added each time, she will start to pack it on. I told the nurses that my pep talks to Elise about gaining weight seemed very foreign to me. I'm usually giving myself the opposite weight pep talks. Uncle Matt put it well, "Elise has no relatives that have trouble putting on weight, so once she comes home, she'll be well trained." We all can't wait to squeeze those chubby cheeks and thighs someday! 

Elise has also gone to "air mode" on her isolette meaning that she must make all of her body heat to keep her temperature up...the isolette no longer provides her with heat. The nurses say she is doing very well with this. Of course her stylish clothes only help her feel oh-so-good about herself! 

I've had two days in a row at home this week since G and I get to see Elise together tomorrow. I've realized that a 2 day stint at home is a little too long at this point for me. Of course I miss her every 'home' day, but today I missed her like crazy. I found myself drying her fleece blankets 2 or 3 times in the dryer because I felt like I was "doing something for her." Let's just say that her fleece is good and dry and already packed in the car. 

We are extremely excited to see her tomorrow!  

Praying for a great transition to CPAP tomorrow~

G & J & E