Steppin' it Up!

Today was a BIG day for the Olsens! Elise is OFF the CPAP and onto nasal cannula! (two prongs in her nostrils that give her oxygen). She is on Vapotherm which is a high flow nasal cannula. They still believe she is too small (in size) to take regular nasal cannula. No worries, we will get there soon enough. We are just beyond THRILLED that she could say goodbye to the CPAP (and all the tubing, tubing, and more tubing!) However, as with any transition, we are in a window of testing right now. We will pray that her lungs are now strong enough to stay open on their own without the pressure of the CPAP. She is doing quite well so far. Right now, she is needing about 25% oxygen and is tolerating her feeds wonderfully with no residuals (nothing left over in her belly that isn't digested). She will still need her OG tube (feeding tube) for a while because my milk alone isn't enough calories for her. They have been fortifying the breast milk with extra protein calories and will continue to do so until she gets closer to her term date (May 20th).

When the doctor called this afternoon, he told us if things remain stable throughout the night, they will start bottle feeding Elise tomorrow! As soon as she shows she can suck from a bottle and not drop her oxygen, we will try breastfeeding. Wow! Our Little Lady is certainly stepping it up! Every time I think Grant and I couldn't be prouder parents of this darling little girl...we become prouder.

Mommy canNOT wait to see my little face and touch my soft head tomorrow...it's been 2.5 weeks toooo long! 

We also had a wonderful day yesterday with our first baby shower! Our church family is one amazing group of people. Not only do we have their prayers, but we have their constant love and support. The church we attend happens to be my childhood church. I've known the people and the church for as long as I can remember. My mother was the choir director for over 20 years. Needless to say, my church is my second family. When Grant and I began dating, he didn't have a church in the area that he attended. I of course invited him to ours soon after we started dating. I can remember sitting in the choir loft, ready to sing, and see Grant walk in the back entrance of the sanctuary before the service would start. I would always get butterflies...and have a couple of tenors razz me from behind by saying, "who is that guy, Jess??" Before long, Grant felt as though my church family was his family as well.

The shower was a cute luncheon held after the service yesterday with yummy salads, cupcakes, and chicken and ham salad croissants. Everything was decorated in bright pink and green polka dots...two of my favorite colors and so spring-like! Elise will be a fashionista after her 3 showers have come and gone-- wow! What cute outfits everyone finds! We also got many fun gadgets for her to play with or roll around on...such as a beautiful handmade quilt! It's amazing to think that someday she WILL be big enough to sit in a booster seat at the kitchen table. Hard to fathom that idea right now!

As I was writing thank you notes this afternoon, I took a moment to remember what yesterday's baby shower felt like for me. Since Elise's arrival hasn't been what would be described as "normal," we haven't taken many moments just to celebrate HER. It always seems a doctor's report or the latest update from the nurse takes the place of just rejoicing her arrival. However, yesterday's shower was simply for HER. Grant and I discussed how it was so nice to not speak of doctors or nurses or monitors. We got to unwrap bath toys and get excited about giving her her first bath in our home and smelling her after using the Johnson & Johnson bedtime lotion. When we unwrapped the Baby Einstein musical jumper from our registry, we pictured her bouncing away when her tippy toes can touch the bottom so she can bounce herself back up. We also got to compare preemie clothes to 9 month clothes. It was so funny to watch everyone's faces when we held up a preemie sleeper and told them that the preemie size is still baggy on Elise. Can you imagine what we think when we look at 9 month clothing?? ha!

We are so thankful to our wonderful church family for giving us a day to celebrate Elise for being Elise...a new baby that will love all of her presents....and love her church family when the day finally arrives that we can have her in those pews babbling away.

Onward,
G & J & E