September 6th, 2007

Discharge Day is rapidly approaching! We estimate that Megan will be able to come home in 2 weeks.

She is still in the process of thermal weaning. Her bed is now at 27 degrees, so only one degree to go. I can't wait to have her in an open crib! Then I will just worry about all the germs in the air.

We are still working on the feeding process. She is breast feeding very well and we have no problem with that (as long as she is awake :) ) She is still having a little struggle with bottle feeding. On Monday, they started her on breast / bottle every feed and gavage tube if needed. If she breast feeds well, they give her 20 cc as a supplement to make sure she is getting enough food. The nurses give her the bottle overnight and she still relies heavily on the tube. Yesterday, the doctors changed it so the nurses only give her a bottle every other feed over night, so she get's 2 bottles and 2 tube feedings overnight. We are hoping that will give her the rest she needs to improve her bottle feeding. Last night she did a little better and took one entire bottle and half of the second. Bottle feeding is a lot of work for her and she gets so tired.

We had her baby shower this past weekend and it was a blast! It was surreal to me to actually be at my own baby shower and not someone else's. I have been waiting to attend my own shower for years! The day after I went on a huge baby shopping trip with my sister (Oh, dear sweet Karen) and it was the most fun I have ever had in my life! Bob and I have had a blast putting everything away and assembling all of her toys and goodies :) We are just amazed at all the cool stuff there is for babies!

I know go to the hospital at about 9am until 8pm, coming home for lunch and dinner. I have started taking my pump in the afternoon so I don't have to take that extra trip home and back. That way I can have a little relax time where I grab a cup of decaf and read my book at the hospital. I have really gotten to know all the nurses well and will miss them when we leave. I will be excited to keep in touch with them and send them pictures of Megan as she gets bigger.

Speaking of bigger, Megan is now at 4 lbs 6.4 oz. She is getting so big!! I am pretty sure she will be at least 5 lbs when she comes home. She has been off the caffeine for over a week and has not had any apneas or bradys. She has had a few almost apneas when she was bottle feeding, but that is expected. She sleeps pretty much all day, but looks adorable!!

We have started giving her bath which has been interesting. She is quite the wiggle worm, so it is difficult to bathe her. It's so fun, though, because she is wide awake after her bath and very alert. That's my favorite time to see her because I feel like she is looking right at us. Plus I get to dress her in a different adorable outfit each day :)

Because she is now 2 months old, she will be getting her immunizations this week. They are just waiting for her to be at least 2000 grams. She is only 5 grams away! Most new mothers dread those first shots, but Meg is an old pro at shots and pricks :) She is such a strong little girl!! Bob and I just beam with pride when the nurses tell us how exceptional she is, even though we already knew that. :)

Well, off to the hospital!!