Nothing Stopping Her!

Let me start by saying our daughter is amazing us more and more every day! Here's a run down of the last couple post-op days.

Day 1: continually had great blood gas levels and vent was turned down each time
Day 2: stopped pain medicine, sedation, and her colostomy started working! OFF the vent!
Day 3: still no need for any medicine or oxygen, and her replogle tube went to zero gravity with no need for suction. Got to HOLD her finally and she loved every minute of it!
Day 4: replogle tube removed, got her first taste of breast milk!!! 10 CC's every 4 hours and tolerating it really well! Got to wear clothes for the first time too!

She's beating every hurdle, all of this wasn't even supposed to begin happening until day 5 post op (replogle tube) 7-10 days for feeds. Day 4 and she beat every single one! She's so strong I love her spirit and her fight. Though she is our child, Irish, and a red head of course we should have expected this ;)! We LOVE Dr. Green her neonatal NICU doctor, he genuinely cares about Emmie and us. He always asks how we are handling this and does whatever he can to make this easier for us. Example being today we could not go see her because we ended up in the ER to find out I have major post delivery complications. Dr. Green called to check in on me and even set Emmie up on a camera so we can watch her online! We got to watch a feed, her play with a paci, get fussy, and her sweet nurse Joanna made a cute note "from" Emery telling me to feel better. I love the NICU staff and doctor's so far. She is the hot topic with all the nurses, they can't get over her beautiful hair and I don't blame them!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, I wish I could say I'm all in Christmas spirits but it just doesn't feel like the holidays. I want both if my girls home with me, I want to wake up Christmas morning snuggle them both and have that perfect "this is right" moment. But it isn't going to happen so I am going to be utterly thankful that I even have both girls, that I have such a loving husband, huge support from family, and so much love in my life. Next year I'll get that moment and for many years to come, I'll hold on to that.

Thanks to everyone reaching out, the meals are really appreciated and the donations are a HUGE HUGE help! It's helped us with the first hospital payment and food/gas for traveling and living at the hospital lately. Please continue to spread the word about Emmie, I swear she's done so well because of all the people storming heaven with prayers for her.

Prayer requests: positive response to feeds and increase amounts, that she will take to the bottle (she doesn't like it very much), that she will latch when I'm allowed to breast feed her, continued healing so maybe she can get home faster! For Nick and his sanity he is doing so much for us. For me, that my complications would heal and cease, that my milk supply will continue to increase (I have to pump and dump for the next 7 days I am genuinely afraid it will go down or she will supplement formula which we do NOT want). Also, a prayer for sweet Sophie this is hard on her and she doesn't understand. That we will figure out how to meet her needs too and always make her feel loved and not forgotten. For my parents and sister who have helped immensely by keeping Sophie, for their sanity :)