Best News EVER!

There are no words to describe the joy in my heart right now! Much has happened and I have exciting news to share :)

First- we began "refeeding" this involves taking poo from the ostomy and putting it into the stoma for her lower bowel to process and absorb nutrients leading to her using a diaper like normal, I got to change her first poopy diaper (I know, sounds gross but such a proud moment for me because this means her lower bowel works!!!) Since this was started she's gained weight, almost back to 7 pounds she dropped a little from dumping. She's on very little IV fluids and fats! She's also been erring increased food amounts making her a very happy baby.

Second- biggest best news ever... SHE GETS TO COME HOME THIS WEEK!!! We were told just last week there was ZERO chance of her coming home before her second operation and then today we find out it might be this week! Woah! This is possible because of the refeeding, without it she would be staying. We were prepared for her to stay for over 3 months, you can imagine our shock and excitement. We don't know when it will happen exactly but we are anxious to find out!

Now I know you're thinking wait what about all the bags and tubes? Well, Nick and I are going to become her private nurses. We are learning how to use the refeeding pump, how to thread and insert the tubing into the stoma, and changing the bag out alone. We CHOSE to learn this and do this for our daughter, it's tough, quite frankly it sucks, it's certainly not pretty, and it's not pleasant for Emmie. But we chose this so our family can be whole, our daughter can be home with us and her sister, WE can care for her she doesn't have to be with nurses in a NICU. This is extremely rare for this to happen, only 5% of people in this situation get to go home. Her doctor told us we are not typical people or parents and he believes we are perfect candidates for this because we are so involved with her care, we're motivated and determined, we aren't turned off by the ostomy. He said most parents do not want to do the medical care at home so they opt to stay in the hospital. Her nurse said she has never seen a doctor trust a parent to take a baby home with a refeed tube and machine- we are honored that he feels we can handle this.

Prayer requests- for Nick and I as we learn how to care for her this week and that we will master it! For Sophie as we will be away from her for a night while we are doing a trial run at the hospital overnight and away from her during the days too. For Emmie to keep doing well so she can come home. And for all of those helping us in this process (my family, Nick's parents). Lastly, for minimal chaos when she does come home!

Lastly in my rambles, I need to give my sweet Lord a huge shout out. I have had such a roller coaster of emotions, my time in prayer has been joyous, angry, tearful, praising Him, begging Him for healing. My faith has been challenged but in all this I can absolutely say He was working in our lives every single day, good and the bad days. There is no way I would still have an ounce of sanity without my faith, I will firmly stand by that for the rest of my life. My story, my testimony is different now, it's stronger than it's ever been. HE loves me, loves my family, loves my children- we serve a truly amazing God.