Little Miss Baby M: Our New Normal

Even though there haven't been any posts for a few days, lots of good things have been happening lately. We intend to update on here much more regularly now that I am home.

- I finally got to go home on Tuesday, July 10th.
- Farrah is being cared for and carefully monitored in the NICU by an incredible team of nurses and doctors.
- My dad stayed with us a little longer and left for home on a early flight this morning. He got to spend even more time with his granddaughter.
- Ray's mom is coming to town tomorrow to spend a long weekend with us and then Ray's sister is planning to come to town next week.
- My mom will probably be back for another visit before the end of the month.

We are so thankful for such a wonderful support network of family and friends. Ray and I are continuing on with our mantra of "one day at a time." We know that we are not in control and we are leaning on our faith and putting our trust in God that he will continue to protect little Farrah in the days, weeks, and months ahead. We are so thankful for each day with our little miracle baby.

Farrah is doing ok in the NICU. Her weight has been going up and down, as is to be expected, and the doctors are trying to slowly wean her from the oscillating ventilator that she's been on the past few days. They monitor her blood gas levels through regular blood tests, which lets the doctors know how much extra help she needs from the ventilator. She had a feeding tube inserted, but she threw up the first feeding of breast milk they gave her the other day, so they will try again soon. We signed in authorization for them to put a PICC line (more permanent IV) into her and that procedure will probably be done within the next week. They like to have them on as little ventilator support as possible before putting in the PICC line. There are infection risks with the PICC line, so we just pray that her little body will stay strong. We have been told time and time again that the NICU journey is often one step forward, two steps back. We are staying optimistic and doing our best to take each day as it comes.

The nurses say that Farrah is "feisty" and that she moves a lot for baby so small. As I said before, she is a little spitfire. :) She seems calmer these days, which means that she is feeling better and hopefully isn't having to work as hard to breathe. We were told that it might only be another week or so until we can hold Farrah. What an amazing moment that will be!

In terms of prayer requests for our little girl, she still has a long way to go. Here are some of the big things we are praying for:
- That her lungs will continue to develop so she can breathe on her own
- That she will be able to keep her food down and no longer need the IV nutrition
- That once she feeds, her digestive system will be working as it should (as one nurse put it to us - "pray for poop".)
- That everything goes smoothly with her PICC line insertion
- That her little body stays strong and she avoids any infection

7/11/12 Update
We made it to the hospital during the rounds yesterday, and Ray got to change Farrah's diaper and take her temperature by putting the thermometer under her arm. I removed the covering from Farrah's eyes, which is all part of the assessment that takes place every four hours. She opened up her eyes and moved her arms and legs at that time. We needed to cover her with our hands to keep her from moving too much so that she would stay calm. She weighed in at 711 grams and the doctor pointed out that the date was 7/11. When we called Farrah's night nurse, she said that she had gained some more weight over the course of the day and weighed in at 800 grams. We love spending time with our sweet baby girl.

I had posted four photos on facebook earlier this week and decided to re-post them here for anyone who missed them. There are new photos below those.