On the up and up

The past week has been full of many positive changes for Farrah. The latest of which is the fact that Farrah took an entire bottle this morning and had no issues. This change caught us both by surprise since we thought that bottle feeding or "nippling" was still a ways away. Farrah's nurse called us this morning to let us know that an order was written for Farrah to try nippling at her 11 am rounds. Both of us were not able to be there, so we asked her nurse to take a photo if she could. I received a text around 11:30 am from Farrah's nurse saying that she had no trouble with nipping. What amazing news! Farrah's nurses had a theory that some of her crying was due to her being hungry and they felt that beginning to bottle feed might make a big difference for her. We are so thankful that she had a good first experience.

Ray and I gave Farrah her first bath last night. Farrah's nurse Lisa walked us through all of the steps while she took photos and videotaped it for us. Lisa warned us that Farrah might cry the entire time, but that was not the case. Farrah looked a little unsure of what was going on but mainly looked at both of us and only cried a little bit. Farrah even slept for parts of it. To ease preemies into their first bath, it is recommended to keep them swaddled and only wash one area at a time. Farrah loved being wrapped up in a warm blanket at the end and being swaddled. We were told that Farrah slept well through the night after her bath.

 

 

Farrah was taken off the high flow cannula this morning and moved to a regular nasal cannula. The only change is that she is no longer receiving humidity. So far, so good with her handling the change. Ray and I take each change with cautious optimism, as we cannot forget how ill Farrah was less than one month ago. Farrah's feeding tube was removed, and a new one was put into her nose. It is smaller and more out of the way than the one in her mouth. This change was done to help prepare Farrah for bottle feeding and to try to keep her from tugging at it. We pray that Farrah will keep getting stronger and stronger each day. She has had slow weight gain, but last night she made it to 3 pounds, 11 ounces.

These wonderful changes mean that it is time that Ray and I start preparing for when Farrah comes home. We still do not have a tentative date, but she is getting closer and closer as she meets these major milestones. We have been so busy with the NICU world that we have not had much time to prepare ourselves for our baby coming home and all the changes that will bring to our lives. Please pray for us as we transition from NICU worry mode to preparing for a preemie to come home mode. I've realized that this preparation mode means less time at the hospital and more time balancing work, home, and all the preparations we need to make for Farrah's homecoming. Farrah is in great hands and now is the time for her mommy and daddy to start getting things in order at home.

All of your love and encouragement means so very much to us. Thank you for everything!