Off the grid

Tonight we got to take Elyse into the family room for her evening feed, and it was both exciting and terrifying all at once.  For one whole hour she was completely detached from all of her monitors.  It was just the three of us -- no wires, no screens, no alarms.  I didn't realize how much I had come to depend on those monitors for reassurance.  It is going to be tough to recondition myself to rely on (and trust) her signals instead.  It is definitely starting to feel like they are prepping us to take her home soon.  This journey used to feel like it was going to last forever and now, in the blink of an eye, six whole weeks have passed.  The panic is definitely starting to set in a little, and I now have a constant "to do" list running through my head, but I know it's going to be great.  The start of our next big adventure.

look ma, no monitors!

Elyse is still making great progress, and weighed in at 1691g (3lbs 12oz) tonight.  She is completely off her caffeine now, and still has not had any major brady spells.  She is getting the hang of the bottle, and has taken several full feeds from it.  Tonight she was pretty sleepy (it was also bath night, which probably tired her out too), but she still took about 20ml over a 20 minute period.  Right now they are alternating bottle feeds with gavage feedings (through her NG tube), so that she doesn't spend all her energy eating.  She is making good progress with the breastfeeding too, but since I can't be there at every feeding it is probably going to be a lot easier to focus on once she's home and closer to full term.

Emmett went in again this weekend to see his sister.  It's hard to read what his feelings on the whole situation are, but he talks about "baby Eese" a lot so hopefully that's a good sign.  We'll see how he feels when she's home to stay.

do I really have to share my toys with her?