Closing Out Week 1

Things seem to be moving more quickly than I can keep up with now. But Eliza is settling into more of a routine so I expect the need for constant updates will decrease. I hope to update the Eliza situation about once a week going forward unless there are major events that warrant more frequent updating.

Three days since the last post and several significant things have happened. Grandma Brooke went home and Grandma Jean arrived. Eliza moved from the first NICU to the graduate NICU where she will remain until she comes home. Brenna and I visited the hospital together and were both able to hold Eliza--dad's first opportunity. Eliza is steadily increasing the amount of food she takes in--up to 17 cc's of milk every three hours as of today. She continues to do well without additional oxygen. She is getting 3 liters of mist and air flow per hour, but that is only to ensure her lungs stay open and her nose doesn't get dry and crack. The oxygen she is breathing is room oxygen that is the same as the rest of us breath. Pretty impressive for one so small. Tomorrow they will reduce her to two liters per hour and if she does well with that they'll reduce her to one liter several days later and eventually to none. She is still in her condo, and will stay there until she reaches four pounds--likely about three weeks from now. Probably shortly after leaving the condo she'll be ready to try bottle feeding. If she is able to do all of those things she will then be ready to come home once she puts on enough weight (not exactly sure if there is a clear definition of "enough weight." I think it varies depending on the child).

Having said all that I had a lovely chat with Eliza's nurse tonight, and she said that parents often have a very difficult time in these situations because they don't realize the process is generally two steps forward and one step back. The baby may be doing great with something one week and struggle mightily with it the next. She said that is the nature of getting a premie ready to go home. They are so little and work so hard to just maintain status quo that any tiny infection or other unwanted influence can really set them back. So, though Lindsay (Eliza's nurse) was enthusiastic about Eliza's progress to date she said it is rare for a premie to sail through the NICU without facing any problems. She wasn't trying to deflate me, but she was trying to prepare me for what may come. I really appreciated her approach and her willingness to be up front. Brenna and I are emotionally preparing ourselves for possible setbacks, but we remain optimistic that Eliza will be the exception and sail through. We'll see how it goes, but so far so good. She continues to exceed expectations!

OK, a few pictures. I apologize in advance for the videos. They are really dark and virtually impossible to see Eliza. However, if you are interested in following the situation closely there is some good info in the commentary. If you're just wanting to see how cute Eliza is you can skip the videos. They're not useful for that.

Day 5

Sampling the digitary cuisine.

Grandma Jean's first look at her granddaughter. This was a great moment to share with my mother.

Day 6

Dad holds Eliza for the first time. Not really much else I can say here. I just loved having her in my arms. Having Brenna there when I was able to hold her made it all the more sweet.

More demonstration of how tiny she is.

Mother and daughter both looking good.

Some useful info in the commentary. Sorry the video is so dark. Can't really make anything out.

Nurse Lindsay showing her off before putting her back in the condo.

Day 7

Sister Vickie Moore made this beautiful blanket. It now sits over the top of Eliza's condo to keep it snuggly and dark. They took the lights off of Eliza Sunday morning. We hope they'll stay off, but they may have to put them back on. We'll see how it goes.

Love the hiccups. This was a fun moment with Eliza.