Continued Progress

Eliza is out of her isolette! They moved her into a regular crib on Sunday evening. She is now over 4 lbs and doing extremely well. She's doing great with her oxygen levels, her body temperature, her bradies and everything else she's tried. Now it's mostly a question of feeding. We're looking forward to her starting on the bottle either late this week or early next. Everything seems to be going well, so we're keeping our fingers crossed and sending prayers heavenward. Still no real time frame for her coming home, but it's likely four to six weeks or so. Seems like a long time, but when we think of how long she'll be with us we know we can wait these few, brief weeks to ensure she is completely ready to come home and be part of the family.

In related good news, and hopefully as a foreshadow of things to come, Eliza's first roomies, Preston and Sophia went home this last week. We didn't get to see their parents before they left, but Brenna spotted the Polaroid of them on the departure board. We're very happy for those fine families.

The only downer this week is that I didn't get to see Eliza at all. In most senses of the word I feel perfectly fine, but I do have a small tickle in my throat that leads to three or four coughing outbreaks a day, and the risk of getting Eliza (or any of the other premies) sick is just not worth it. So Brenna has been representing the parental units for our little one and doing a better job of it than I could muster anyhow. She comes home from her visits looking radiant. It is so fun to hear her talk about Eliza and see the growth of our daughter through Brenna's eyes. I'm glad Eliza has her for a mom.

It's been a while since I mentioned the effect this is having on the other three children, and the reason for that is because they are handling the situation like champs. Of course, having Brenna home with us and nearly back to her regular self makes all the difference. The kids are anxious for Eliza to come home, but since they don't know any differently, they are just rolling along from day to day and looking forward to seeing her. I'm really excited for that moment--I know she will be loved to the brink of danger when she makes her grand entrance. Of course, there will be a full report when that day arrives.

In other news, the kids and I are heading out to Utah this Wednesday for my niece's wedding. The kids are on spring break, so it's perfect timing. I'm excited to spend time with family and to be a part of the wedding. My nieces and nephews are such a blessing in my life. I really admire the people they are. And, I appreciate the fine example they set for my children. It's a great comfort to be able to point my children to any of their cousins and tell them it would be A-OK to follow in their footsteps.

Brenna will be living the high life for a few days and spending a lot of time with Eliza. She's even threatened to do a bit of organization around the house. I will be eager to return home to see how serious she is about the threat!

Now, we do have some picture updates this week, and our little girl is definitely changing. Without further ado...

This was taken about mid-week, I believe. You can see she was at 3 lb 11 oz at that point. She is now up to 4 lb 2 oz. It's amazing how she has just taken off. Perhaps by next week she'll be up around 5 lb. If she keeps going at this rate, she will be. But I guess I should slow down and just take one step at a time.

I love this picture. It really shows how much she has changed. She looks more filled out and older, somehow. For one so small a couple of weeks is a long time, and she is getting older. My heart just goes out to her. Her journey to our home will always amaze me. Life is simply incredible.

Yay! No more isolette. Eliza is the envy of the other premies as she enjoys her open-air crib with personal guard bunny. All the premies received bunnies on Easter, and it does serve to remind that Eliza is still pretty tiny. Frankly, the position Brenna has the bunny in for this pic is a little worrisome. I'm afraid the bunny is going to pounce. Reminds me of Monty Python's infamous "large, wooden rabbit."

All snuggled up with no isolette to regulate her temp. Don't you just want to hold her?