A Light at the End of the Tunnel

It may be faint, but we can finally see a glimmer of light at the end of this very long hospital tunnel. As expected, this week the topic of discharge has been coming up a lot. We have had several conversations with two of Casey's doctors this week, and they are in agreement that developmentally, it is time for her to go home. She is much more alert and staying awake for much longer periods of time now, and we are quickly reaching the point where a bouncy seat and being held for the few hours every day that we can be there just aren't going to keep her satisfied much longer. Right now, there isn't a whole lot more they can do from a medical standpoint for an almost 44 week preemie who is off oxygen, that doesn't have severe reflux, is gaining weight well (she is now 7 lbs 9 oz.), and just needs more time to figure out this whole eating thing. The good news is that she has made some improvements in the volume she is taking at feeds in the last few days, and has even taken as much as 75% of her daily feed in one day. She is still pretty inconsistent from day to day though, and goes from completing 3 bottles in one day to none the next. The plan as of now is to give her until Monday to see if her volume picks up any more, and then we will make a decision about moving forward with coming home on a feeding tube at the end of next week or giving her one last week to see if we can go home "naked" (without any equipment) as the doctor says. Regardless, the plan is to bring her home by December 17th, so that we can get her scheduled for her first pediatrician, feeding clinic, and speech appointments before they close for the holidays.  Our prayer needs now are for continued bottle feeding progress (and for us to make the right decision about when to bring her home), for her eye exam on Monday to show improvement of her ROP, and for her last two discharge hurdles (staying brady free for 5 days and passing her car seat test) to go well.  We are crossing our fingers that we will have her home the week before Christmas!

Here are the Doodlebug's latest pictures:

 Wide awake

 Precious girl

 Posing with Daddy

 I think purple may be Casey's best color!

Ready to eat!

Sweet sleepy girl

She likes to poke herself in the eye...

 and she has discovered her nose!

This eating thing is hard work!