Nana and Yaya
I'm transitioning back to my home life - arriving home to a condo that has been transformed. The contractor we're working with has done a wonderful and thorough job finishing off the walls in our condo - each of our bedrooms is now enclosed with drywall and large windows. Rather than make our place look darker and smaller, I think the walls actually make our place look bigger. We just love it! And our contractor is just fantastic - he moves our furniture back at the end of every day and carefully stacks his tools in the corner. He is trying to make this process as least disruptive as possible for us. Jeremy makes his team coffee in the morning and they even stack their cups in the sink and rinse out the coffee pot for us. They still have a bit of painting to do but should be finished by Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. I'm glad Jeremy pushed ahead with this project - we're just getting all of the crazy over at once!
Jack is holding up amazingly well - he's relieved to have his mama home. Anytime I'm at the hospital visiting with Joss, he asks when I'm coming back. I constantly reassure him that I will always come home to him. We've had a few episodes where tiny things set him off into tears, but I know he's just overwhelmed and tired. This morning, he's sleeping in, and I hope he will sleep for awhile. But overall, he continues to eat well and is almost 100% potty trained.
At breakfast Saturday morning, I explained to Jack that I was both his mommy and Jossie's mommy now. He thought about that for a moment, and then asked, "are you Daddy's mommy too?" Sometimes, Jack. Sometimes.
And Jossie is truly progressing - she's been gaining an ounce a day. Last night at 9 p.m., she was at 3 lb 8 oz (1590 grams). Hooray! They continue to increase her feedings. Yesterday she was taking 20 ml of breastmilk per feeding, every three hours. The doctors make their rounds in the morning daily, so we're hoping they will increase her amount again today. The magic number for Jossie is 29 ml - once she is receiving this amount per feeding, we'll lose the IV she's had since birth. The IV provides her with extra fluids that include electrolytes, lipids and sugars. This will just be one step closer to bringing our baby home.
The NICU nurses are truly angels on earth - they are so caring and loving of their little patients. They answer all of our questions (yesterday I asked if Jossie's mouth gets dry since she's on a feeding tube) and will just sit with us to ensure we're okay. We can call around the clock to check in with our nurse if we're not at the hospital. I just talked with Katie, our night nurse, and she gave me some great news. Jossie took two bottles through the night (she has currently been "eating" through a feeding tube that goes through her nose and down into her tummy). I'm already over the fact I wasn't there for this "first." I'm just so excited! She has been doing a great job sucking on her pacifier since day one but to take two bottles with no trouble is an amazing step in the right direction - she is showing the doctors that her brain is capable of breathing and eating at the same time!
With the news we received earlier this week, I truly believe that Jossie is a healthy baby - she just was born too early because of those darn tightly wound blood vessels in her umbilical cord.
I haven't done a good job of calling anyone this weekend or keeping people updated - forgive me! Please know I'm thankful for everyone's love and prayers. Jeremy and I simply could not find the strength and courage to face each day without our family, friends and faith.
It's great to be alive!
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