February 7 baby update

Today is Jossie's three-week birthday. I was at rounds today and was grateful to hear the doctors' good news. If Jossie continues to do well, she will be released tomorrow afternoon. She's been on a brady-watch since February 3 at 10:40 a.m. (but who's counting...) and has gone four full days without an episode. Less than 24 hours to go at this point!  I feel more confident this time around as opposed to last week's countdown. During last week's, she continued to have brady episodes, but they were less than five seconds in length, so they didn't count in the doctors' eyes. This time around, she hasn't had really any - small or big, so I have high hopes. 

Jossie continues to eat well and gain weight. We're at 4 lb 7 oz, and her only medication at this point is her multi-vitamin with iron (which she grimaces at, just like any other kid). Today has actually been pretty busy for me - between calling our insurance, making pediatrician appointments when we're on the "outside," and we even had a super-cute photo shoot with Joss this morning and the hospital's photography service (they do it all here at Prentice). Jeremy and I are taking a refresher infant CPR class later this afternoon, and Jossie will have a carseat test. She will sit in her carseat for 90 minutes to ensure her heart can handle being in that position.

We're otherwise holding up - seeing a light at the end of the tunnel is very helpful. My youngest sister Laura sent me an email this morning that had my email I sent her, my mom and our other sister exactly four weeks ago, at the beginning of this journey:

Subject: don't be mad...

Sent: Monday, January 10, 2011 12:30pm

...that I am not calling...i haven't felt the baby move in 24 hours so I am going to the doctor's for a stress test to be safe. I will call soon with details but hold off on calling now. I am tired and emotional. I am taking every step to make sure baby is safe.

I never knew what we would be in store for, starting on that fateful day. I continue to be thankful that Jossie is a healthy girl - she just showed up to the party early. In the past day or so, I've talked with two moms of preemies. It's easy to fall into conversation and relay our experiences, and hearing their stories of struggle, makes me grateful that our dear Jossie is healthy.