All the updates

So sorry for the past two days and the lack in updates. Ever since I was discharged it's been go go GO running around here and there and EVERYWHERE getting things ready for Harper's arrival home. We had to get the things to finish her nursery and also a car seat! But since she's so small we had to research and find one that would fit her little body that the hospital would approve of. It's been maddening trying to go around to get everything, but it's so worth it. The exhausting part has been trying to squeeze it all in between Harper's feedings at the hospital. We go to every one that we can and we hate to miss them since we get to interact with her so much during them.

OKAY - here's the updates:

The doctor was originally hoping Harper would come home with us on Friday, but now it looks like it will be Saturday at the earliest. At the moment she's having trouble maintaining her body temperature at an acceptable level. She also had to go back on oxygen to give her a little boost last night, but she came off of it fairly quickly and has done great all day. We were disappointed that she wasn't coming home tomorrow (Friday) after getting our hopes up, but we really don't want her to come home too early - we want her to be completely ready to go. They've started adding supplements to the bottled breastmilk to add a few extra calories for her to help fatten her up a little.

She took her first bottle yesterday (Wednesday)! And she did GREAT! As with all babies, the sucking, swallowing, and breathing part can be kind of tricky, but is especially concerning with preemies. She did a really fantastic job and is now doing so well that she can take a bottle and is not restricted to how much she can eat. The most we've seen her take in one sitting is about 45 cc's which is fantastic. She takes a bottle every 3 hours.

After the session with the bottle, we also tried breastfeeding! It's a bit of a slower process than the bottle was. She has to learn how to do it since it's definitely trickier, and preemies tend to take a little longer with it. But I'm patient and completely willing to let her learn without letting it stress me out. We did have a really great session tonight which was super encouraging. I think she's really getting the hang of it and I'm so proud of her.

Jon asked the Dr. today about her heart murmur and it wasn't detected which could mean that she's already growing out of it - Praise the Lord! We'll keep you posted on that.

In part of the running around we've done, we got her some preemie clothes. I put her first tee-shirt on her today and it's still too big! Oh well, we know she'll grow into them soon. We're still trying to figure out where she keeps those 5 pounds!!

Harper does have VERY big feet, so we think maybe that contributes. Jon and I are a bit partial, but we think she's terribly cute. As my Dr. said "she definitely favors Daddy, doesn't she?", I'd have to agree but I'm still convinced she could have my nose. Watch out - I just might pull out my baby pics to prove my point! If not, then I can still predict that she'll have green eyes. She's identical to Daddy, don't I get something???

I've been asked a lot about what people can be praying for specifically, so I'll list a few things here:

For Harper's continued growth and strength. In the NICU, there's so many different stages of growth in babies. There are some that are there long-term because they were born so early, and those that are there just a few hours while they get their bearing. We've seen several go home already, and while it's discouraging, we are so happy for those families. We just selfishly want that for ourselves. Tonight we overheard a couple who were excited to possibly be bringing their baby home this weekend. I got kind of sad (jealous), until I heard a little of their story - their baby girl has been in the NICU since January and was less than 2 pounds. She's now over 6 pounds and doing great and they FINALLY get to take her home. They live way far away from the hospital, so it's hard to even get there nightly to see her. It's situations like that where I just feel SO thankful and it kind of puts things into perspective. Anyway - that tangent came outta nowhere, but there ya go. Pray for strength and progress for Harper. We want to take her home!

For Jon. He's in the middle of a 5-week course which is a really heavy workload. He's been a trooper and managed to be in charge of a group paper last weekend even after Harper was born. They got an A on it, no doubt due to his great work on keeping everyone together. The last 2 weeks of the class are the most intense, and he's got another paper due on Sunday that he hasn't even started. With all that's going on, I don't know how he's managing, but prayer for his sanity and clarity to do a good paper would be awesome. He's also been my chauffer since I'm not allowed to drive, and just been there for every little thing I've needed. I couldn't ask for anyone better to have by my side right now.

For me. I can tell I've really overdone it the last 2 days. My incision seems to be healing well, but still not being fully recovered is taking its toll. When I was discharged on Tuesday my feet were almost back to normal. In the last two days, they've gotten back to looking like when I was pregnant - huge and swollen. I'm obviously exhausted from the running around, physically and mentally, but also pumping, breastfeeding, and trying to get well is all wearing me out. I know, I know, it's all preparation for when she's here... I've heard all of that before. I just need some good rest to let myself get well. And if you know me, you probably know that rest is hard for me.

For everyone in our family, near and far. Don and Jane have been so gracious to leave their door open for us to come and go as we please and get meals when we need them. It's been a lifesaver and we so appreciate it. My family is so far, it's been hard to make sure everyone is kept updated on all the latest info, and I know they wish they could all be here. This has been tough on us all, even those who are distant.

THANK YOU so much for everyone's phone calls, text messages, emails and especially PRAYERS. Hopefully we won't have to do too much more running around all the time so we can be better responders.

Here are the latest pics!!! Enjoy!