Wow - what a difference a week has made! Claire is doing beautifully. She is gaining weight & growing and tolerating time outside the isolette. I was able to hold her yesterday for nearly 2 hours and assisted with her cares during that time. She was very alert and awake prior to her dinner and had her little eyes open and was very expressive. It was a treasure as we don't see her awake much as she spends her time sleeping and growing. Sisters Emma & Mary and boyfriend Zach visited Claire too. As I was holding her outside the isolette, they were able to better see her up close and personal. They were happy to spend time with their little sister and look forward to the time when they can hold her.
Today was Alan's turn. He held her for over an hour and put her into her first outfit. She is actually ready to wear clothes so we are thrilled!! We will also start to be more active in her care as she is now stable. It is time for us to get ready for the transition when she is ready to come home. I will begin spending time in the NICU twice daily to start nippling which will prepare Claire for oral feeds. She is still being fed via gavage feedings and is up to 12cc's. So far she is tolerating the feedings but it could still be a little while until she is ready to be up to full speed. Her IV is slowly decreasing as the volume of her gavage feedings are increasing. Once Claire has learned what the breast is all about and can coordinate suck/swallow, she will likely take off and start making greater leaps.
We are s-l-o-w-l-y starting to breathe easier but this continues to be a day by day process. The good news is that she has remained stable and as she grows larger, her incidence of preemie issues will decrease. We are extremely thankful that Claire continues to do well. Thank you all for the positive thoughts, prayers, and good wishes.
More soon,
Denise & Alan
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