Soon....

Hello Everyone,

What a fabulous two days for Claire with great accomplishments!  Yesterday the NG tube was removed as she has tolerated bottle feedings over the last 24 hours.  And, today she was moved into an open crib to see how well she can tolerate life outside of the isolette.  If she continues to do well, she may be home this week!!!

Claire continues to tolerate bottle feedings and had her first tub bath yesterday.  We were given a demo and then it was Claire's turn.  She cried at first and when she finally figured it out, she really liked it :)  She wasn't too slippery and I feel very confident that we will do well at home.  Only two tasks remain on the patient teaching list - infant car seat and CPR video.  After that, we will be good to go to begin our new life with Claire at home.  It has felt like we have a baby on lay-a-way and can only visit briefly!!  Claire weighs in at an impressive 4 pounds 5 ounces and is taking 37cc's per feeding.

Needless to say, we are totally excited that a new day is dawning and we are almost thru the tunnel.  The last six weeks have been a whirlwind and unless you have experienced life in the NICU, mere words can not describe the environment and emotional impact of life in the NICU bubble.  We remain extremely thankful for the doctors and nurses of the NICU whose skilled hands and caring hearts have assisted Claire to grow and develop outside in the real world.  Today she is six weeks and has reached 38 weeks gestation.  If we were still pregnant, she would have two weeks to go until her due date of December 10th.  What a strong baby and how very proud we are of Claire that she has done so very well.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers.  This journey would have been even more challenging if not for the support of all our loved ones and friends and family.

More soon,

Denise & Alan