She's a feisty one!

Well, here we are, day 8 in the NICU. Bella's doing great, which is just so wonderful...it just makes me feel so much better and at ease (as much as possible). Emory Johns Creek Hospital has some great nurses that take such good care of Bella- so, she has that going for her!

I got to hold her like a regular baby today! :) You know what I mean- like hold her in my arms while I was standing without being all wrapped up and connected to lots of wires. (She's still got some leads on her that monitor her respiratory function and the feeding tube, but it's a lot less than it has been)! If you can see in this next picture, they moved her feeding tube to her nose instead of through her mouth. So, now it's called a N.G- tube (n=nasal, instead of o=oral). That's great news because, for one- it's a little less irritating (imagine having a little tube constantly down the back of your throat!) and it will also allow her to start practicing to suck with less trouble. Most babies acquire the sucking skill around week 32, so we're starting to work on that now. I actually attempted to nurse today. Since her breathing seems to be on auto pilot now, we can focus on the next big task- getting her to eat! We didn't expect anything miraculous today, just an introduction. :) I think she did great, and I have high hopes that she'll turn into a great nursing baby! Only time will tell! Here she is all cozy in her bed. She's beginning to regulate her temperature a little better, so if she keeps that up, she'll be moving to a regular bed sometime soon. She sure does like her little room, though. :) Her nurse, Karen, told me that she LOVES looking at the picture of Ava towards the back of the incubator. She said, the usually have to make babies face the back, but she'll do it happily cause she just loves that pic. Karen said she looks at it so intently...like she's memorizing it. She loves her sister. :)
When I talked to the nurse tonight for my nightly update, she said that Bella was super feisty this morning. She also woke up 15 minutes before her 8am feeding "screaming" for her breakfast! Instead of just being okay with being fed every 3 hours, she was HUNGRY! Once she was fed, she was a happy camper. Sounds crazy to me because neither Patrick or I have heard her cry since she was born! She mostly just sleeps. :) I think we may have a little stinker on our hands. :) Just can't wait to get that stinker home!

Well, I have been a pumping machine. I have been keeping with with Bella's feedings- so every 3 hours (8, 11, 2, and 5 around the clock) I pump for about 30 minutes. Needless to say, I am TIRED! The first few days of her life, I pumped every 3-4 hours and I went for longer stretches at night, which is WAY easier than 3 hours 24 hours/day! I feel like all I do is pump- I pump in the car, I pump when I visit Bella, I pump when I get home, I pump in the middle of the night....like I said. I am a pumping machine. No joke! By the time I'm done pumping, it's been about 30 minutes, and it's only 2.5 more hours til I have to start again! I've been very tired. Apparently Ava has noticed that too. When Patrick was putting her to bed tonight, Ava asked him why I was so tired. :) Sweet Ave.

Anyway, here is a picture of the top shelf in our freezer...we're getting very full! These are bottles that we bring to the hospital every few days so Bella has good, fresh milk so she can grow big and strong and come home to us!


That's about it for today. I will try to continue to update, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up with it everyday. I'll at least try to post a picture everyday. Hope all is well with everyone and thanks again for the continued prayers.

Special thanks to Bobbi for helping us get everything organized for Bella, my sister in law, Elizabeth (Booj!) for bringing us yummy chicken pot pie dinner, and my mom for carting me around town when Patrick couldn't so I could see Bella! I REALLY don't know what we would do without everyone's help!!! THANK YOU!!!