NICU Day 24

So, Bella is still in the NICU- just finishing up day 24. That's a long time for a mom to be away from her baby...just so you know. :(

I got sad today...again. I'm so tired of leaving her. But, church this morning was kinda perfect. It just made me think that....during this event that has completely rocked my world, God has been faithful to me (and Bella) and has kept her safe and strong and healthy. She's really had a miraculous course- I mean, I was barely into my 3rd trimester when she was born! Most 31 weekers don't do as well as she is. And, for that, I am forever grateful. I really don't know what I'd do if she wasn't well and was struggling. I think God knows that I might lose my mind if that were the case- so He's been very good to our family. And because He is always faithful to me, I will try (I'm only human!) to remain faithful as well and remember that He is watching over her and that she will come home when she is good and ready.

But, please, be soon.

Overall, she's still doing great- eating well, nursing well, gaining weight! Tonight, she weighs 4lbs 11oz!! She's been gaining close to an ounce every 24 hours or so, which is so great! So, there's really nothing I can complain about!

Her neonatologist has been out of town for the past 3 days (someone else covered for him while he was gone) and is coming back tomorrow. He's the one who said he thought she'd be able to come home this week, so I'm hoping that's still the case. We'll see. We brought the car seat in for her car seat test. (For preemies, they have to make sure that they can sit properly and still breath easily for a long-ish amount of time- 1 hour). She was sleeping in her car seat when I called tonight, and so far, she was doing great with no problem. They only have to do it once, so as long as she "passes" it, that's one less thing for us to worry about.

Everything else is about the same. She's such a sleepy little girl. I forget how much newborns sleep! And preemies sleep even more!!

She's had many visitors this week- Pop, Michee, Bobbi, Aunt Sarah. Ava and Patrick haven't been in to see her in a few days because they both had the sniffles, and we didn't want to take any chances with Bella's little immune system. But, I think they're good to go now, and Ava will probably go for a visit again tomorrow.

Here's our little mouth breather with her Pop. :)
WOW! Isn't it amazing that her hand is just as perfect as her Pop's...but soooooo teeny! First snuggle with Aunt Sarah!

In other news- Patrick starts back to school tomorrow for his second year of medical school. Shoot me now. But, I do think it will be better than last year for both of us simply because we know what to expect. BUT, this year, there's one little change- Bella!! :) We'll get through it, though, no doubt. Speaking of school- Ava starts back this week as well! She'll be going 3 days a week this year. Last year was 2 days and one day with Michee, but she's like a sponge right now and we thought it would be a good time to expose her to one extra day of school-ish experiences. We really love her school and she learns a lot there...so, we're happy. And she's excited!

This was a picture of Ava tonight- she had a little bit of her left over birthday cake and I had to put her ridiculous hair up on the top of her head so she wouldn't keep eating it!! That's all for now! Hopefully I'll have some exciting news for y'all sometime this week. Keep your fingers crossed....and, of course, keep those prayers coming.