Almost There!

Sweet little girl waving at her adoring fans!

Don't you love her new tutu and headband (and round belly, while we're at it)?

We've got a "newborn" on our hands!

(at least that's what the tag in her dress says)

Now that she's recovered from her surgery, she's such a happy baby!

"Mom, can I come home with you?"

Soon Millie, soon.

What's New:

1. Millie is cuter than ever before. Just when we thought it couldn't happen...
2. She is now weighing in at 6 lbs on the dot!
3. We are less than a week from her due date, but we've come to terms with the fact that she will stay in the hospital a little longer :(
4. The NICU is overflowing with babies. The bed space capacity is 38 babies...they have over 60 right now. Some babies are sharing beds, and the NICU has overflown into labor and delivery, the NICU Classroom, and a few operating rooms in L&D. Even with this huge increase Millie still manages to have a (baby sized) king sized bed in the penthouse. Her nurses really love her.
5. Millie is up to eating 55 grams. She has been steadily eating 20ish on her own, but recently went up to 30-40. She has to be able to eat completely by herself before we can bring her home.
6. She successfully stayed on "room air" (meaning she kicked that nasal cannula to the curb) until today. She didn't really "need" it, but her sats have been steadily declining and her need for oxygen was becoming apparent. We are sad for her to have something up her nose and stickers on her face again, but we don't want her to have to work really hard to breathe. We want her to focus her energy on eating so we can bring her home! If it means coming home on oxygen, we're fine with that.

On an exciting note, I am gearing up for my maternity leave! This means I can finally get our home ready for this sweet girl. This 40+hours/week job plus 25-30hours/week at the hospital has really taken a toll on my housekeeping. And I can get my craft on! I bought a sewing machine a few weeks ago, so I can't wait to make her something.

On a really exciting note, we will find out Monday if the visiting policy is going to change in the NICU. That means if Millie stays much longer we might be able to bring in more people to meet her! I have a few local friends dying to see her, plus my Uncle KC is flying in from Chicago next week. I know pediatrics is full of children with RSV right now, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up...I just can't help it! Who wouldn't want to show this girl off?

So it looks like March 17th will be spent in the hospital after all. I'm a little sad, but I really only want to bring her home when she's ready. Hopefully that is sooner than later.