First Bottle

First Bottle Part 1

First Bottle Part 2
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Lily again continues to amaze us and do very well with everything she is supposed to struggle with. It is obvious that God's Hand has been in her life from day one, because we alone do not deserve as much grace, mercy and blessings that have been poured over her from Day One. Lily, and the rest of the family, just had an incredible Thanksgiving Holiday. Holley got to dress her little girl for the first time, we were able to visit Lily together for the first time in about a month (thanks Vickie and Jamie). Lily is also starting to hold her own temperature with less bed warmth, she was successful with her first two bottle feedings, and even did well with her first attempt at nursing...no video of that. Ha Ha!

Lily now weighs in at a whopping 3 lb 8.5 oz (1600 grams) and is packing on about an ounce per day! They will continue to give Lily at least one bottle/mother feeding per day. The rest will be fed through her tube, but progress is sweet. It is so important that she continue to put on pounds so her body can be physically stronger. Since being in Level Two NICU, it seems that her O2 requirements have been higher than in Level Three and it concerns us. The nurses do work with her, but they are very busy feeding and caring for other babies. In Level Two, the nurse to baby ratio is less which keeps them very occupied. We are thankful and have been very pleased for the most part with the care she has been given at the hospital. Her two primary nurses from Level Three still come by and check on her. We owe a ton of thanks to Stephanie and Jackie for the care and compassion they had for our sweet Lily. Also a shout out to our new primary in Level Two, Chelsie! We can already tell that you will take great care of our daughter as well.

Now, what's next...we still are taking it day by day and Lily has some things she needs to improve on before we can talk about coming home. Please pray for these things specifically so she will meet these milestones quickly. First, that she continues to put on weight and fully maintain her own body temperature. Second, that her respiratory functions improve to the point that her daily dose of caffeine is no longer necessary. Third, that she continues to feed more and more from the bottle or Mom. Finally, please pray that she is able to wean off of O2 requirements quickly!

We are thankful for each and every one of you who keep up with our lives and our daughter's life through this blog. Her life has strengthened our Faith, and we pray that she has the same effect on you.