Labor Day weekend

This weekend brought Riley a few positive steps in the right direction. On Sunday, they went for attempt #6 off the C-PAP and as of tonight, she was still doing really well. This time, we went to high-flow nasal cannulas, which will still provide a small amount of pressure. They decided to try it this way in an effort to make "baby steps" towards the breathing independence we are looking for. So far, it seems to be working. She has only had a few small episodes, but most of them are surrounding her getting gassy or pulling the tubes out of her nose. She did have a few very full diapers these past few days, so a little fussiness here and there is expected. The nurses have been doing their best to keep her stimulated - putting her in the bouncy seat, turning the mobile on, taking her out and holding her, and even lately she has been in a swing they have there in the NICU. She seems to enjoy all of it, but still loves it when Pam and I get to hold her. Every day this weekend she has just slept perfectly still in our arms, which is always a great feeling. They are going to wait a few days before making any changes to feedings or trying a bottle - again, baby steps. We don't want to throw too much at her at once - that seemed to be what was working against her the last few times.

Weight gain has slowed down a bit, probably due to being off the calorie-laden formula. Was at 8lb 10.5oz last night - been hovering around that the past few days. I think at this rate, we are still expecting to bring her home around 9lbs - such a huge change from the little 2lb bundle of joy that entered our lives over 3 months ago! We went through her closet today, and it looks like she has already grown out of not only half her clothes, but some of the diapers we have here as well!

Got a few good pics of her the last couple days...

Compare this picture to the early ones, where our hand covered her entire torso. Can't believe how big she has gotten! Not sure exactly, but I think she is around 20.5" (born at 14.5").

Great closeup of her face. We pulled out my baby album last week to compare, and she actually resembles me quite a bit! Has a few of Pam's features as well, but there's not doubt she is taking after her Daddy.

This one was from this afternoon, right after another bath. Her diaper had overflowed and got all over the place, so she had to be cleaned up. She did really well with it too, didn't even de-sat a bit!