chug chug chug!

lydia finished 3 of her 4 bottle feedings today! the next step in that area is to bump her up to 6 bottle feedings a day (rather than by feeding tube), then to all 8 feedings being by bottle. she is just chugging (get it??) along the road to absolutely normal eating. oh! and she pulled out her feeding tube. yet again. i think she is about done with those shenanigans.

the nurse on duty tonight told kirk and chelsea that she is going to do her best to get lydia out of her box and into a normal bed. i know they are both ready for more open access to her. i wish i could picket outside of lydia's window all night chanting "normal bed! normal bed! no more space pod! normal bed!" just to get the point across to the folks in charge. just kidding. that would be ridiculous. all the noise would keep that sweet little girl up and i know she needs plenty of sleep to grow. i'll be writing multiple letters to slip under the nursery door instead...

oh man.

well. false alarm.* sweet lydia love didn't gain a whole pound. there was a miscommunication with one of the nurses yesterday. however, she did gain some ounces. 2.5 ounces to be exact. so she actually weighs a whopping 3lbs 2ozs. (i left in the word whopping for good measure.) and the good news is she only has to weigh 3lbs 5ozs, instead of 4lbs as earlier stated,  to be moved out of the incubator. so in all reality, she is in kinda the same position as last post! close to getting out of that space pod.

she finished a bottle for both kirk and chelsea today. yeah! yeah! yeah!


*please note: this was not an error on my part. i would like to keep my strike count low for the time being, as my blogging stint here is not finish yet.

stronger.

chelsea gave me the recap by phone today rather than by text, so fingers crossed i remember everything correctly...

lydia weighed in today at a whopping 3lbs 13ozs! yup, you read that right. she has gained almost a whole pound since friday. she has also pulled out her feeding tube two more times since the last post which according to the nurse means she is getting stronger. another great sign she is gaining strength is that she has continued to do well finishing her bottles. kirk had the touch this afternoon, coaxing her to drink every drop.

she will be moved from the incubator into a regular open bed when she reaches 4lbs and can maintain her body temperature. she is right on track to make that glorious move in a few days or so!

also, yesterday the fantastic kelly of kelly is nice photography stopped by the hospital to take some pictures. to say i am giddy to see them may be an understatement. i'll be sure to post some of them here when they are ready.

tiny.

a tiny update for the tiny lady. chelsea said she was very active today. so wiggly this afternoon that she pulled out her feeding tube! the workouts must be doing her appetite well though. she completely finished her first bottle feeding this morning and most at her second feeding! please pray with us that she keeps it up as she has to finish her bottles at every feeding before they send her home. home sweet home.

i know the picture above is huge. but, the fact is, i don't care. story time should be taken seriously.

when visiting today i learned quickly that lydia has become quite the popular gal among the nurses and doctors. they think she is a cutie. a spunky little cutie. but, don't tell her the little part. she has no idea.

two things to pray for her specifically:
that she can begin to maintain her body temperature and that the rest of her levels remain exactly where they need to be.

it was so so good to see chelsea up and about a little. her in-laws took them out to lunch to a mexican place down the street. i'm sure she enjoyed the change of scenery for a bit. kirk got to venture further out than a few blocks today as well. i know settling into the new "normal" until they bring lydia home is tough, but they are doing it so gracefully. those two. they are phenomenal.

in no particular order, here are some quick snapped pictures from the past week or so. they are a lovely little family aren't they? sheesh!

lydia gained half an ounce overnight. that brings her up to 2lbs. 13.5oz.! they have also removed the IV port from her hand because her levels have remained right where they are supposed to be! a big deal, if you ask me. the first two feedings today were completely of chelsea's milk. miss lydia seems to prefer it.

chelsea had some skin on skin time with her this morning as well. our texting back and forth about this event included tons of exclamation marks. we are all just thrilled she is being able to hold her close!!!!! !!!!    !!!!!!   !!!!!!!  !! !

on the agenda for tonight:  they are going to start reading out loud to her which i know lydia will love. chelsea is also going to begin writing out their whole story this evening, while it is still fresh. so, that will be up in parts soon!

thank you, thank you, thank you for all the prayers. know that they are oh so appreciated.

a step at a time.

good news! chelsea was officially discharged from the hospital today! she's still super sore but feeling a bit more like herself. and while being released may be a baby step, it's a good step. and who are we kidding? we like anything baby related. she and kirk will be sticking close to the hospital until lydia is released as well. i think we should celebrate with a picture of that baby. yeah???

sweet sweet lydia. i want to kiss her face off. she has been chugging away at her bottles like a champ! if needed, they supplement with the feeding tube. since birth she has been breathing on her own. girl. is. a. pistol. chelsea should be starting skin to skin with her tomorrow. and oh goodness, that is an amazing thing.

chelsea is getting better. lydia is growing stonger. and hopefully kirk is resting easier. well,  i'll have to check with him on that. :)

more updates coming soon. i promise.

p.s.- you guys. those perfect lips are so chelsea's.