Update

Emily lost a few grams and was down to 5 pounds 0.9 ounces. Hopefully she is back up again by now but the little hiccups in weight gain are completely normal as long as she continues to gain overall.

So, I spoke with the doc again today. It was a new doc we hadn't met yet but we're used to that by now. She said that basically everything else is looking good and there is no apparent reason to keep her in the hospital, aside from her bradys. I mentioned that she has to go 5 days without a brady to be discharged so ... as soon as she does that ... Miss Emily will be coming home!! We know it can be a disappointing wait, that babies sometimes make it 3-4 days then have to start all over again, so we're not holding our breath yet. It is just good to know that she's on her 'final countdown'. As of this afternoon (around 4:00 Thursday) her last brady was at 6:00 Wednesday night. That puts her coming home Tuesday at the earliest. I haven't called to check on her yet tonight though so things could have changed. She is now taking all feedings by bottle and is at a minimum of 50 ml per feeding, but can have more if she wants it. As soon as she takes all 8 feedings in a 24 hour period without a problem they will remove her feeding tube. (YAY!)

She does have a few other things to do, shots to get and tests to pass, before being discharged but we have one foot out the door and we couldn't be more excited. Of course, since she's a preemie she is at a much greater risk for RSV (which can be very dangerous in very young, small babies) so we will be 'quarantined' until RSV season ends, which is the end of April. We won't really be taking her anywhere and she should not be around other children until then. The doc said to minimize trips to the grocery store or mall and to cancel any playdates Megan might have scheduled but that we're free to take all the walks we want to get moving and get some fresh air. It will be a quiet and lonely couple months but I think that's just what we all need right now. I am just looking forward to getting to know my little girl other than at 1130 am and 230 pm every day.

And for those of you looking for a chuckle ... remember how James was out of town when I went into labor and had Emily? Well, he is scheduled to be out of town the next two weeks!! Looks like he'll have to cancel another trip for Emily's homecoming. Poor guy ... he's still learning a new job (and a new boss) and things have been so crazy for him. It is kind of funny how it has all worked out, though I don't think he sees the humor just yet. He doesn't travel again until June!