9.8.7

Today is a big day for our friends Rory and Rachel - it is their wedding day. Saela and I helped Steve pick out his suit, shirt, and tie. He looked mighty handsome all dressed up and as a bonus he has a fresh haircut. If you knew us in the beginning - you know that the first thing I ever noticed about Steve the day I met him was his super short clean haircut.

Due to Saela's stay in the RNICU, it has been recommended that we avoid crowded places for six months - hence we are having some Mommy/Daughter time this evening in lieu of joining Steve at the wedding. We are sorry that we cannot see Rory and Rachel - but sure are looking forward to hearing all about their day and seeing all of their pictures.

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

After the Bath

Saela after her 1st bath at home.

Two Weeks Old Already

Hello Everyone,

It's Saela again...I'm two weeks old today. I finally came home yesterday and it is so nice to be out of the hospital. So far, I think I've been pretty good - not too fussy for mom and dad. I eat every 2-4 hours and have had an appropriate number of wet and messy diapers. Jax seems to like to be outside and Jilly sniffs me a lot - but when I'm sleeping I do not even notice them barking. (Mom and Dad are thankful for that.)

That's really all there is to report for my first day at home. I'm going to take a little nap before I need to eat again!

I hope all are doing well.
Love,
Saela

Home at Last!!

Saela has come home at last!! It has been a long two weeks - but definitely worth the wait. Saela definitely has us wrapped around her little finger and she's only been home for three hours. The dogs behaved just as I expected. Jax sniffed, wanted to lick her and then said, "okay let's go out and play ball." Jilly has had much more interest in Saela. She's sniffed and sniffed and sniffed and hardly left her side. She is currently laying at the other end of the couch just watching this new little being that has come home with us. Each time Saela makes a sound a new round of sniffing ensues. Jilly really has been gentle though - so I'd say that the first meeting has been successful.

We have already had round one of poop up her back and thus Saela is on her second outfit and the first load of laundry (of many I'm sure) is in the wash. Steve successfully made the hand-off prior to finding the dirty diaper (although, I think he knew it was there.)

Wish us luck on our first night at home. Words cannot explain how nice it is to not be back up at the hospital right now. I cannot say enough about the RNICU staff and the amount of support they provided during this difficult time. As much as I wish it had never happened - on the days that are most stressful - I hope that I can look back and remember where we came from and that this too shall pass. My heart goes out to all of the families that have infants in NICUs - not all families are as lucky as we have been with Saela. Some families are there for weeks and months - not just 14 days. Some families never get to go home with their babies - and that is heart wrenching to witness.

Thank you all for your support and continued prayers. You have no idea how much your thoughts and prayers have helped us and Saela. I will continue to update this blog - it just may not be daily now as I'm sure our days will be quite busy for awhile.

Love,

Steve, Brenna, Saela, Jax & Jilly

Soon...

Saela has successfully transitioned to a crib and has had her feeding tube removed!! It is so nice to see her face without anything covering it up! Pictures will be forthcoming after the IV that is in her scalp is removed. (IVs do not last very long in neonates - thus the scalp IV was placed after one in each arm went bad.) Tomorrow she has one more dose of antibiotics and her hearing screen. We are hopeful that she will be coming home with us by Wednesday at the latest. We are very very excited to bring her home. We hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend!

Relaxing Day

Saela has taken all of her feedings orally today. She is slowly getting the hang of breastfeeding - but is at least taking the remainder by bottle. If she continues to feed well, we will be able to have her feeding tube removed! She should be out of her isolette by the end of the day today or early tomorrow. We're hopeful that by Tuesday/Wednesday of this week that we will be homeward bound.

Saela has had some new visitors over the weekend from Minnesota (Aunt Kara and Uncle Ben) and South Dakota (Grandpa Bill). They drove all night Friday just to come see her. Jax and Jilly have wondered what was up with all of the extra faces - I suppose they will be even more surprised when we bring home a permanent new face. My mom left today - it was sad to see her go - but she will be back as often as she is able to make the trip. All of our family and friends have been so helpful - we are truly blessed. We know that all of the prayers have helped to speed Saela's recovery.

Well - that's about all - I figure the less there is to report the better! Pretty soon we'll just have regular baby updates - won't that be nice!!

Have a Great Labor Day -
Love,
the Greens

Eat Eat Eat

Saela had another good day today. She finished two of her antibiotics and her third will finish on Tuesday morning. Through a combination of breast, bottle, and tubefeeding she tolerated enough calories to be able to discontinue nutrition through her IV. She still has a heplock for her last antibiotic - but otherwise has no other IV fluids. If she is eating well, we may be able to bring her home on Tuesday. She needs to be taking most of her meal by either the breast or the bottle and not be needing to be tube fed anymore before she can go home. This may be a hold up for her as she still gets pretty tuckered out after a long day. She should transition from her isolette to a crib tomorrow. It sure is nice to not have any equipment standing at the end of her bed. She had a bath tonight - this picture was taken just shortly after that - seeing her eyes open is so wonderful.

Saela is happy that MSU won their first football game of the season. Steve tells me that Saela is also excited about Appalachian States win over Michigan...the world has a new Spartan fan!

Go Green Go White - Have a Great Weekend!