Eliza Grace had her first bottle feeding today! She did very well for the first 2/3rds and then got tired and fell asleep. They tried to wake her to finish her feeding but that caused overstimulation ( she got the hiccups, no big deal ). They will give her a few more days to grow and rest and try to feed from the bottle again on Monday.

Eliza keeping warm

Eliza after another Bath

Sleeping peacefully after a long day at the museum.

Big Sister = Big Smile

Macey in her pink and brown polka dots

We got to give Eliza her bath today! Here are a few pictures of her without her feeding tube. ( they just took it out for the bath but hopefully it will be out for good next week) Her IV came out right after we left.

Eliza's still doing well. They are taking out her IV today ( yeah!! no more scary IV cords to worry about). She is currently eating breast milk with Human Milk Fortifier (HMF) to add calories. She has been having some issues with acid reflux. They are not sure if it has to do with the HMF so they are going to see if taking her off helps and then maybe adding some formula to the breast milk to add calories that way might work. For now, if she's off the HMF and not yet on formula we shouldn't expect much weight gain. She needs to progress at her own rate and every day is a step closer to coming home. ( or at least that what we keep telling ourselves.) They should offer her a bottle by Monday. If she takes it well then her feeding tube will be removed!! We keep making little steps forward. I guess that's why they call it "Baby steps"!

Eliza is getting bigger every day! She's up to 3lbs 5 oz. She is now in the intermediate NICU where we are encouraged to change her diaper and give her a bath and get prepared to take her home. She still needs to gain weight and hopefully they will attempt bottle feeding her by this weekend. She is currently just on clear IV fluids but they are hoping to remove the IV soon as she doesn't need any supplemental vitamins or lipids anymore. They are very pleased with her progress. ( The pictures are a little misleading. She's not as little as she looks in the photos. SHe is small just not that small)

Eliza with her Nona

Eliza is up to 3lbs 4oz and still doing great. We'll try to post more pictures soon!

Eliza is doing well. She is currently weighing in at a whopping 3lbs 2oz. ( hey it's progress) The Doctor said she's doing great! There are no threatening health concerns and they said she's the most stable baby in the NICU. Her only real obstacle is gaining weight and eating. She is tolerating her feedings well and is showing an appetite. She gets very fussy right before a feeding and doesn't like to have a wet diaper. Next Friday her gestational age will be 34 weeks and they will offer her a bottle to see if she can eat from that instead of the tube. She is currently eating 16cc's of breast milk every three hours. ( they have been increasing her feedings 2cc's at a time- every day or every other day). Once she is up to 30ccs ( which is equivalent to an ounce ), they can add human milk fortifier to her milk to add calories to her food and help her pack on some fat. It's important that she gains enough weight to regulate her own body temperature, something that she can't currently do on her own. Once she is on full feeding she will no longer need additional fluids and they will remove her IV. So basically she needs to: weigh at least 4 lbs, eat from a bottle or breast, and regulate her temperature before she can come home. This could be another two weeks or another 4 or 5 just depending on her rate of growth and how she does with the bottle. Keep your fingers crossed that she'll come home soon.

The big sister being silly in the car on the way to school. Macey is doing very well and although she has her "two year old moments" she's usually very sweet and very silly. She hasn't been able to see her little sister yet but when she sees her photos she says "that's baby Eliza! she's so pretty!" Hopefully Eliza will be home soon and I can get some pictures of my two girls together!

Eliza is looking up at my face and not at the camera. Her eyes look a little crossed in the photos but they are not really.

It's still too soon to tell what color her eyes are going to be. Right now they are a murky slate gray/blue. She is alert usually just before a feeding but spends most of the time sleeping peacfully and growing.

Eliza is still doing great. We have no new news to report which is good. She didn't lose or gain any weight today. Yesterday she didn't have a dirty diaper and today she had three, so we consider the fact that she didn't lose any weight a good thing :) Enjoy the new photos and we'll try to keep them coming.

Bubbie and Baby Eliza

Macey had a great day playing at the tallahassee museum with her Bubbie and Aunt Shawnie.

FYI: the photos may appear a little blurry. We try not to use the flash in the NICU

Amidst all these monitors and wires...

lies this little sleeping beauty!

Eliza is still doing great! Today is day 10 for her. The nurses have warned us that most Premature babies have a set back around 10-15days. they are not sure why exactly it happens but most babies tend to catch a virus or get tired around this time. They assure us it's common and are trying to prepare us in case it happens to Eliza. So far so good. She's in great hands. Last night they weighed her and she gained another OUNCE AND A HALF!! she's now up to 2lbs 11oz. You Grow Girl!!

The Big Sister: Macey Laine

Sleeping Beauty!