Sleeping Beauty!

Eliza is doing great! She lost her initial 10% of body weight as expected and is now gaining! She was 2lbs 13 oz at birth and then lost down to 2lbs 8 oz and is already back up to 2lbs 9.5 oz as of yesterday. They have increased her feedings from 3cc's every 6 hours to 7cc's every 3 hours! ( dont worry they did it gradually). So now she just needs to rest and grow and mature. Her nurses are great and they take very good care of her. We are able to hold her and feed her ( though it's still through a little tube that runs down her throat and into her belly ) and we change her diaper. She sucks on a pacifier and spends most of the time sleeping peacefully all wrapped and swaddled in a blanket. We do not want to make any projections as to when she will be home. It could take until her original due date March 13th or be weeks sooner. Only time will tell and we'd rather not set ourselves up for disappointment. She'll come home when she is ready! Thanks for the continued prayers and well wishes. We'll update as best we can.

Eliza Grace came to us a little earlier then expected. She was due to arrive in the beginning of March but due to the placenta separating from the uterine wall, the Doctors decided that she should be delivered via C-section at 6:00pm 1/8/09. Renee is recovering quickly and much better then expected from the c-section ( ironically, we were expecting a c-section because the doctors had planned on removing her right ovary due to an 8cm mass that, against the odds, disappeared on it's own and was only a normal ovary at the time of the surgery.) Eliza was 2lbs 13.5oz and 15 inches long. Though she was 9 weeks early, Eliza is very strong and "mature" for her gestational age. Akol and Renee don't want to make projections as to when she'll be out of the NICU and home. She will come home when she is ready and eating on her own and weighing over 4lbs. They removed the ventilator by 2:30 Friday afternoon and she is breathing well on her own.
Please don't be alarmed by the tubes and wires. She is hooked up to monitors to record her vital signs. There is an oxygen tube in her nose that is blowing "room air" just to stimulate her breathing functions but she is breathing on her own. She is being fed through a tube that goes into her mouth and to her belly. She is eating breast milk. Enjoy the photos and we will update every chance we can.

1/10/09: Mommy snuck downstairs to say goodnight and the nurse surprised her by letting her hold and feed the baby! ( she's still eating from a syringe until about 34 weeks when she can master the skills of sucking, swallowing and breathing at the same time. As you can see in the picture, we're already working on sucking and breathing with a pacifier.)

Daddy holding Eliza for the first time!!!! 1/12/09 (the syringe is from her feeding. She just had some mommy milk)