Waiting to Come Home

We had hoped that Emma would be coming home with us on Tuesday, but her NICU stay has been extended. Originally, they had hoped that all that would keep her in the hospital was the antibiotics that she is on. Those will be finished tomorrow night! Thank God we're done with the meningitis! After a head ultrasound on Wednesday, we found out that her spinal fluid is still draining slowly and it's building up causing pressure in her head. So back to the spinal taps. Actually, they call them lumbar punctures. I guess they think it sounds less scary than spinal tap. Anyway, they take the excess spinal fluid out to relieve the pressure. The hope is that as the meningitis goes away and the inflammation disappears, that the spinal fluid will begin to circulate normally again. Cross your fingers! Say a prayer! Whatever you do to make your wishes come true ... please do it for her! She had a 'lumbar puncture' on Wednesday. She'll also have on tomorrow and Tuesday. HOPEFULLY that will be it, but we just don't know. It's all a waiting game. The good thing is that her doctors all say she looks great and is doing exactly what she would be doing at her age!



In the meantime, Jeremy and I spend many hours each day with her.

Most of the time she is sleeping, but everday, she seems to have more and more awake time. It's amazing how quickly they change! She is gaining weight rapidly. She lost a pound of her birth weight and had a hard time at first gaining weight since she was sick, but now she gains significantly each day. She is a healthy 8 pounds 4 ounces! We love getting to know her. She has so many silly facial expressions. Of course, they are all by accident ... mostly refelxes or gas! They are sooo adorable though! She looks around and stares at us a lot too. I guess she's getting to know us too. We get to change her diapers, dress her and feed her several times a day. Sometimes I even put a bow in her hair! Her nurses brought a swing in for her since she has more awake times, so occasionally she goes for a ride in the swing. It's not quite the same has being at home, but we'll take it for now!