To read the story of our precious Harlynn Renae, start here and follow the "next" links at the end of each post. Thank you for coming and sharing with us in this journey.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

The Final Countdown

Thursday night, Haley hit the magic weight of 1800 grams (1832 to be exact), which translates to 4 lbs! The nurse told us they would begin weaning her from her isolette and if she could maintain her temperature, they would move her to a crib. This is a process that takes about 18-24 hours, and they wouldn't start on it most likely until after 11 p.m. Brent and I were so excited that our little girl has been growing and gaining weight, and that she had finally reached the 4 pound mark!!

Friday I went in for her 9 a.m. feeding. Haley was in a crib. I'm no good at quick math, (any math, really, no matter the speed) but I knew it had been less than 12 hours, let alone 18 to 24!! My baby was movin' on up!! In a onsie, a sleeper, two blankets, and a hat, she was laying in her cocoon of warmth that symbolizes she is one step closer to coming home.

I have been exhausted these past couple of days and after I fed Haley in the afternoon, I nearly fell asleep holding her. I came home to snuggle up on my bed and take a much needed motherly snooze. In the meantime we had another meal brought to us. This meal thing has been a tremendous blessing. To everyone who has participated in that, not only are you fabulous in your choice and preparation of our cuisines, but your sheer desire to help us in this service is amazing. Thank you!!

Last night we went in for Haley's bath time. She had gained even more weight and was far cuter than when I was there a few hours before. She just tips the charts on this cuteness thing. She has been doing great with her temperatures, which is a move in the right direction!!

Dr. M came in - he was on shift last night instead of Dr. J. Dr. M is quite a character. I assure you Haley will never have another doctor like him, because I find it hard to believe there is another doctor like him! He's brilliant, but odd. So very odd. And random! But generally hysterical. Just his own character for sure.

In a most serious, straight-to-business fashion, he wheeled over to us in the office chair and grabbed Haley's charts. He put his reading glasses on and says to Brent and me, "I hate to tell you this.....but it looks like we're making your baby better."

HA!! Chalk one up to Dr. M, because that made me laugh.

As we were talking I asked him what it would entail from our end to bring her home. He started laughing and said he has six kids, and it will entail 18 years of worrying, wondering where your car is, and not getting any sleep. That wasn't what I meant, but he knew that. He then told us to just bring Haley some clothes, a car seat, and cash to pay the hospital bill. A big suitcase of cash. It just so happens I left my bank-robbing days behind when I gave my life to Jesus......I hope he likes pennies. That's about all I can fill a suitcase with. A small suitcase.

Last night Haley's nurse was going to try to get her picture taken, her hearing test done, and her car seat tolerance test done. The only thing left after those is her scan, which will be Sunday night. This scan is a far more sensitive piece of equipment than what she's on now, and will detect her heart rate and breathing, checking for abnormalities or bouts of apnea, etc. Once the results of the scan come back on Monday, Brent and I will either have to room-in in the hospital that night to learn how to use and live with the equipment they'll send her home on, or they'll just send her home free of equipment! Our baby is coming home!!

I chose to forego Haley's 9 a.m. feeding this morning so I could take advantage of sleeping in on a Saturday one last time. Of course I have been awake since 7:30. But since I didn't get to sleep until after midnight last night, I will be taking a mid-morning nap. As soon as this blog gets posted.

While I am filled with excitement over the progress and health of my baby girl, I need to ask you for more prayer. Dear friends of ours went into preterm labor (24 weeks gestation) with twins. Mom will be in the hospital for a very long time, as the doctors work to stave off infection and keep her from delivering, as long as possible. As in any preterm situation - every day Mom stays pregnant is a good day!! Please pray there will be no infection, please pray Mom gets to stay pregnant for several more weeks, and please pray for her health and sanity as she sits in a hospital room waiting from day-to-day to discover the ever-changing fate of her babies. We want these twins to develop in utero, and have strong hearts, lungs, and brains when they birth. I pray their story can be as miraculous as Haley's, if not more so!!

Thank you, everyone, for keeping tabs on Haley's progress, and for joining with us in prayer over these last 4+ weeks. We've been on an amazing journey, and God has been so gracious and ever-present!! Now I need to get my morning nap in, and wake Brent up so he can get the nursery painted. We have two days left!!

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