Let's keep praying

This is a picture of the first time I got to hold her!

Today felt good. I woke up this morning a little more relaxed. Maybe because I am getting into a routine that somehow has become somewhat normal for me. I wake up, pump, clean the bottles, eat cereal, hop in the shower, do some internet research on preemies, pack a lunch and off to visit my little pumpkin. Today I need to thank Auntie Rebecca for being my taxi and not only taking me down, but she spent some time with us, and then took me to my doctors appt. THANK YOU!! My doctor apologized for being so blunt with us on the day that Amelia was born, but she said..there was just no other way to say it besides, YOU ARE GOING TO BE DELIVERED TODAY, SHE NEEDS TO COME OUT NOW. She was certainly surprised by our choice to leave and deliver at Froedert, but also said that if she was in our shoes, she wasn't sure she wouldn't have made the same decision we did. I certainly do not regret it and am glad we followed our guts and made the same decision together.

So my little Melia made mommy so proud today. She is considered Small for Gestational Age, meaning for her age, she is much smaller than she should be. She is in the bottom 10 percentile of a normal 30 week old. Even though she is tiny, she shows great maturity. Today I went in and only had 3 hours to spend with her. But then I had to pump as soon as I got there and then the nurse, Jen, had to run another baby to get an xray, so I couldn't kangaroo right away as I had wanted to. No big deal. So instead, I went over to her little isolette and started to talk to her and try to explain to her how her little tummy is supposed to work. Maybe she just need someone to tell her, right? They had just given her her first dose of milk at 1:00pm. She was sound asleep. But within seconds of me starting to talk to her, she started to move her little eyebrows up and soon she was wide awake cuz she KNEW my voice and was looking for mommy!! OOOOHhh....my little sweet precious girl. I finally got her on my chest and she was out like a light again. Her heart rate was so steady at 169 and only would go up 1 or 2 points, so that told me she was nice and relaxed.

I finally got to change my first diaper today. She did great. No crying, just wide awake checking things out. She also will grab your finger and not let it go, another sign of maturity. So even though she is small, she is smart as a cookie. Wait...how smart can cookies be? Hmm...anyways, she's smart. She is going to have to be smart with her Grammy and Uncle Ryan as teachers.

Mike went to go visit her this morning for 15 minutes to say good morning to his daughter. He started his first full day of work. He was headed back to the NICU for a little kangaroo time himself. We are going to see how well she tolerates both of us in one day. I am sure she will do just fine.

Please pray for her little digestive system today and hope that my little talk with her worked so that we can actually continue feeding her! Her bilirubin levels where also still down, so NO light two day's in a row! Keep making small little Amelia footsteps.

Tomorrow Grandpa Hetzel is going to drive his daughter down to go be with his granddaughter. Better watch out Dad...she will steal your heart and never give it back!