Cruising right along!

Just a quick update on Emma's progress the last few days:

* Her breathing tube is out! They removed it Thursday morning and put her on a Nasal CPAP machine and she is doing great! The nurses are slowly weening her from that and she will probably be on a Nasal Cannula within the next few days. The CPAP is just like an oxygen mask over her nose that provides the air pressure but she breathes all on her own, and the Cannula will be just 2 little prongs in her nose so that will be much more comfortable! She is using 21% oxygen, which is the same amount that we breathe so we don't think it will be too much longer until she is off any oxygen support!

* The fluid in her belly has not re-accumulated! It could come back at anytime with no warning, so keep praying that it wont!

* We started feeding her small amounts of breast milk through her feeding tube. Last night it did not agree with her tummy and she spit it all up. The nurse has been suctioning a lot of air and mucus from her belly so that may have been the cause. They fed her a smaller portion this morning and she seemed to do much better, no spit up!

* They removed her arterial line through her umbilical cord this morning so we got to hold her for the first time! What a magical moment for both of us! She seemed very comfortable in both of our arms.

* She has been pooping a lot so that is a great sign that things are flowing correctly!

We still have a long journey ahead of us but Emma Grace is doing amazingly well! All of the doctors and nurses are surprised and excited about how well she is doing and the progress she has made in such a short amount of time! Thank you so much for praying with us!