* Emma has been breathing much better since taking the diuretics, which just flushed all of the fluid from her body. She is now on 1 liter of oxygen, and breathing 21%-25%. She will continue to get one dose daily of the diuretic.
* Emma had her swallow study and upper gastrointestinal study done on Tuesday, and everything came back normal! She was very close to aspirating the breast milk/formula during the swallow study, so that is something we will have to continue to monitor until she has developed more. The good news, is that she started bottle feeding again! She still has to learn the suck-swallow-breathe rhythm, but she is already pacing herself rather than me having to lean the bottle away to remind her to breathe. That is huge progress!
* They have not repeated the echo cardiogram to see if the hole in the top septum of her heart has closed yet.
* Emma is continuing to improve during her daily occupational therapy sessions. There is a wide range of "normal" muscle tone for babies Emma's age and weight, and Emma is on the lower end of that range. Because of this, she will need continued physical therapy after we come home.
At this point, the only thing keeping Emma in the NICU is learning how to feed from a bottle, and weaning from the oxygen. Come on Emma Grace, you can do it!
There are very few moms that can understand the heartache of carrying a baby in your body then being separated from them after birth for an extended amount of time. This has been a very difficult journey for Justin and I, and although we rely on God for our strength, that doesn't take away the pain of not having Emma at home with us. We are so thankful for all of the prayers, and ask that you continue to pray for Emma and our family.
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