6 days and counting....

First and foremost - lil' Miss Anne will be coming home Monday, December 8th!!!!!!! This is fabulous news - YES! The not-so-grand news is that she will be coming home with a feeding tube :~( They did her feeding study yesterday and determined that she is indeed aspirating during her feedings. We're told this is a maturity thing and she will out-grow it. However, she'll be on straight tube feedings for approximately 10 weeks and then they'll do another study to see if she's outgrown it.

Jeff 'n Mel are obviously very nervous and anxious about this. It's great that she's coming home, but it also leaves a lot of responsibility in their hands. Not only do they have to learn how to put her tube in (nothing any of us would want to have to do on our own child), but also they won't have the monitors and nurses for that extra boost of confidence/reassurance. How nerve-wracking!!!

We are so thankful that this is the only issue we are encountering with Anne. Being born at 2 lbs, 3 oz... there are so many hurdles that she's just flown right over. Not all parents/families are that fortunate... we know this! So altho it's nerve-racking to have to bring her home with a feeding tube, hopefully in a short 10 weeks we'll have leaped over this hurdle as well. PLEASE keep Jeff, Mel, Anne and family in your prayers. Lots of strength and patience needs granted to them! This may seem like a small job in the grand scheme of things, but when you've been through all that they have, you get worn down, and when your wore down any hurdle seems like another mission to jump the eiffel tower.

They will conquer this as they do any other.... and some day too soon we'll be watching Anne graduate from pre-school.

One last note - tradition carries on that when a baby comes home, lots of visitors arrive and are anxious to see the new baby (who isn't???)! I KNOW!!! HOWEVER, we have been notified by the hospital that Anne is to be carefully monitored and not be exposed to "bugs". Apparently preemies are susceptible to colds, flus, etc... a lot more-so than a full-term baby - and this will continue until the age of One (I think??). Obviously Jeff and Mel aren't going to keep her in isolation at home until she's a year-old (they'd go nuts-o)! But please be extra patient with them in your visits. I think i'm going to have to handcuff my mother to her couch (LOL!). It's going to be difficult for them to turn people down, but until they get comfortable with Anne just being home.... please just continue to keep them in your prayers.

Dec 1st Daily Splash of Joy: A laugh is just a smile with a soundtrack.