NICU Day 57 ~ (February 2nd)

Noelle turned 8 weeks old at 11:27AM today, and it was a little ironic that we had "flashbacks" in the NICU today.  Her little "neighbors" have all switched over in the past few days...one even this afternoon.  It was amazing to witness the preparation and the process for another little one entering the NICU and be reminded of what would have been happening the morning that Noelle was born.  The team was prepped and prepared and was fully aware of what was happening upstairs, long before the baby was born and actually made it into the NICU.  The care and dedication is so evident, and we were thankful yet again for all the people that have cared for Noelle not only on the day she was born but through the past 8 weeks.  We have made true friends that we will have for life, and we are ever grateful for these new relationships and especially for how they have impacted our daughter.  We also were reminded of the "old days."  How quickly we forget things that we were still experiencing only a few short weeks ago...things like heel pricks and blood gases, PICC lines and heplocks, blood transfusions and antibiotics, PIP and PEEP (on the ventilator settings), and the list goes on and on.  Our tiny miracle now weighs 1 lb. 11 oz., is starting to take her feeds from a bottle, and is breathing on her own with some oxygen support.  Do we still have a long road to walk?  Yes.  Are we going home any time soon? No.  But by God's grace, we have come incredibly far, and we were reminded of that today.  Do the prayer requests continue?  Yes.  But for today, we are just going to say, "Thank you, Lord, and we praise You for what You have done and for what You will continue to do."

***As a reminder: if you are interested, Noelle's story is airing on our local FOX 8 news channel tonight at 10:00PM in the Bob Buckley's report.  If you are not local or do not have a television, you can watch it livestream online here: http://www.myfox8.com/news/livestreaming/ .