Mother's Day weekend

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day as a Mom! I had a wonderful weekend - my Mom and Joey, and Jenny, Craig and the kids came to Iowa City for the weekend. The kids swam, we visited Emily, some of us shopped, we made baby shower invitations, and today we all had brunch at Iowa River Power Company. I really appreciate everyone being so flexible and accomodating of the fact that we are here in Iowa City.

My mom and her kids :)

Me and my brother Joey

My sister and her family

Things have been going better at the hospital since my last post, when I was feeling pretty frustrated. Saturday, I got to give Emily a sponge bath, and then I got the best Mother's Day gift ever - I got to "kangaroo" her. This is where they lay Emily, in just a diaper, on my bare chest and we get to snuggle for a while. It was so great for both of us, I was so happy to have her close to me, and her vital signs were just amazing as she snoozed on my chest. They say I should be able to do this every day, as long as Emily is feeling healthy! And I'm not going to be afraid to ask!

Washing Emily's hair

Drying her off
"kangaroo care"


Emily is still on CPAP, they reduced the rate today which is one step closer to getting back to the nasal cannula...but it will probably still be several days before we get there. Her weight is now up to 2 lb 9.9 oz, and she is being fed 23 cc's of milk every 3 hours (about 2/3 of an ounce). These are all good things - slow, steady progress is what we want!