A four letter word that starts with H

We are going there....home :)

There has been quite a turn of events in the last week.  On Saturday I received a phone call from one of the nurse practitioners.  Willa's reflux was not getting much better since starting her on medication.  We made the decision to start her on a formula that is specifically made for babies with bad reflux.  I still hope to be able to get her back to strictly breast milk.  She needs a little help until she outgrows the reflux.  We decided to give the formula a few days to see if she would take more full bottles.  The most she took was 4 out of the 8.  On Tuesday, Willa didn't finish one bottle.  I sat down with our nurse that day and cried.  She recommended calling a care consult with the Dr.'s, nurse practitioners, and speech to see if we could brainstorm something new to try.  When I got to the hospital on Wednesday morning, the doctor and nurses had already discussed what to try. 

They recommended Mitch and me room in with Willa for a couple nights - provide all her care and give her some consistency.  So that is where we are.  Her feeding tube was yanked out.  Willa now decides when she wants to eat and how much she wants to eat.  Before she was forced to eat every three hours and take 58 mls.  Now she is eating every 2-3 hours and is taking anywhere from 30-47 mls per feed. 

We still need to prove tonight that Willa can still gain weight or at least not lose much.  If all goes well tonight, we will be making our journey home to Anthony tomorrow. 

This isn't how I thought we would end our NICU journey.  I always thought I would come into the NICU one day and have them tell me - "Willa has finished all her bottles today!  She can go home tomorrow!" That never happened.  Instead, it was more like - let's shove this early bird off a branch and see if she can fly.  Right now she is flying, but I think before too long she will be soaring.

Please keep us in your prayers the next few days and weeks as we make this transition.  I ask that you give us a little time before we start with visitors.  I'll post a blog entry later about the NICU recommended requirements for our visitors and when we will be ready to have people over.