SGP is doing great!! As of this post, she weighs 3lbs 12ozs, but I suspect by the time you read this she'll be at least 3lbs 13ozs.

She got her first bottle on Saturday and did really well. She took 18 of her 28ccs in her allowed 15 minutes. She has to take as much of her bottle in 15 minutes as she can. And only one bottle a day to begin with. Babies at this age do have the instinct to "suck" the milk from the bottle, but they sometimes lack the ability to "suck, swallow and breathe" at the same time. It's just too tricky for them!

But after her first bottle, and a few desat episodes, she got the hang of it. On her second bottle (on Sunday), she took the entire 28cc's in 15 minutes!! I was one happy camper, as was she! She slept like a dream afterward!

Monday she got one bottle again, and by that time was up to 30cc's - of which she gladly took all of! So now today, since she's been doing so well, she gets 2 bottles!!

The sweet nurses experimented with different types of nipples for her. Started on the "preemie" nipple, which has a fast flow because preemies tend to have trouble getting good suction so the fast flow helps them. But it was too fast for her.

So they tried the "newborn" nipple, which has a bit of a slower flow, for babies that are good at getting the good suction and don't need that much extra help in the flow department. But it was still too fast for her.

So they tried the "NUK" nipple, which has a super slow flow, and more resembles the flow of breastfeeding. She did great on this one!! It was by far her favorite as she sucked the bottle dry and had a burp that rivaled some 12 year olds! And this time it was 31cc's!!

By tomorrow afternoon she'll be up to 33cc's per feeding, with twice a day bottles. Owen and I can't give her the bottle until she gets to all bottle feedings - and no tube feedings. This is because she can occasionally desat during her bottle feeding, and still has the chance she could choke. So the nurses have to give it to her until she gets the hang of it. Which is ok with me!

She's still in the isolette. She must weigh at least 1800 grams and be on all bottle feedings before she can go to the crib. Right now she weighs 1700 grams, so we're almost there. I'm guessing that she'll be in the crib by next Sunday or middle of next week. But that's a TOTAL guess. I could be way off!

And in order to come home, she must go 8 days with no Brady or Apnea episodes, and be healthy otherwise. Once she gets in the crib, they will wean her off of the caffeine and start the 8 day countdown. And every time she has an episode, the 8 days starts over. So I think at the earliest she'll be home around the week of October 12th, but I could be WAY off! So I'm not holding my breath!!

Lately I've not been sleeping well. I shouldn't say that...I sleep great...it's just not often enough! I'm not sure why, but I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that she's getting bigger and I'm having to pump more often in the middle of the night to keep up with her appetite. Plus it's getting hard to leave her at night because she's starting to fill out, and it seems like we should be able to have her home. Also we're spending all of our extra time getting the house ready for her arrival. As such we're either always thinking about her, and not sleeping...or we're busy doing something at the house...and not sleeping. I guess we're just getting our bodies ready for when she comes home. It's amazing how God still prepares us for this...just as He did when I was pregnant!

As a result of the lack of sleep, I nap when ever and where ever I can! Like today, I got to do Kangaroo Care with her twice, and both times I fell asleep! Not fully asleep of course, but it was so relaxing!!

During one of my naps, I was listening to the goings on around me, and began thanking God for how far we've come. Many of the babies in our pod are new, and I'm always overhearing those scary "possibilities" that we went through.

I'm so thankful that I can just sit with Sayla Grace on my chest, sound asleep and drooling, and close my eyes and not worry about a thing.

Below is a slide show of her recent bottle feeding! Enjoy!

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SGP is now 3lbs 9ozs!! I would've been 35 weeks tomorrow! As such,
the doctor thinks she should be ready to start once a day bottle
feeding either this weekend or the beginning of next week! I can't
wait!! It will only be once a day for now, and the nurses have to do
it until she gets the hang of it. And it will be a while after that
until she can breast feed. But we'll get to do that before we leave
for sure.

Also, she'll be 8 weeks on Wednesday, so she'll get the rest of her
vaccinations this week.

She had her 2nd eye test this past week and it came back good. No ROP
at the moment! Another check in 2 weeks.

That's about it for now. More later!

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As I sit here at Sayla Grace's bedside, I look to my left and see a grim reminder of where we came from. A tiny little baby in an open bed, on the CPAP machine, and hooked up to all sorts of contraptions.

Every time I see his parents, I see the desperation in their eyes, coupled with a small glimmer of hope. I've overheard the words "brain hemorrhage" and "blindness" from the doctors and nurses, and I'm reminded of the days when we were praying for those specific things.

It breaks my heart to watch these total strangers go through this process. I don't know if they know Jesus, but I long for the opportunity to tell them about Him.

I want to tell them how much hope He's given us. About the miracles He's performed for us over the past 2 months. How the Holy Spirit has comforted us in this time of great sadness in our lives.

Although I shouldn't say this has been a time of great sadness. It's actually been a season of great blessings! Looking back over the last 2 months I'm reminded of all of the amazing blessings we've had.

We were blessed to get an extra 2 weeks with her in my womb. We were blessed to have a healthy, pink and crying baby the night she was born. I was blessed to have no complications, after a delivery that turned out to be not so normal (my placenta got stuck and tore).

And we have been blessed these past two months to sail through all of our tests and milestones, only having one scare that, even in isolation we managed to get through.

God has blessed us immensely. And we are more than forever grateful. I'm constantly reminded of the debt His Son paid for us, and I wonder how I can possibly repay Him for these blessings that have been bestowed upon us.

And then I look back to my left. And I pray for another opportunity to share our story. I pray that even just one life can be changed for Christ through this season of our lives.

Just one, and I feel our circle will be complete. But we won't stop there. Because I look to my right, and see a baby in a crib, just a week from going home. And I'm reminded that one day we will go home. And we will put these days behind us.

I pray that we will never forget the story of grace bestowed upon us. I pray that we will forever tell her story, and continue to change lives for Christ.

Because even the smallest of hearts can change lives for His Kingdom.

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We're doing very well this week! Sayla Grace now weighs 3lbs 4.2ozs and is continuing to thrive!

She is slowly but surely making her own blood, and as of this post has not required any extra blood. They checked her hematocrit levels on Monday, and while low at 26.2, she's not been symptomatic. And her "retic" levels are at 3.1, right in the middle of the 2.5-6.5 range, meaning she is producing her own blood.

But just to be sure, they will check her levels again on Thursday, and should she be worse she'll get her 5th transfusion. This time with my blood.

Her Brady's have slowed to 1 or 2 a day. A product of the increased dosage of caffeine she's on. And she occasionally drops her O2 sats, requiring just a smidge of oxygen. Otherwise she almost always stay's on room air.

She has her second eye test tomorrow (Wednesday). This is to again check for Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). Her last check 2 weeks ago revealed she didn't have it, but there is still time for it to develop. Please be in prayer that she still does not have it!

And in the next week she'll have another bone density scan to check on her "Osteopenia of Prematurity" --basically brittle bones. Babies get calcium from their mommies in the 3rd trimester, so she got cheated out of that, resulting in her brittle bones. She's getting extra calcium in her food to help with that, along with extra vitamins.

Speaking of food, she's eating 28cc's every 3 hours, coupled with 30 calories per feeding. Since there are 30cc's in an ounce, she's getting roughly 7 ounces a day (if I did that math right!!). And so far I've been able to keep up with her, but I'm worried that as she gets bigger I'll have some trouble. Time and prayer will tell!

Overall she's doing great! Still no talk of bottle feeding or going to the crib, but I suspect we'll start once a day bottle feedings within the next 2 weeks or so. We'll see!!

I've got her room almost ready. Just need some decorations and it will be complete. I can't wait to see her in her pretty pink bedding and all cozy in her crib.

And I long for the day when I can rock her to sleep in her own room!! Hopefully not too much longer!!

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Check out the comparison pictures at 3 weeks (top) and 6 weeks (bottom) during bath time.

And here's 1 day old weighing 1lb 11ozs (top) and 6 weeks old weighing 2lbs 13ozs (bottom)...

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