Day 3

Day 3 has shown progress. E is off all bilirubin lights, which means that we can hold her anytime. She also loses the stylish protective eyewear she's been wearing so we can actually see her eyes (which have very fair brows and long curly lashes). The neonatalogist who came around this morning has put her on a 3-hour feeding plan where we'll continue to try and feed her with a bottle, but they will use gavage (e.g., feeding tube) to increase the levels of breast milk/formula that she's receiving.

She's pretty sleepy still, both from the trip (as T says) and from the jaundice/red blood cell things. We're hoping to see a more alert E in 48 hours or so, but it will take some time for her to recover from the complications. If she does well, we're hoping to bring her home next weekend, although no one here is holding our breaths.

M. came up to the NICU today (Saturday) to see E. Once again, she was very tender and curious. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to hold her, but she was fascinated by all the wires and such. T. and I really debated having her up, but she did great and we'll continue to help M. with questions and such.

Our days and nights are spent divided between the NICU and home. T and I are switching long days at the NICU versus long days spent with M. Both are exhausting but rewarding.