The past several days have been spent at Elise's bedside. She has continued to gain weight (today 4lbs 8.25 oz) and more importantly, continued to amaze us. It's almost surreal to have her here but yet we can't imagine what it was like without her. We just want to bundle her up and take her home! She is still taking most of her feedings through her feeding tube (through her nose) and until she is bottle feeding 100% of the time, she'll stay in the NICU. Currently, she takes a bottle 1.5 out of 8 meals. We are assured that one day it will just 'click' and most likely, it'll take another good week or two. Until then, we just have to snuggle her at the hospital!
It is extra important to spend as much skin-on-skin contact with her as possible-- as this helps to regulate her body temperature, encourages bonding (she can hear your heartbeat and breathing), along with a host of other things that are important to her development. Plus, the yellow smock is something that looks good on both Jeff and myself!
Aunt Amy has also gotten to hold and give Elise a bottle. We plan to cut her off if she continues to brainwash Elise into thinking cats are better than dogs! We are onto you Aunt Amy! As for our dogs, we bring home dirty clothes and blankets for them to smell. Initially, the new smell was exciting and worth a zillion sniffs but today, the smells didn't bring too much excitement...looks like they are getting ready for her to come home too.
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