Olivia is bottled twice a day. This morning, she took 20ml of her 30ml feeding. It doesn't seem like much when you consider only one ounce, but she is growing. Today, her weight is 3 pounds 9 ounces. Larissa and I gave her a bath in a 'little blue bathtub' and Olivia did not cry at all. To her, it must have felt like home.
I miss her. Children's Hospital is miles from our home. I asked about transferring her to a closer hospital, but Children's is considered the best place for her to be, so I accept the miles. Next week, Olivia will have a 'carseat test' where she will be positioned and strapped into a carseat for 30 minutes. Premature babies don't have the fat around their necks that keep their heads from toppling forward in ways that obstruct their airways. This test shows if she can maintain positioning for the average length of time to ride home from the hospital. I am not sure if she will need any monitoring machines when she comes home, because she isn't having breathing problems.
Even though I just had a C-section and a hysterectomy 2 weeks ago, I actually feel really good. My incision is healing. I am taking care of myself- eating and taking naps. Larissa and I are taking short walks with Amore. We took Larissa to see "Toy Story 3" this week while Nan was at Horse Camp. That was fun! Today, we picked Nan up from camp. She told us she had been bucked off her horse, but wasn't hurt. Nan said she had a good time, but felt homesick at times and of all the members of our family, Nan singled out one she missed the most. She said, "I really miss Amore."
This reminds me of a story my mom told me about my sister, Amy. When Amy was in first grade, she came home from school and handed our mother a school assignment. There was construction paper folded in half over a lined sheet of paper. On the cover, Amy had printed the words, "The person I admire most." Around these words there were carefully drawn pictures of a sunshine and flowers and birds. My mom said she felt very touched- at the thought of being a person so admired. With tears in her eyes, she opened to the inner page and, in Amy's best handwriting, our mother read, "The person I admire most is my dog."
A dog is at the heart of many families :) I know this is true of mine.
"Dogs don't lie, and why should I?
Strangers come, they growl and bark.
They know their loved ones in the dark.
Now let me, by night or day,
be just as full of truth as they."
Garrison Keillor
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