Hi to everyone! I hope you all had a nice holiday and Santa was good to everyone. Abby is only 3 weeks-well she's about 3 1/4, but she already is spoiled rotten. She got so many wonderful gifts-thanks to everyone!!! Ok, so here is the update. Abby is doing very well being back at Chester County. When we were at the hospital on Tuesday, we were talking to the physical therapist who saw how good Abby does with her pacifier, and she suggested trying to breast feed, or at least put Abby there and see what happens. It's very hard for preemies to eat by mouth because they have to suck, swallow and breath all at the same time. Usually it takes a while to get them to do it. Well we tried breast feeding and Abby did so well. She latched right on and went to town! So now we try breast or bottle once a shift to get her used to eating by mouth. I go in to see her in the am and once at night to breast feed and the rest of the time they try the bottle-she's not thrilled with the bottle. She is still on the feeding tube because sometimes she just isn't into either. It's very exciting because she gets more from me than she would from the feeding tube so hopefully we can fatten her up!
She is also doing very well on her cannula so they've been weening the oxygen down and might take her off today or tomorrow depending on how she does. Once they take her off the cannula they can take the feeding tube out her mouth and put in her nose which will make it easier to feed her by mouth. Once she is on regular feeds we can loose the feeding tube also, we just have to wait and see how she does.
Yesterday they finally gave Abby her blood transfusion. They've been talking about doing it for a few weeks and they decided it was time. They said she isn't gaining weight fast enough and isn't making enough blood cells on her own. So hopefully now that she has daddy's strong blood-he claims he's healthy as a horse-she'll be on the right track.
Here are some pictures of Abby during the holidays-we just had to dress her up!

She's in a preemie size here and it's still huge on her!
Her and daddy in their xmas colors.....

We kept trying to wake up but she just wasn't having it....

This is xmas eve, and this onzie was way too big and too much work with all her stuff hooked up so we just laid it on her....

Once again, sound asleep....