Phoebe will celebrate being alive for a week in little under 12 hours; SO much has happened in the last week, so I'll try to fill in some of the gaps that you have missed. Firstly it's important to say that a LOT can happen in a day in the NICU... one moment your tiny baby appears to be fighting with everything it has, and the next it is stable again and looking very content. As you can imagine this is a huge roller coaster for us emotionally, so please bear with me if I get details wrong, or miss them out completely!
Following Phoebe's blood loss, she has received a number of blood transfusions to keep her blood count up... We expect this to continue throughout her stay at the hospital so forgive me if we don't document it every time.
Within a couple of days in the NICU, Phoebe established her breathing brilliantly and was able to have her breathing tubes taken out and put on a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) which looks rather like a fighter pilot mask; This essentially gives a little pressure to the lungs, enabling Phoebe to initiate the breathing work herself.
This has been a fantastic step forward, although today she had her breathing lines put back in as they think that she had probably exhausted herself; It seems she was forgetting to breath so we're happy that they're giving her some assistance with it even though it feels a little like a step back. With that said, we expect that she'll have to make one step back to be able to take 2 steps forward; Once she builds up some energy again they'll return to the CPAP and she'll look like Maverick again!
Her blood pressure continues to sit at a normal level which is fantastic; They are confident that this should remain at a good level despite having a few moments where it has dipped - they are able to explain why it has gone down which is really good.
Following another ultrasound of her heart this morning, they are still confirming that the Ductus Arteriosis remains closed which is fantastic news; It is still quite possible that it will open again, but for the moment it doesn't look like it's an issue.
Phoebe's Platelet levels are still low, but they have noted a rise in these and they hope that they will continue to rise over the next couple of days.
Laura has been pumping milk every 3 hours for the past week, and will continue to do so until Phoebe actually comes home to us, and the great news is that within the last 24 hours she has started taking some milk through the feeding tube in her nose. They are giving her 1cc every 4 hours, which is like getting a tablespoon a day! She's not got a great appetite yet, but she's a K-S so I'm sure that will come.
The lines that go into her belly button will be removed in the next day or so, and they will replace those lines with a soft IV that will be able to stay in her arm or leg for a longer amount of time. Currently she receives a wonderful cocktail of drugs, fat, protein and goodness knows what else through these lines, so we're keen that she keeps this up in a different form.
Laura and I have had some really good times with her over the last week... Laura assisted with the change of a nappy on Friday, and took her temperature today. It's obviously hard coming to terms with not actually getting to hold our baby and not getting to take her home, but they think that Laura will be able to do some Kangaroo Care (Skin to Skin) within the week if things go well.
She really is a gorgeous little girl and we are SO proud that she is ours. She is a little fighter, and is already showing us that she's got something special about her. We are taking each day as it comes, and trying our best to remain positive about Phoebe whilst at the same time trying to settle into life in Langley, and look after Gracie. We're feeling very supported here which is fantastic and the church are being wonderful with us.
While this is a really tough time for us amid uncertainty, confusion and frustration we have really felt God looking after us over the last 2 weeks. Pheobe faces an uphill struggle as any 26 week old premmie does, but we're confident that God is on our side and will sustain her in this fight. We know that God has his massive hands surrounding her tiny body, and we know that his love is sufficient for all our pain and hurts when things haven't gone to our plan.
We're SO grateful for the HUGE support that we've received from our friends all around the world, and have felt so at peace knowing that people having been praying for us on every continent (bar antartica, but lets face it there's not really anyone there anyway!). We'd love your conitnued prayers as this is going to continue to be a huge strain emotionally and physically for all of us.
Phoebe is about 1hour away from us, so getting to see her is a mission in itself; We're already feeling the pressure of having to divide our time between 2 adorable girls, and we don't see this getting any easier in the future. Gracie is surviving, but not thriving... She is really missing her routine with Laura, and this is giving us all a lot of heatache and sleepless nights.
Thanks SO much for all your prayers, messages and emails... we hope to reply to them all in time, but please bear with us while we do! Lots of people have been asking for an address to send cards etc so if you fancy popping one in the post, you could send it to us at this address.
LEFC, 20719 - 48 Avenue, Langley, BC, Canada
From here on in, I will keep updates regular and to-the-point and will keep photos coming regularly as we get new ones. So here's some photos for you... I know that's probably all you wanted!!!
Laura with Phoebe just hours after delivery
And me...
The overwhelming amount of support needed to sustain little Phoebe
Phoebe on day 2 - looking much perkier!
In her new permanent home... Bay 17 of the BC Womens NICU!
Phoebe and her CPAP and designer eye-wear! 
Her name board... Still needs some artistic flare!
Phoebe receiving a cardiac ultrasound this morning
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