Sam Update :)

Yesterday I was released from the hospital.  It was really weird to leave the hospital without Sam, and I even got teary eyed as we pulled out of the parking lot.  She's our baby and the thought of not being in the same building as her is a little crazy.  We came home, picked up Joey, gave her a nap then once she woke up, we dropped her off at Grandma's to head back to the hospital to see Samantha.  She was doing well and we got to see her awake which was fun!  Here's a video of her wigglin' around :)

Again, it was hard to leave her yesterday when we had to, but we know she is in great hands in the NICU.  The nurses are all so willing to answer our questions, and they even offer up information when we don't know what to ask.  The days are blending together, so I'll just let you know what they told us today about Sam as far as an update goes...

So today was a great day for Sam!  We got to visit her twice and she was doing well both times.  The first visit was during Joey's nap {thanks for watching her Liz}.  We are trying to go while Joey is asleep so she doesn't feel like we are dropping her off with someone each time we get the chance.  Anywho, Sam was doing well.  We got to change her diaper, check her temperature and talk to her!  They said her food digestion wasn't where they wanted it to be, so they slowed her feedings down to 2 hours instead of 1 hour.  Hopefully this will give her body time to digest all her food before her next feeding.  Here's the device they are using to regulate her food intake...

We left after about an hour of hanging out and headed home.  Tonight Aunt Amy came to hang out with Joey after we put her to sleep for the night so that we could go back and see Sam.  Thanks Aunt Amy!!

This visit was AWESOME!!!  There was a nurse there tonight named John who doesn't really play by the rules!  He let us know how she was doing which is great by the way!  Her breathing has stayed pretty consistant in the 40 to 60 breaths per minute range.  Her body temp is good and she is keeping her food down like she has been for the past few days!

All of a sudden, John went and got a rocking chair and told me to sit in it.  I thought it was because I just had a baby and what not, but then he started unhooking all her wires and I asked him "Am I gonna get to hold her??".  He said "Yep!".  

I had to be super careful because of her belly button, and we couldn't move her around a lot, but I GOT TO HOLD SAM!!!!  We were talking with her and holding her hands and keeping her from trying to pull things out of her.  

She did get a hold of the feeding tube and pull that out while I was holding her.  It was fine though because John let me feed her too!!!  She's been on the regulator, and she's supposed to be on it, but he said that she had a bottle feeding last night and it went well, so we should try it again tonight!!!

I got to hold/feed her for about 40 minutes or so and it was amazing!!  I loved our time tonight and John is our new favorite nurse!!! Once we were done, Sam was bundled up and put back under the warmer.

We gave her sweet kisses and came home with lots of fun memories!!  What a great night at the NICU!!!  Can't wait to see Sam tomorrow.  Hope the good news keeps rolling in!

Thanks for all your prayers everyone!  Please continue to pray for her complete healing.  Also pray that God continues to surround us with his love and understanding!  We have truely felt the blessing of your prayers over the last 5 days!