We have made a lot of progress in the last 9 days. Let’s catch up!

Liv is on 1.5 liters for her oxygen support. We have tried a couple of times to reduce it to 1 liter, but she is not quite ready and that is okay. She is able to come home on that amount of oxygen support.

Liv had an eye exam late last week and the results showed that her eyes are great! No more eyes exams in the NICU and she will have a follow-up in 3 to 6 months.

Olivia has been taking bottles for a week and is doing very well. Babies usually take some time to get used to eating, but since the beginning she has been able to take full bottles. Over the weekend, she made even more progress in her bottle feeding and is now able to finish her bottles during every feeding. It’s really remarkable and we are so proud of her. Today, they took the NG tube out of her nose and is now only feeding and receiving her medication by mouth. It’s so amazing to have one less thing on her precious face.

Liv’s surgery was tentatively scheduled for the 28th, but since she has done so well with her feedings, they were able to move her surgery up to Thursday! So, if you are the praying kind, or like sending good vibes, Thursday is the day. Her surgery should be around 1:30 pm, but could start earlier. There is a chance with the surgery she could have a small setback with her oxygen support, but we could be heading home next week!

It a very different experience because throughout most of our time in the NICU, Olivia’s progress has been slower and now we are on hyperspeed. We are ready and excited to have her come home, however, we will be sad to leave the community we have created here. We definitely have many people who we will be a part of our lives forever. Especially our primary nurses.

Lil’ Liv’s Numbers:

• Age: 21 weeks + 2 days
• Adjusted Age: 6 weeks + 6 days
• Weight: 10lbs and 7.69oz
• Length(Updated on Sundays): 21.46 in or 54.5 cm

Until next time…