It still doesn’t feel real. And it probably won’t until we are driving away with our little girl. She has lived her entire life, five months today, in a hospital and on Tuesday she gets to come home and experience the rest of the world.

We are so proud of our little fighter. We say it all the time, but we can’t say it enough. And now she is ready to take on a new challenge.

Are we ready? Well, we don’t really have an option, haha. We feel ready though. Her room is all set, but we know it will be an adjustment. We will be setting up new routines. And we will be doing everything for our little girl. I know it sounds weird because that’s what parents do, but when you have been in the NICU for five months and nurses have been caring for your little one, it will be an adjustment. But one that we are happy to take on.

Last night driving to the hospital, Jeremy broke into tears thinking about taking Olivia home. And when we got the hospital and entered the parking garage I started crying thinking this will be the last Friday we are here. It is crazy to think about. We told every security guard, nurse, respiratory therapist, front desk admin, and volunteer that we saw last night that Liv is coming home! And everyone was so excited. And now we are telling all of you and the world!

We have had people reaching out asking if there is anything they can do for us. Here are some ways. And we don’t expect anything from anyone, but we have learned from this experience that our people want to love on us in different ways and we appreciate anything.

• We definitely appreciate all of your love, prayers and good vibes. It is great that Liv is coming home, but we will still have some challenges. She is coming home on oxygen, so praying that her lungs will continue to grow stronger and she will eventually be weaned off this support. We will also be giving her breathing treatments, which is a new thing for us as well. And our days will be filled with appointments like the pediatrician, pulmonology, physical therapy, speech, ophthalmology, and others.
• As we transition home, not having to think about dinner every night is one less thing for us to have to worry about. So our meal train has been set back up. If you would like to make us a homemade meal, pick us up some yummy food, or even set it up to be delivered by DoorDash, you can do that here: https://mealtrain.com/m4q6z9
• Some of you may want to get something for Lil’ Liv. Our registry can be found here: https://my.babylist.com/oliviaroseanderson – just a heads up, if you want to purchase clothes, she is a growing girl. Anything above three months would be best.
• And then others of you may want to make a monetary donation. So many of you blessed us in the early days helping with our gas fund, which we are so thankful for. So now, any monetary donations will go towards our medical bills. You can make those donations through the meal train link or if you would rather make them directly to me, you can send them to my Venmo @DanielleAlysia.

I know many of you are also so excited to meet Olivia. And we are also very excited for that. We wish we could throw a huge party and have everyone over at the same time. However, because she was a micro preemie and her little lungs are still not fully developed, we have to take extra precautions to make sure she stays healthy. Even contracting a common cold could send us back to the hospital. We will be taking extra precautions so please don’t be offended if it may take more time to be able to see her. We are still in flu season, and we want to protect her. In the beginning we will be taking it slow, by having one family at a time come to visit her. We do request that if there is a time set for you to come and meet Liv and you are have any symptoms, even if you think they are just allergies, or anyone in your household is sick or has been sick recently, please reschedule. Our feelings will not be hurt. By doing that you will be showing us how much you care for Olivia and her well being. When you do visit we will ask that you wash your hands and avoid giving her kisses. Just two less ways to spread little germies. We appreciate you all for understanding this new chapter and supporting us and Olivia as she continues to get stronger.

Lil’ Liv’s Numbers:

• Age: 5 months!
• Adjusted Age: 7 weeks + 3 days
• Weight: 10lbs and 12.49oz
• Length(Updated on Sundays): 21.46 in or 54.5 cm

Until next time…