Happy Birthday To Me!

Jeremiah asked me a few days ago what I wanted for my birthday.  I honestly had no idea that my birthday was coming up.  Can you believe that?!  I have NO concept of time since I've been dealing with a sick baby.  Anyway, I responded that it would be nice if I could hold my baby.  Guess what?  I got to hold my sweet baby girl for one full hour ON my birthday!  It was the best birthday gift EVER!  That was my fourth time in the 33 days since Lynette arrived.  She did really well, too!  It took about 20 minutes to take her out of her incubator because of her lines but it was totally worth the wait.  

It's quite the ordeal to hold Lynette.  Her tubes had to be taped to me and then I had to be taped to the chair.  Literally.  All of this was to ensure that her ventilator tubes were stable enough to continue to provide her oxygen while I held her.

Still smiling!  Man, I was so excited.   

The nurses were so patient while I combed her hair.  They even helped me clean her up a little.  Lynette was so cozy and slept the entire time. 

This picture made it to the blog because Lynette's face is sooooo cute!

I love how she has blond hair!  The other side is the same way.  That spot on her face is tape residue from her old tube.  It should wash off.

My last moments before I passed her to Jeremiah. 

I stopped smiling for five seconds to yawn.  Unfortunately, exhaustion is a huge part of our lives right now.

I will cherish this day for a long time :o)

Here we go.  I said "smile" and I get this.  In case you're wondering, Lynette really is that yellow.  She started turning yellow last Thursday because of her direct bilirubin.  The culprit?  Her liver.  That was today's issue when we visited her.  I guess it's back to reality :o(

Anyway, I told Jeremiah to stop playing around and give me a real smile and this is what I got instead.  Truth be told, he was making me laugh a little.  You gotta love him :o)

Much better.  After I threatened his life, I FINALLY got a real smile.  

Eventually, it was time to put her back.  By the way, this is her "poop bag".  See that black spot almost to the far right of the bag?  That is her stoma.  That is her intestine sticking out of her abdomen.  When she poops, poop comes out of her intestine and into the bag.  I've seen it and I tell you no lie!  We are quite thrilled that she is pooping.  This is a good sign that her intestines are functioning as they should.  

Goodnight baby girl and thank you for a great birthday gift.  Mommy is still beaming :o) 

Back at home, my birthday turned out pretty good.  Thank you for all of the well wishes and for thinking about me!  I received candy, cupcakes, flowers, a song, text messages, and phone calls.  I can't believe that I won't be celebrating the entire month of March.  I just don't have the time or energy to invest in my birthday month this year.  Come to think of it, I don't remember a time when I celebrated my birthday only on the 11th.  My priority is obviously my family right now.   

Anyway, Lynette is still making some progress.  Her ventilator settings are almost as low as they can go.  That's good because she's not requiring a lot of oxygen.  She's taking my breast milk and digesting it well.  We can tell because she's pooping.  And, it's the right color poop!  She's urinating a ton which is also good because she's still getting rid of excess fluid.  Tomorrow, I hope her liver test results come back okay.  If the results are not good, the next step is to have a liver biopsy to determine what is going on with her liver.  That would mean another surgery.  Oh well, I'll just celebrate her successes and worry about tomorrow...tomorrow.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers.