Waves of Blessing

It's late, and I should probably be heading to bed. But I just needed to sit down and write.

These past few days have been amazing. It feels like I'm on the beach and wave after wave of blessings are crashing against our shore.

First, I got the amazing news yesterday that Alicia was finally graduating out of the NICU. Yesterday, September 6, sometime in the afternoon, Alicia was moved out of the only home she's known and moved upstairs to the step-down less intensive care unit. This is a move that we've been eagerly waiting since the early days of Alicia's life. When we first heard/read about the step-down unit, the concept seemed so far off it felt like a mirage or far off dream- something to imagine but never to be reached. But yesterday when Linda called and gave me the news I practically jumped out of my seat with excitement.

Linda visited Alicia in her new home last night and for both visiting sections today, and Alicia is absolutely thriving. Like her first home in the NICU, she seems to be winning the hearts of nurses in this step-down unit. And she is absolutely just getting bigger and stronger, and closer and closer to coming home.

Earlier today when I called to check up on Alicia, they told me that she's doing well. She got up to 1780 grams (3 lbs. 15 oz.) today. That's almost 4 pounds! It seems like the past couple of days her weight has been snowballing. She gained 80 grams in the last two days. That's just amazing to me.

But wait! We're not done with the good news yet. There's still more.

She's eating better and better and can most of the time finish off all her milk on her own. In fact, yesterday before they moved her up, Alicia partook in one of her favorite hobbies again and pulled out her feeding tube. So the nurses as a "consequence" for her "bad behavior" made her finish all her milk by mouth. Which she did, and then she proceeded to sleep like . . . well a baby. =) And has an appetite. No worries about her not wanting to eat here. She puts up a major stink if she doesn't get fed on time. You nurses better watch out. =)

And here's the icing on top of huge cake of goodness. Linda tonight got to the Alicia's bedside and found her completely off the cannula and breathing on her own! The nurse came over and said, "Mama, are you surprised? She's breathing by herself!" =) Apparently, after observing that Alicia really hates having the cannula, and the fact that most of the time her cannula isn't really in her nose, they decided to let her try breathing on her own without the cannula, and she did really well. So they decided to just take her off the cannula all together. The equipment is still in her incubator with her, just in case. But she's been off for several hours now and doing fine. =)

Seriously, can anyone sense a build up to something, cause I can. It's like you're pushing this huge rock up a hill, and you're struggling and struggling, but you can sense that the pinnacle is coming up soon, and once you get that rock over the hump, gravity and inertia are going to take over. And that gravity and inertia is going to land our little girl at home with us in her own bed, and in our arms.

So friends, can I request that you just double up on the prayers? Let's pray her home! Doctors say another month, but I say she can come home before then! Who's with me?

Of course, if you're going to pray for her to come home, can I also ask that you pray that God would prepare Linda and I, mind, body, soul and spirit to receive our little bundle of joy into our lives?

Our greatest desire is to raise a Godly, loving, healthy princess who honors God and all people she comes in contact with. That's not too hard right? In God all things are possible.

Looking forward to making the grand announcement soon, friends. Stay tuned!