March 18

To those of you who are having anxiety because I haven't posted anything for several days: relax. No news is good news :) Basically, nothing significant has changed with Elsie and I've been too busy to think up anything interesting or inspiring. I have been going a little crazy with nesting. I know I'm not pregnant, but I've still gotta get stuff ready before this baby comes home! And to be honest, I kinda hate the word "nesting". So I'm going to pretend that I just said that I've been going a little crazy with spring cleaning. "Nesting" is right up there on the top of my annoying word list along with "prego" and "baby hungry". Anyway, I've been cleaning and organizing and trying to get things taken care of, and in general, creating more of a mess than it was before.

Elsie is still doing good on the CPAP. She didn't have any significant downturns after stopping the steroids, but her oxygen levels have been in the 40s, which means that she's working hard to breathe on her own and needs support, but is still doing well enough that she doesn't need to go back on the NIPPV CPAP.

Elsie is also gaining weight steadily; she was 3 pounds 14 ounces on Sunday evening, so we're expecting to hit the 4 pound mark any day. However, she's mostly just storing the weight away on her chubby little body, and isn't getting significantly taller. Just fatter. Her double chin is absolutely enormous, and I just adore seeing the little tiny fat rolls on her thighs, where they used to be as thin as a pencil. I've never had a chubby baby before. Anyway, they're cutting back on her feeding a little so that she doesn't turn into a 4-pound blimp.

After she reaches 4 pounds and can reliably maintain her own temperature, which she has been doing really well lately, she will be gradually moved into an open crib instead of an isolette. She will then be able to wear clothes & hats (mostly boring standard hospital-issued clothes, but still so fun to think about putting her in tiny clothes!!) and be wrapped in blankies like a full-term baby.

That's all I've got for today, folks. I hope things are going well for all of you. Thanks for all of your continued support.