Giving Thanks

We've seen so much progress in the last few weeks, Rich and I keep taking stock of just how incredibly lucky we are. Both girls are in open cribs, both girls are nursing, and both girls are working on being able to come home.

Sadie's over five pounds these days, and Zoe's over four. The doctors think that Sadie could be home within the next two weeks and we're hoping Zoe's not too far behind her. To come home, the girls need to keep gaining weight, maintain their body temperature, keep their heart rate and oxygen levels from dropping for at least a week, and take all of their food by mouth. At this point, the only thing keeping Sadie from coming home is that she just doesn't have the energy to take all of her food by mouth yet, but she is really working on it, especially when we remind her just how much her parents cannot wait to bring her home! We're not positive, but we're almost certain that the thought of coming home sounds like a pretty good idea to Sadie too!

While we're quite certain Sadie is coming home first, we don't think it will be too long before her little sister comes following right behind her. As she's done throughout this journey, Zoe continues to surprise everyone at the hospital with all of her accomplishments. At this point though, Rich and I aren't that surprised by everything she does because we're perfectly aware of how strong and amazing she is! In fact, we often refer to her as our little tough girl, and we're pretty sure that if she were old enough to form sentences, she'd probably agree.

Seriously though, neither of us need the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday to remind us of just how lucky we are. Every second of every day that we are in the NICU, we are aware. And we are so grateful. Grateful that Zoe has made it to, and through, her surgery. Grateful that Sadie needs only to work on getting bigger. Grateful that we have such wonderful friends and family who have done so much to make this journey easier for us, donating or lending us every piece of baby gear we could imagine, making us dinners, and sending us helpful gifts that encourage us to be stronger. While these last few months have been a tremendous struggle for us, there are many days that we feel as if we have definitely hit the jackpot. We have each other, we have our two little baby girls, and we have amazing friends and family. What more could we ask for?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Rich and Debbie