Weekend update

Hi Everybody,

Sorry we haven't written in a few days ... it's always nice when Robert writes it because that means I don't have to!! =) He was away Friday and Saturday and I just never found the time to update. I apologize.

Mia is doing pretty good... nothing drastic in either direction, so we're happy. =) We tried another Sprint test (the vent basically not giving her any breaths, but still giving her the oxygen) and she did great for the hour. It seemed as though she knew how long she was supposed to breathe on her own for because at around 1 hour and 5 minutes, she just stopped breathing on her own. I'd shake her leg a little and then she'd start breathing again. She scared me a few times because we still had to wait for the respiratory therapist to turn the machine back on!! Mia likes to get her Mommy nervous. =) The one hour really wiped her out, so the rest of the day and part of the following day, she rode the vent off and on. Yesterday and today, she was breathing very consistently, which we're happy for!

We found out today that Mia is tentatively scheduled for her surgeries on Wednesday. We'll find out tomorrow around what time it'll be happening. If she's the first patient, then it'll be at 7am. If she's not, then the doctors just call for the next patient after the previous one is finished. She will be having the trach, fundoplication (for her reflux), and g-tube surgeries done. Total time for the surgeries should be around 3 hours. Please, please pray for Mia especially since she'll have to go under general anesthesia and she'll likely be very uncomfortable and drugged up for about the first week. Pray her little body is strong enough and that everything heals quickly and properly so she can start discovering new things - ie, putting her fingers in her mouth, sucking on a pacifier, etc. With the trach, we'll be able to, much more freely, hold her in different positions; she'll be able to go in a bouncy seat; a swing ... possibly be able to graduate to an open crib.... exciting new things! Pray for wisdom for the surgeons, doctors, nurses and for Robert and I as well.

One thing I find exciting is that Mia is around 20-1/2'' long now and is up to 7 lbs 10-1/2 ounces!! She was born at around 18-7/8'' and 5 lbs 12 ounces! She's growing quite a bit... it's exciting! =)

I HAVE A NEW CAR!!!! I love it!! Robert flew out on Friday and drove the car back out here on Saturday. Mercedes jumped in the back seat and was so excited! She was crying when we were going back inside the house because she didn't want to get out to finish her dinner!! After we put Cedes to bed, I made Robert come with me so I could drive the car around the neighborhood... then, of course, I had to drop him off so I could take my Mom around the area! The whole time, I couldn't stop smiling... it's so fun to drive! It's a 2002 VW Passat Wagon. The previous owner took excellent care of it... it looks brand new!

Thank you to Christian for taking Robert to the airport and me to the hospital on Friday... we really appreciated it! Jennifer, thank you for picking me up from the hospital on Friday evening and also taking me to and from it on Saturday as well! I enjoyed meeting you and getting to know you. Chaplain Kelley, thank you for setting that up for me so I could be able to visit with my baby while I was without a car!

Thank you to everybody for the wonderful meals you've been bringing... it's such a blessing!

Much love to you all,
Rachael