Emeline is three weeks old today and doing great! She had a doctor’s appointment today and she gained 12 ounces since last Friday!! That means she is now 6 lbs. 12 oz. The doctor was very excited and so was Emmy’s mom (me). I had been really worried that she wasn’t going to gain weight. She’s been eating a lot more though.

She is also taking half as much phenobarbital and will be done with it next Thursday. Hopefully that will end the oxygen also! We are really excited for her to come off of her oxygen. Not as excited as Emmy is though. One of her favorite things to do is rip it out of her nose or tear the tape off her cheeks. She is really getting strong!

Another exciting thing that happened today was that Emmy threw her first temper tantrum! She got really mad when Dr. Nichols put her on the scale and weighed her. She cried and screamed for a good five minutes afterward while he did his exam too. She cries a bit at night to wake us up to feed her but this was her first really loud angry cry! She wouldn’t stop until someone picked her up and got her dressed again. I was so proud! I know I shouldn’t be happy when my children cry but I’m glad that she’s working on her lung power!

In addition to being her three week celebration it is also her Uncle Christian’s bday so she will get her first taste of ice-cream cake (reprocessed through mom of course) (-: She is taking a nice long nap so she will have plenty of energy for the festivities ahead and I think I might just do the same!

Wow, my first time posting to my blog! I feel like such a computer nerd. Actually, I just feel like the wife of one!

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Well, in a matter of hours Emeline is going to be three weeks old! That was fast! She’s been home for a week now also. She is doing great! Last time the visiting nurse came her oxygen saturation was 100% and she had gained an ounce. She’s now 6 lb. 1oz. and we are hoping that she’ll be 6 lb. 2 oz. at her doctors appt. tommorow. I took her in to see all of the staff at the women’s clinic and the children’s clinic and they were all happy to see how well she is doing. They all can’t believe what a miracle she is! My obstetrician keeps saying “I’m not a very religious person but I know that we weren’t alone with her.” She says that they were just doing the same thing again and again and then suddenly it just worked and Emmy got immediately pink and started breathing. They also got to see Alex, my dad, and the bishop give her a blessing so they thought that was pretty neat.

Anyway, she is only taking half the previous amount of pheobarbital each day (she decreased her dosage today) and she gets to stay off oxygen for part of every day. Hopefully she will be done taking both by next week. She is staying awake a lot more each day and she’s a lot more active! It’s very exciting to see her do all of the things that other babies do. She even wakes up and cries at night when she’s hungry! In the hospital we were worried becuase she had never cried but she’s getting louder each day! It’s still exciting each time she cries at night! I’m sure after a few more months I won’t be as excited about it each time! Well, I better get to sleep so that I can get up later tonight!

I finally was able to watch a video clip of Emmy’s cousin Logan where he points to his cousin and says “Emmy”. He’s one silly kid! I guess Emmy is a lot easier to say than “Uncle Alex”, but come on…

Logan is Emmy’s only cousin, but he is silly enough for two or three. We’re excited to see him and his parents again (and to see Logan meet Emmy, because you know that is going to be good). We’ll make sure that Emmy sees more pictures of you, Logan! Emmy and Logan will have to wait until Christmastime to meet in person.

In the meantime, Emmy is doing great. Her oxygen levels are still high, and she should be off her oxygen within a week or so, which will make changing her, feeding her, and anything else we do with her a lot easier. She’s been a pretty good baby, and she’s definitely developing her cry a little more!

Emmy came home yesterday!!! Julia and I are both very glad that she came home, even if it means much less sleep for us. It’s kind of crazy, because I’m starting to feel a bit more like a dad – I’ve changed diapers without any help in the middle of the night, and I’m becoming an expert blanket-swaddler. I don’t think that even compares to what Julia’s done for her, though, which includes (among countless other things) sleeping (well, mostly fretting about being totally in charge of a NICU baby) in a very uncomfortable and undecorated room at the hospital. I’d gladly give up sleep for our beautiful baby!

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The doctors say she should be off her oxygen and medication within about two weeks, but in the meantime she’s doing great and looking cuter every day.

More pictures are coming, I promise!

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Emmy’s had an exciting week, which has left us pretty tired. She’s doing a lot better now, though, so she’s got great news! Emmy’s had visits this week from her Grandpa and Grandma Baker, Uncle Ray and Aunt Laura, Aunt Annah, and now her Grandma Layman is there as well.

This week Emmy moved rooms twice (and is now in the room that she’ll go home from- yeah!), was in and out of an isolette to help her regulate her temperature, and has had her oxygen flow reduced by quite a bit. Even after all this, she’s doing great! She’s sleeping much more regularly now and is getting more and more of her feedings from her mommy. In fact, if she keeps it up like this, she’ll probably be home by the end of the week! Keep praying for her, and she’ll do great! So the only thing left is that Emmy can get most (if not all) of her feedings for two days. We love you, Emmy!

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Ray and Laura came down to Albuquerque yesterday (on their anniversary! congrats!) and brought a few things for us as well as a Care Bear for Emmy. Laura even held Emmy for quite a while, and she was as good as could be! Emmy’s signs were up as high as they ever were when Laura was holding her, and again when Ray was talking to Emmy. Emmy is doing a lot better, she’s off her oxygen and she knows that she has lots of aunts, uncles, and other friends who love her very much and are praying for her. Here’s a little thank you from her!