A ray of sunshine

Hi everyone

With some recent bad news that has knocked the wind out of my family, it turns out our Sophie sunshine is working her magic bringing light to a pretty dark place. We are so glad to have her and she is doing really really well.

In our doctor's meeting, the doc suggested that Sophie's ventilator may be causing her to stop breathing. Long story short, her little trachea is still kinda soft, so they were thinking she may be wiggling and moving the ventilator tube out of place. He suggested that they very carefully try to extubate her and see how she does with just some CPAP support (it's a tube under her nose that blows air constantly to help her breathe). She was extubated on Friday at 2pm, and has done amazing since. She has stopped having her "spells" where she doesn't breathe and needs to be assisted with the bag. She still has apneas, but they are little and she seems to be getting herself out of them. We are so incredibly proud and in awe of how much life and strength there is in this little girl. She inspires me to be strong every day.

Another bright spot is that I got to change her diaper and hold her against my skin for the first time. This is called "kangaroo care" - I literally zipped her up into the front of my hoodie against my skin and we snuggled for an hour and a half. I felt like the Sophie shaped hole that was missing from my heart had finally been filled. It was the most peaceful and satisfying time I have spent with her.

She continues to grow, and gain weight and breathe on her own. We can't ask for better. We've been told many times that having a preemie in the NICU is like being on a rollercoaster. Right now we are enjoying a smooth ride...hoping it lasts much longer.