2 Pounds

The father-daughter day got extended longer then expected. Unfortunately I contracted a cold on my first outing outside of the hospital, and had been unable to see Grace since last Saturday night. My prayer was that the antibiotics would do their job and I would no longer be contagious by Friday. All week I was so looking forward to the reunion with Grace, but also Sam, as we have never been apart like this before; longer then 1 day (at least since we got married almost 2 years ago). I lived at my parents house in Burlington in order to keep Sam from getting sick and he commented that it feels like we are dating again with our late night video calls and phone devotions. 😂 I was finally able to go back today (Saturday) and it was so amazing to have our family back together again!

First time seeing Grace in 7 days 🥰

I am so thankful God kept Sam healthy, and allowed him to have this week with Grace. While he said he was often bored being in Toronto alone, he got to spend it holding Grace and loving on her! While I would have loved to have not gotten sick, the Lord still answered our prayers and allowed one of us to stay with our daughter 🙏🏼

Sam held Grace swaddled every day

Grace has joined the kilo club, which is a huge milestone! Now that she is 30 weeks gestation she has started to put on weight much faster which is amazing, and so fun to see her start to look more like a baby and less like an old man. We can now actually squish her now chubby-ish cheeks ❤️

Change time! "No photos please." 😆

She has had a really good week, very stable in general! On Tuesday Grace switched from CMV oxygen settings to CPAP settings which is even lower settings then before (the Respiratory Therapist has said that Grace is ahead for bother her age and weight). We are very thankful that her lungs are so strong.

Trying to suck her thumb

Grace got dressed up for my homecoming ❤️

She also received her sixth brain tap to remove excess CSF from her ventricles on Thursday. This meant that God answered our prayers and she didn't need a tap over the weekend. As normal she continues having her 3 head ultrasounds a weeks to monitor the fluid. The Infectious Disease team is using this most recent CSF to test if a bacterial culture will grow. They already got the first negative on April 2, however, if they get a second negative they will give the neuro team approval to book Grace's brain procedure. Currently the CSF is still negative for CoNs Meningitis bacteria as of this evening. Grace's antibiotics will continue for 6 weeks after the first negative, even if the surgery does happen sooner.

Grace's IV burns continue to heal well and the one on her left arm had scabbed over completely and actually fell of this week! Only time will tell how the one on her right leg heals, but the prayer is that there is no lasting damage to her ligaments. Tonight Grace will also go up on feeds to 6ml as she works her way back up to full feeds as she heals from NEC and her body learns to digest food through her Stoma.

Prayer Requests:

• Second negative from CS fluid

• Surgery booked soon! The sooner this happens the better, as brain taps are not a long term solution to the excess fluid and cause tissue damage.

• Our families health; physically, mentally, and spiritually.

• Thanksgiving for the blessing of Ronald McDonald Apartment, supportive family/friends, and sunshine.

• Perseverance and strength as Sam and I pack up our apartment (purge) and move our things into storage and get rid of most of our furniture.

God Bless!