4 Weeks Old

It’s hard to believe that it’s only been 4 weeks since Veronica was born.  That day seems so long ago; so much has happened since her birth.  I have connected with others who have had babies in the NICU, and some of them have said that in a year or so, when we look back, we won’t know how we ever made it through these days and weeks.  I already wonder that now when I look back on Veronica’s first few days.  She certainly has come a long way.  We have as well.  I am almost to the point where I have stopped asking myself why or how this happened; I am mostly focused on her progression and how grateful I am that she is doing as well as she is.  She continues to improve with her breathing and they are slowly weaning her off the CPAP machine.  The next step will be bubble CPAP, which is non mechanical - she will need to do all of the breathing on her own.  The NICU staff at George Washington are aggressive in terms of breathing and make their babies work.  This is a good thing, although it's sometimes hard to watch from a parent's perspective.  But their outcomes in terms of lung disease are much better than those of other NICUs.  And I learned today that they rarely discharge babies who require oxygen at home.  It's nice to start thinking about her being discharged....it's still a long ways away but what a wonderful day it will be.   

Some pictures from today: