Saturday, September 27, 2008

Back Home

Well, two of the three Sandersons made the move back home this week. Kyle and I decided it was time for us to move out of the Ronald McDonald House and back into our little apartment in Newhall. I was getting quite homesick and ready to sleep in my own bed, shower in my own shower, and enjoy tiny bit of normalcy. It took us three days to get all the stuff we had accumulated in that little room back into our apartment and boy do we have our work cut out for us! We have bags and bags of thing to put away, a whole nursery to set up, and a whole lot of cleaning to do. But it is so wonderful to be back home!

Little Suzie, however, seems to be in no rush to come home at all. She hasn't made too much progress with her breathing in the past week and still is on oxygen. Kyle and I are realizing that she will most likely have to come home on oxygen, which is fine by us as long as we get to take her home! The great thing is that she is now on a low enough flow of oxygen for her to come home right now if she was ready. So really the one thing we are waiting on is for her to learn how to drink all her feeds from a bottle. She eats 47ml eight times a day. Right now she is taking about 20ml from a bottle once a day. So you can see we have a long way to go in that area. But it's just another opportunity for us to be patient and trust the Lord. We certainly do not want to take her home until she is completely ready, so we will just wait until that time comes.

It has been a bit of a challenge for me to not compare her with the other babies. Ever since we have moved into this most recent nursery (where babies are typically discharged from), all the babies around us come and go but Suzie just seems to stay put. They all seem to have no trouble taking all their bottles and she is the only one in the room still on oxygen. I confess that I am so tempted to be envious and wish that Suzie was doing as well as the other babies. But how selfish of me to not simply be happy for these other babies and grateful for how well Suzie really is doing! I have so much to be thankful for and hope that the Lord grows me in gratitude, trust, and truly loving others more than I love myself.

Here are some more of our favorite pictures.

I have so much fun dressing out little baby girl in very girly outfits:)


Since it looks like we'll be here for several more weeks, we have taken the liberty to make her crib as homey as possible. She has several blankets and toys from home as well as an aquarium and a mobile! She really enjoys watching the animals and listening to the music.


We also brought in an infant seat so that we can change her position some times. She looks like such a big girl in her seat!



She really hates her bath until we get her all covered up in a towel and wash her hair. She loves to have her little head massaged.

Well, that's about it for us here. Please pray that Suzie would continue to progress in her breathing and be able to learn how to eat all her feeds from a bottle. We are continually grateful for all the prayers and support of so many. Thank you for sharing in this journey with us. We praise our great God for you all!

6 comments:

Lori Osero said...

I keep your family in my thoughts often. Boy does Suzie look good! I love the outfit. I hope she continues to progress and will be home in her own bed soon too. I know some families are able to take their children home with the feeding tube, our son did. Sending warm wishes your way.
oserofamily.blogspot.com

hannah m said...

I found your blog via Moriah and then Reese's blogs. My daughter has CHARGE like Moriah.

I am so inspired by your beautiful family and your faith. When my daughter was born and in the NICU, I thought we'd never get to the point that she was taking enough of her feeds through the bottle to go home with us. But she made progress each day - progress that seemed slow sometimes while we were in the midst of it - but in the end it was amazing how far she came so quickly.

Look at how your Suzy has grown and blossomed! She is learning so much every day in the world outside her mama - so many little things that most people take for granted when dealing with a full term baby. What a strong spirit and body your Suzy has!

Enjoy readying your nest for Sweet Suzy.

All About Andrea (etc...) said...

Hi,
I love all the pictures. Suzie is looking great! I know that se is just going to take off! I have a bunch of things to send you for Suzie-my friend has a little girl that just turned 1 year.

We love you!
The Rostetters and 1 Sanderson

Kelly said...

oh wow, steph, suzie is looking so great! still praying and loving the updates. i'm glad you're home -- but it will be even sweeter when suzie can join you, won't it?

wagamama said...

Great to keep up! I'm glad you were able to move back home and I'm praying Suzie can join you soon. Thanks for the update and for sharing those beautiful pictures. If you need any help cleaning up around the house please feel free to give me a call, I'd love to help! Praying...

Lindsay said...

Praise the Lord that you guys are able to go home and have a piece about it! I have been praying for Suzy with Ella at night, and she always asks who Suzie is :-)

I'll keep praying!