Heading to the Outback Mate!

Kangaroo Care starts tonight! Jennifer and I will be heading to the NICU to spend at least an hour (could be more) of skin to skin contact with Jillian. The NICU here is pro Kangaroo Care and breast feeding. Studies show that is what is best for baby. :)

Jillian Update:
- She has been weened down to 1 L/min of flow from the canulet with room air
- Blood gases continue to be perfect
- As is expected Jillian has lost about 100 grams of weight since birth (completely normal)
- Jennifer is supplying all of her feedings now (3 mL / 3 hours)
- Her little bowels are working well but need time due to the magnesium
- Most of her calories have been devoted to adjusting to living outside of Mommy
- We're now praying that calories will begin to be devoted to growth

Jennifer Update:
- Jennifer may be released tomorrow - I'll let you know
- She is recovering slowly, this is nothing like our previous children
- As much as she would like to have visitors, she really has needed a lot of rest and quiet
- This recovery process will most likely take a good 4 - 6 weeks
- Specific prayer requests
- Blood pressure needs to come down more
- Platelet count (due to HELLP) needs to come up and stabalize
- She has a terrible headache and may have a complication from the epidural
- She may require another procedure so pray for miraculous healing so this is not necessary
- Quick healing from the surgery
- Peace and tranquility of spirit

I'll provide further updates later this evening. Please keep the prayers coming. Your prayers have been the reason things have been going so well. I will be sure to provide specific prayer requests so you can know specifically what to pray for.

I have reports that people are anxious to provide assistance. I will be working with Jennifer to come up with a list of needs so we can give everyone a chance to help. I'm beginning to get a handle on what how long it will take for things to return to "normal." I predict that Jennifer is looking at a recovery period of about 4 - 6 weeks. I also predict that Jillian will have a similar time period for her recovery. I therefore think that a realistic date for our family to be at home together to be March 1st. Remember, that I'm the eternal optimist, so I consider this the best case scenario. We're walking this out one day at a time and will allow God to set the time table, but I'm believing for nothing less than a miracle each and every day. I say all of this to help everyone understand how major a situation this is - it helps me to put things in perspective when I have a timetable.

God bless you all!

James