Poop!

The nurses at the NICU sometimes joke about how much of their day and conversations revolve around poop. It really is an important measurement of a baby's progress - it's color, consistency, volume, & frequency can tell you a lot. Unfortunately I wasn't there for it, but I bet there was lots of hullabaloo today - Sophie pooped twice. This is a really good sign, and wasn't really expected yet. It shows that her digestive system is starting to work again. It was still pale (which is a symptom of biliary atresia because of the lack of bile), but they wouldn't expect it to be much different at this point.

Sophie is also progressing in other areas as well. The doctors took her off the ventilator (which breathed for her), and she is now receiving oxygen through a cannula (the two prongs that go in the nostrils). They were able to wean her to a lower dose of pain medicine, which means she is a little more alert. She will probably start getting food on Wednesday. (She is now receiving liquid nutrition through an IV.) I can't hold her yet, so I stroke her head a little, and put my finger in my hand, which she grabs. I've started reading "Sophie's World" to her in case she can hear me. We started this tradition with Owen - Keith read "A Prayer for Owen Meany" to him after he was born.

I didn't get to spend that much time with her today because our family trip to IKEA took longer than I expected - including travel time the trip took 4 hours! That did include lunch at the IKEA restaurant (the Swedish meatballs are really good!). Owen had a ball, especially in the beds and kid's sections, but was overtired by the time we got home.

I think Owen is starting to catch on about having a sister. The teachers at school said that Owen spent most of the day Friday with a baby doll he called Sophie. One of the nurses at the hospital gave Owen a little stuffed dog, and said it was from Sophie, which he got a big kick out of ( he ran around saying "Sophie gave me a doggy!!"). She also gave Sophie a little stuffed horse (a really sweet gesture), which Sophie was grabbing today.

So overall Sophie is doing really well with her recovery, and we are in good spirits. Keith, Nana and Owen all have this week off from work/school, so we will likely spend some good quality family time together. Tonight we were taking a family "nap" (laying on the floor) together. I started getting emotional thinking about when Sophie comes home and our family will finally be whole - that still seems so far away, but with the liver surgery behind us, it is a big step closer to reality.