Emma update

There was good news and a little less than encouraging news today. Emma had her first meal today. She had one ml of milk at 8am and then again every 3 hours thereafter. Her little tummy is tolerating it as well as can be expected. That amount will be the norm for about a week or so before they start to increase her intake.

Little Emma was working too hard though so they did have to intubate her today. Per the doctors they want to give her surfactant which is a substance our lungs naturally produce. But given the fact that she has immature lungs, they have to give her a little boost. Once she's gotten all the medicine she needs they will be able to take the breathing tube out. Plus with her working so hard she was burning too many calories. She needs rest to help her put on some weight. I'd give her a few pounds of my body fat if I could! But she's getting some rest and looks very peaceful this evening.

Overall Emma is doing very well. They totally expected to have to intubate her. In fact the first time I saw her the nurse told me that she figured it would happen in her first couple hours of life. So the fact that she made it 48 hours shows how much of a fighter she is. Her older sister's favorite phrase (other than No) is "I do it myself!!". Emma seems to have adopted that same outlook already. I can already see the battles between those two that lie ahead in the years to come. And I look forward to all of it!

Britne and I know that there are a lot of folks out there praying for little Emma. The gratitude that we feel for it cannot be expressed. Please keep the prayers coming. Emma has a long road ahead and any help she can get is great! We love you guys!!