Baby Grace making progress...

Grace is making some steady improvements-the biggest issue is probably the ventilator right now. She has begun to do some breathing on her own, but there are other aspects of the ventilator that she needs for her lungs. Her doctor believes that she is unable to get rid of the carbon dioxide in her lungs by herself. She is now off the milrinone and dopamine, and the nitric oxide is still being weaned. I am unable to hold Grace until she is off the nitric oxide, and at the rate they are weaning, she will be off it in 40 hours. She wakes up every once in awhile, and needs her hand and head touched and to be sung to, then she goes back to sleep. Grace's reputation from teh NICU has preceeded her, and everyone understands that if she is not sedated, she will start ripping out every tube and line she can get her hands on:) She had another heart echo yesterday, adn the cardiologist was very happy and said that it looked like two different echos between last Thursday and yesterday. Grace is going to start getting a little food through one of her lines today and see how she responds to that-she has been getting only protein for the last few days. I am sleeping in a fold out hospital chair right next to Grace every night-hospitals should really invest in actual beds for parents:) Greg's work has been difficult in allowing him time off to spend with Grace-not a family friendly company. We would love some prayer for him to have a job where he is not gone all the time. Prayers needed for Grace to get off this ventilator faster than the doctors think it will happen! Once she is off it, she can be held and not sedated any longer, and start returning to normal.