Ruby Hope McKee Starling

Today is a rest day for both Mom and Ruby.  Yesterday I found out that I got in the New York City Marathon.  I'm already getting a reputation around the NICU as the running Mom and now it's only going to get worse.  Running does get me out of the hospital and allows me to clear my head. Tomorrow will be my first "long run" of my training, if Ruby allows to me get out that is.

Ruby earned a rest day, too.  For the past couple days we've been weaning her sedation and working on PO feedings.  Yesterday she decided the whole NICU needed to know that she was extubated.  As much as we love the fact the fact that she can now be heard when she cries, we knew she had  had to much.  Yesterday I mentioned to our nurse that I felt she was feeling the sedation wean and maybe tomorrow she could just work on feeding.  Our nurse agreed and she brought it up during rounds this morning.  We are so lucky that Ruby's team listens to our concerns.  Everyone agreed that she deserved a rest day.  Yesterday she was either sleeping fitfully or crying.  Today has been much better.  She has even had some calm awake time in which she plays with her beloved duck.

She is progressing with her feeding and we are so proud of her.  She took 12ml from the bottle this morning and 10 ml while breast feeding this afternoon.  She gets tired really easy, but it's apparent that she wants to eat.  Hopefully as her lungs get stronger it will become easier for her.  She has to figure out how to suck, swallow and breathe all at the same time.  We're going to work at her pace.

She is also making friends.  Even the supply cart man knows about Ruby and how far she's come.  Hospital employees stop us all the time to ask how she's doing.  It's just starting to hit Chris and I just how close we came to loosing her more than once.  It's a little scary at times how happy some the of Doctors are with how she's doing.  We've had more than one nurse tell us that stories like Ruby's are why they became nurses.  We still have a long road ahead of us, and anything could happen.  For now though Ruby is doing awesome and Mom and Dad are thrilled.
 

Here are some pics from earlier in the week we hadn't had a chance to share.

Ruby listening intently to her favorite book, Oh, The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss:

Ruby modeling her Maine Lobster onesie that a friend gave her:

Drying off after a bath: