Still Singin'!

Judah has had a great weekend so far, and continues to make progress! Today especially has been very exciting and encouraging. When I went to see Judah this morning (I'm there by 8 every morning) his night nurse had left a note on his board letting me know that he had taken 37cc from his bottle overnight. [Last night he also got moved to a new room! Just in case anyone was wondering what "seniority" looks like in the NICU, it's a window room. One became available (congrats to that mommy & daddy), so Judah got first dibs. Not excited about being in the NICU long enough to acquire seniority, but excited about the window:)] Then, when I was trying to nurse him this morning, we finally "got it"! At first I was getting discouraged and frustrated. I just held him for a minute while we took a break. I was ready to quit, but then I knew that we would come to a point that I would have to make a decision. Either I was going to stick with it, or I was going to have to give it up and go with the bottle. I was NOT ready to give up yet. So, I decided to try one more time. He was getting fussy again, and mid-cry, when his mouth was wide open, I got him on! He finally got a good latch and seal and nursed for 20 minutes! Because he nursed for that long, he didn't need to get any milk from his tube!! YAY!!! First feeding without any assistance from his tube - thank You, Jesus! He took another 20cc from the bottle this morning at 11, and nursed for another 10 min. this afternoon. He got the rest through his tube for each of those feedings. I saw the dr. when he rounded on Judah this morning, and he said that if Judah continues to progress through the weekend, then on Monday we should be able to "lock in on a plan". He's still on track for potentially coming home at the end of the week. Please, Lord! It's funny, because the closer we get to discharge, the more excited I get, obviously; but the harder it gets, too. Each time I see him it's harder to put him down again, even though I know each time brings me closer to the last time. I still just ache for him; and something about being so close to bringing him home makes the ache more acute sometimes. Well, keep my eyes on Jesus, and focus on the grace that He has given me for each moment of today. And tomorrow when we have to go to church without him again. But that's tomorrow, and I'm still living in the grace for today. One more thing: praise the Lord for wonderful compassionate nurses who share our excitement and eagerness for bringing Judah home.