Angelic Nurses

Today I am so thankful for nurses, they have been the angels around us this week.  Yesterday a friend, who is an NICU nurse, came over to take care of Hope.  Shawn and I took Sadie to church for the first time in 12 weeks.  She was excited to play with all the toys and other kids, she didn't even look back!  It was so wonderful to be there, I was incredibly blessed by the time of worship.

While we were out, our sweet nurse did all the dirty work.  Seriously, she did all of the jobs that I like the least when it comes to caring for Hope.  She very kindly changed Hope's feeding tube for us, the worst task by far.  She also gave Hope a much needed bath, I really don't enjoy giving bathes to small babies.  Having Hope scream while she's slippery and moving around is simply too stressful on most days.  What a true gift to me, I was incredibly blessed by all of this and had a great time out with Shawn and Sadie.

We've had a night nurse in the house this week as well.  Since our coverage renews for the year on July 1st, we're able to have a nurse every night this week without running out of coverage.  The nursing agency sent Rachelle, a true gift to our family.  Hope really seems to like Rachelle and we feel completely comfortable with her in our home.  She is incredibly kind, I woke up to all the dishes in the sink being washed as well as the kitchen disinfected!  She took all the dirty laundry downstairs and even worked at putting some of my Hope notes into the scrapbook.  She clearly has a very kind heart and has a desire to serve the families that she works with.

All that to say, I am so thankful for our nurses and am starting this week with a lot of joy and hope for a great week.  Sleeping has made me a new woman and given me a lot more patience for Sadie as well!  We continue to be blessed by the kindness of our friends and have felt so touched that you're not tired of our journey.  It is a true blessing to know that Hope has not been forgotten, and that she continues to be prayed for faithfully.  That is the greatest gift we could ever receive, as we know that the power of prayer has carried Hope through this difficult journey thus far.

We are not overly concerned, but were disappointed that Hope has not gained any weight in the last 2 days.  We're hoping she'll be heavy today and we won't need to follow up with any visits to the hospital.  She has been gaining so well since we've been home, so we're praying that will continue.  She has reached 9 pounds and is usually doing very well.  There are still days that Hope takes very shallow breaths and needs to be watched very closely.  Her colour is still not great and we often stare at her to decide if she's just her usual blue, or extra blue.  She sure keeps us on our toes!