Look how far she's come...

This picture is from the first week.

Here's Katie on the canulas. It seems like she grew those cheeks overnight!

She loves that pacifier. The only time she cried today was when that thing popped out of her mouth and I wasn't there fast enough to put it back in.

Today was a BIG day. We expected Katie to try C-PAP again today. I called early this morning to check and see how she was doing, and I found out that they decided to skip C-PAP and go on to nasal canulas. ( Those are the things that go in the nostrils and are connected to a tube that hooks over the ears and around the back of the head.) They also decided to go on and move her out of the isolette and into a crib. This decision was made after Katie "dirtied up" the isolette. I'll spare the details the nurse shared this morning, but it had to do with a very dirty diaper, and Katie not quite being done when the nurse went to change her.
They extubated at about 10:30 this morning, and so far she's doing well. She has a little stridor (the airway swelling), but it's not as bad as it has been on the other attempts.
One of the other moms in our pod let me take home her Rosary beads. I'm not sure of the whole story, but Pope John Paul II blessed them. She told me about all the times these beads have helped her family. She insisted I take them for a few days. I'm not Catholic, but I figured praying with some beads couldn't hurt. Each night before I go to sleep, I pray for all the babies in out pod. Last night, I prayed that Katie would only have to stay on C-PAP for a day or two, and then this morning, I found out we don't even have to worry about C-PAP! I'll admit, I'm not the most religious person I know, and I've even questioned God, but I can't find another explanation for Katie doing so well. The next prayer on the list is to come home!