Here is a picture from today. She's beginning to try to suck on anything near her mouth. Fingers, blanket, end of her feeding tube...if she can get it near her mouth, she sucks on it.

Katie is up to 3 bottles per day. She only got one during the time I was there today b/c the doctor yesterday didn't write orders for her to get 3. So, she got one during the day and will get the other 2 this evening and tonight. She's still sucking down the bottles in about 15 min.

We got the first of our "going home" talks today from a discharge nurse! The good news is that that means we're getting close to getting out. The bad news is, it looks like Katie may have to go home on oxygen after all. They have been decreasing the flow (how much air is given to her through the canulas). However, this has caused her to require more oxygen. When she's calm or sleeping, she's OK on lower oxygen, but when she gets mad or is gassy or working on a dirty diaper, she needs a little extra oxygen. They will give her several chances to try to go without any extra oxygen before we go home, but the way she's responded as they've decreased her flow makes them think she'll need oxygen at home.

If she does come home on oxygen, she'll have monitors and a tank hooked up to her. It's really not that bad, after how bad her lungs started out, and after the problems she's had keeping her airway open. We've avoided surgeries and other more drastic treatments, so a few months on oxygen will be OK.

I was kind of down about the possibility of not being totally free of tubes and wires after she comes home, but I was reading back through my journal, I know it'll be fine.