Ready or Not?

Harper has been making some pretty big strides since Monday. She started her Prilosec, got her Gavage tube pulled, and now seems like a different kiddo. She seems more alert, more calm, much more willing to eat, and a little less timid. Tony and I have been trying to learn how to feed Harper and how to mix up her new formula. I’m horrible at math, but I’m learning that this was the moment my elementary school teacher was trying to prepare me for when we had to learn how to multiply fractions. Harper has finished all of her bottles since she started her reflux medicine and her food reached it’s “optimum thickness” for her.

So today, I got a call from Harper’s nurse today that she would be retaking her hearing test (remember, she did not pass the hearing test in her right ear the first time around). Tony was present for the second test and said she did a great job- passed both ears. I was also instructed to bring up Harper’s car seat today so she could complete her car seat test; she has to sit in her car seat for an hour and a half with a full tummy to prove that she can handle being transported. Her car seat test is probably being performed as I type this and I hope she passes with flying colors.

So, the big questions are: when will Sis come home? Is she ready to take this big step yet? My only worry is about her feeding. Right now there are some “tricks” that have to be implemented when it’s time to feed Harper; my concern is that I might not know all the tricks to help her eat. I hope that when she gets home, her eating takes off and we never look back, but I worry that I’ll get her home and have a little girl who starts losing weight because I don’t know quite what to do to help her. I’m sure the hospital won’t release Harper until she’s good and ready. So, maybe the better question is: Are we ready for Harper?  If not, I have a feeling we better get that way and I better learn all I can from the NICU nurses, because I think she’s coming home in the very foreseeable future!