The good news is, she is much more alert these days. She is waking up early for feedings, and demanding food before her scheduled time to eat (which is good, she's getting feisty!). And she is staying awake and alert more now. She is also eating more vigorously than she was before. These are all really good in the progress department!
However, she is still not taking all of the fluid they want her to take for her feedings. So because of that, she is still in the NICU.
Once again I am learning that it does no good to be impatient. Dwelling on how many days Arwen has been away from her family does not help her come home any faster, and only makes it more difficult for me. So I have been working on letting it go and not allowing myself to dwell on it. It's not easy, but it does help to just accept this as being our normal for the time being. I feel like that's the only way I made it almost 150 days in another state, sitting by Serenity's side while she lived in the NICU also -- training my brain to think of the situation as being the new normal. When I accept things as they are, I can feel myself relaxing a little bit. I'm still anxious for our baby girl to be home with us, don't get be wrong, but I'm able to make it through each day a little easier.
I'm constantly reminded of the passage in James 1:2-4
"2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing."
I don't like to lump our situation in with "trials", because when you've been through horrible experiences, some things just don't seem to compare on the same scale. However, this situation is stretching me nonetheless. And I have to remind myself that when I find myself in unpleasant situations, be joyful that it is an opportunity to grow as a person.
