The latest on Gracie . . . with a bunch of photos!

Really good news!

They did an ultrasound scan of Gracie's brain and saw no blood . . . which is a very good sign, indeed!

"Her" nurse (at the moment--and maybe for another day or two--she has one particular nurse assigned specifically to her care) . . . "Her" nurse said all her vital signs have stabilized really well.

Again, we're not "out of the woods," but the signs are very hopeful. . . .

Once more, "her" nurse said she thinks Gracie will soon be assigned to share a nurse with another premie . . . because she is doing so well.

I thought I'd share a few photos with minor commentary.

Enjoy!

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It's so hard to give an idea of how big (or, rather, small!) Gracie is. . . . So we thought maybe a pencil would provide a clue. --Here she is laid next to a 7" pencil.

Well. . . . I don't think that quite does it.

"How about using a wedding ring?" asked Gracie's nurse, Diane.

So I handed mine over. . . . And, after sterilizing it, Diane proceeded to put it on Gracie's arm!

Gracie seemed to wear it as a badge of pride: "Doesn't it look great on me?!"

That still didn't do it for us.

"How about a measuring tape?"

"Actually . . . How big was she when she was born? I mean, how long was she?"

Perspective gives you a skewed view. She was 27.5cm long at birth . . . and here. --Just shy of 11 inches.

Well . . . It was time to feed her some more of Momma's milk. The staff had changed her breathing tube--replaced the original (tiny) one with one that is slightly bigger.

"It has made a world of difference," said Diane. "As soon as we got it in, all of her vital signs just seemed to settle down. She seems to really like it."

But in changing the breathing tube, they had to remove her feeding tube. --It was time to insert a new one. . . .

Diane just slid it in her mouth and down her throat! . . .

"Hey, hey! That's a lot of food!"

--I didn't notice how Gracie had thrown her arms up high over her head until after I looked at the photos. . . .

All the delicate ministrations of loving adults to this tiny little baby . . .

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Here's a picture of the apparatus that measures all her blood gas levels . . .

Amazing!

Well . . . A few last parting shots.

"'Bye-bye, precious baby! Keep up the good fight, little girl. Grandma and grandpa love you!"