12-18-08

One more day in the books for the Dodson family. Unfortunately, there will be no pictures accompanying this text. Our resident photographer took the day off. However, there is plenty of good news to share. She is absolutely beautiful, but everybody already knows that. Aunt Becky and Gammy got to spend some quality time with Zoey today. This was really the first chance for Becky to see her up close and personal. Zoey continues to do well and constantly amazes everyone (doctors included). Everybody loves her spunk and feisty personality. They always comment that she doesn't know that she is only 2+ pounds. Speaking of weight, she has gained 3 ounces since her birth. That means a whopping 2 pounds 12 ounces. Pretty soon she will be jumping up a weight class. Her digestive system continues to handle the increased feeding very well. The doctors are confident enough that they are increasing in bigger increments. The main bit of good news was that they believe she is stable enough to move to a step down unit. This is one more step closer to coming home. The step down unit means that she won't have all of the noisy monitors and lights keeping her awake at night. At this point she is pretty much doing everything on her own. Pretty amazing considering she is only 10 days old. Macy is still struggling with her blood pressure. We need to keep praying for her healing. It is amazing when you think about what her body has gone through this last week (physically and mentally). She is such a tough cookie. It wouldn't suprise anyone who knows her, but she nearly put a beat down on a doctor that told her she shouldn't go see her baby. This was not a smart thing to say. Against the doctor's orders she spent about 30 more minutes of kangaroo care with her baby girl. During that time her blood pressure was probably the lowest it has been in a long time. Both of my girls were in heaven at this time. I just wish there was more time for it. Our spirits are still high at this time. It is kind of sad knowing that we will be spending Christmas in a hotel room, but it is amazing how our priorities have changed. Nothing could take us away from our new family of 3. When you think about it, that is what is important. I can't wait to read the Christmas story to her on Christmas eve, just like my dad did for us. I promise we will always remember this Christmas. I hope that everything is going well for each of you. We appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers. We are blessed to have family and friends.

Mark, Macy, and Zoey