Plenty Of Firsts This Week

It has been a busy week with plenty of first time events:

Sarah has been able to stay out of the incubator for the first time (and I don't think that she is ever going back),
Sarah has passed 5 pounds and keeps putting on weight,
Joella has quit work at Honeywell (although she has to officially go back for an hour or so during early August when her vacation is up),
Sarah has successfully nursed for more than 10 minutes,
Sarah took her first tub bath,
and I turned 34 years old.

Here are some pictures for you all to see this great progress:

For everyone's information, Sarah is doing great, but the nurses caution us to be patient because nursing full time is a big hurdle for preemies and it can take over a month for them to reach the point when they can go home. Sarah has been growing so fast that she actually needed a second blood transfusion this past Monday morning, but within hours she was energetic again and quickly put on more weight (she is now 5 pounds and 3 ounces). Currently, two nursing feedings 3 hours apart wear Sarah out so she still relies on the feeding tube for the majority of her diet. The ultimate test before release from the hospital occurs when Joella stays at the hospital for 48 straight hours and feeds Sarah successfully without needing the feeding tube.