Charlotte Sophia Nance

Mom's mass email 9/14/2001:

I know that may of you have been waiting for an update and I apologize for any anxiety this may have caused. The days have passed without me being aware of which day it is. This afternoon I asked Ashley what day it was. I was surprised to hear that it was Wednesday!

Ashley came home yesterday from the hospital. Baby Charlotte is still in the Baby ICU and doing VERY well. For the first two days after she was born, she was being fed intravenously and receiving humidified air through a breathing tube. She has been a model patient and has not given us any major cause for concern. Yesterday they took her off the breathing treatment and dressed her in a little green sleeper. The doctor has said she is doing quite well.

Charlotte needs to be able to digest 3 [oz] of her mother's milk before she can be released from the hospital. She has been able to digest 1 CC [mL] so far. We are optimistic that she will be able to come home by this weekend.

Every day, Ashley is able to go to the hospital for what they call "touch time." Premature babies have a difficult time handling too much stimulation, so Ashley can only touch the baby every four hours. (which is much easier when you're in the hospital too rather than 45 minutes away. We only go once a day.). During "touch time" Ashley changes Charlotte's diaper, cuddles her, and kisses her. Ashley said she would like me to have the chance to hold Charlotte tomorrow when we go.

Malachi is doing well in spite of all the excitement around him. I don't think Charlotte is real to him yet, but his parent's have been talking to him about his new little sister and teaching him her name. It'll be interesting to see what he does when the baby comes home and inhabits his space.