Genie in a Bottle

Yesterday we had some highs and lows.

Lows:

1.  Waking up weepy about saying goodbye to my girls at the end of the day.
2.  Planning to embark on the renowned/infamous Boston Duck Tour, and then walking my family the wrong way down the Esplanade--a long walk.
3.  Discovering that Tootsie's PICC line was not working or occluded.  Installing a new peripheral IV in Tootsie's tiny veins.  Hoping PICC line gets fixed.
4.  Feeling exhausted today.
5.  Tootsie sleeping through her sisters' two afternoon visits, and the Big Sis bottle-feeding plan having to be ditched.
6.  Saying goodbye to my girls.

Highs:

1.  Being reassured by helpful and understanding nurses throughout the day.
2.  Finding an awesome playground on the Esplanade where the girls played for an hour, and then treating them to their first frappuccinos.
3.  Finding that the PICC line began working again on its own.  Potential disaster averted.
4.  Spending some time in the hotel room in the afternoon resting and snuggling the girls.
5.  Tootsie being ready for her first bottle at the 6:00 feed, and all of us getting to watch her nurse feed her, as she gulped it down!
6.  Having a fun Italian dinner with both aunties and uncle, and with their help, saying goodbye in the most positive of ways.

I really enjoyed the characters of my daughters today--all of them.  Little Sis is wonderfully unpredictable, joyful, and funny.  She bursts out with hilarious and random remarks, and is loving and enthusiastic about all things baby.  One of the highlights of her day was being given a little kit of Tootsie's stuff from the NICU:  tiny diapers, thermometer, a little blood pressure cuff, a pacifier, a bottle, and the mask she wore under the bili lights.

Big Sis tells stories, chatting up me and her auntie, explains her feelings, and remains optimistic and resolute.  When she held Tootsie on her chest last night, she told me it was the best feeling in the world, and she couldn't wait to have her own babies.

Tootsie had two feeds last night that were combination breast and bottle, which means two feeds without using her NG tube.  It was so gratifying to have our little determined baby demonstrate she could do it in front of the girls so I could tell them that she is working hard to come home.  Today was a huge leap forward in her progress and my feelings of confidence about her and what the future looks like.  I left the hospital last night to catch up on more sleep at the hotel feeling much lighter and hopeful.  A great way to end an emotional day.

With the girls on a plane en route to home, our family will soon be in only two places, with two teams working hard to support each other on the opposite coast.  I'm feeling like it won't be too long before we are all together again.