Thursday Morning

Charlotte seems to improve everyday, and yesterday was no exception.  She's begun to eat often and well.  She's done so well that the her feeding tube was removed last night.  One more step in the right direction!

Grandma arrived safely yesterday afternoon, and Ollie is SO excited to have her here (and so are we!).  There is something so comforting about having your mother around...even when you're 30.

We were very lucky to have the Brazelton NBAS (Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale) administered to Charlotte yesterday afternoon.   The  evaluation tool is used to "assess not only the physical and neurological responses of newborns but also their emotional well-being and individual differences."  The end result was that Charlotte shows no signs of her early "detour," and we should have every hope that she will develop into a healthy, happy little girl.  It was music to our ears, as you might imagine.  

I would like to thank everyone again for your thoughts and prayers.  I have no doubt that the extra prayers have helped put everything into place for our family.  This may sound like a broken record, but your support has made all the difference for our family.  I am not sure how we would have made it through this difficult time without it.

The next step is a transfer back to Lakenheath.  Charlotte needs a few more days of IV drugs, which they can easily administer at the hospital on base.  Addenbrooks could use the bed space and we look forward to being a little closer to home.  I believe that we should be able to go home sometime this weekend, as long as everything continues to go well.  We'll keep you posted!

Thanks again for everything and we look forward to saying thank you in person to many of you very soon.

Love,

the Spauldings