Sorry in advance

Today marked day 175, and it was a great one for Arabella. 

She took part in the 'car seat test', which is a mandatory challenge for all babies born before 37 weeks gestation. The test runs for 1.5 hours, and it's to make sure that she's able to sit in a car seat safely, without any episodes of desaturation, apnea, or bradycardia. 

Belle did awesome. In fact, she really enjoyed herself. She loves sitting up, of course! 

At one point it looked like she wanted to say, "Dadda, I'm ready. You may take me home now, please and thank you."

Kiera and I can't wait to take her to all sorts of places...eventually 😃

Once we're home we'll isolate ourselves a little bit. That's expected behaviour, isn't it?

We've been told to generally stay away from public spaces. And during cold and flu season we won't be going out much at all. Should Arabella catch a cold or virus, it might mean going back to the hospital. 

We've spent enough time in the hospital this year 😛

We need Arabella's lungs and immune system to get stronger before we really start to venture out. It's going to take time, so please forgive us if we're a little over-the-top.

We'll still go out for her appointments. We'll take her on plenty of walks. We'll definitely have visitors come over. But anyone that comes to see us needs to be 100% sure that they are healthy. 

Kiera and I were joking about having our visitors read and sign a consent form upon entering our house (much like they do in the NICU).

Have you had the following symptoms in the last 24 hours, or have you been around anyone with these symptoms?

Fever? Headache? Feeling unwell? Lacking in energy? Rashes? Sores? Vomiting? Diarrhea?

I know what you're thinking. Yes, that would be going overboard, and no, we won't be doing that 😊

We just want everyone to be aware. Premature babies are at a far greater risk then a healthy term baby. Arabella would be less able to fight off an infection, and we need to continue to be extra cautious. The same rules still apply. 

It's been a long road for us, so we're saying sorry in advance. Please don't be offended if we check you at the door 😂 

We're sorry if we get a little annoying, but everything will get better in time. I promise.

This is Arabella noticing the TV. She knows where it is in the room, and she won't glance away. We're forced to turn it off.

Dad says, "No TV!"

"Uh-huh. Sure thing, dad."

Arabella has continued to tolerate her feeds via the gravity bag. She's been doing well with her bottle, too, and we're hoping she does even better at home.

Home...I almost can't believe it. We're just around the corner now. Kiera and I need to get our tissues ready, because we'll be shedding a lot of tears when we walk through that door. 

They will be the sweetest tears ever 💗