One would think that I'd say that the perfect birthday gift was having my husband with me on my birthday or receiving some lavish birthday present. Nope. Though I would have loved for my husband to be with me on my birthday, I know it was impossible. Keeping my fingers crossed, I hope he can make it to Toronto to be with our daughter and me at the hospital on Christmas.

The perfect birthday gift was something amazing. Words cannot even begin to describe how amazing it was. First off, my Mom spent the entire day with me at the hospital with the baby. She woke up with me at 5AM as I "did my duty". Errrrmmm...That would be pumping breast milk! This amazed me because she just arrived from the Philippines and was extremely jet lagged. We left the house that I'm staying at very early and made our way to the hospital by BMW (bus, metro, walk)!

Mom got to meet her first granddaughter for the first time. It was such a special time. She is in awe of Little One too. The only thing is that Mom was upset she didn't get to hold Little One. The nurses and I had to explain that for preventative measures (infection control, etc) only parents are allowed to hold the babies in the NICU. Mom will get to hold Little One in a few weeks when we go home. I hope it's only a few more weeks!!!

Mom and I went out for Japanese food at lunch and she told me how amazed (ummm...how many times have I used that word in this post already???) she is at me getting up every few hours to pump, then commute to and from the hospital, taking care of the baby at the hospital, doing whatever running around and going to appointments, and having to do it all over again...seven days a week. It surprised me that she was amazed because it only seems natural to me right now. She was probably just surprised that I haven't collapsed yet, because she commented several times that she doesn't think I'm getting enough sleep or that I'm not eating or drinking enough throughout the day.

Anyway, that wasn't the best birthday gift. The best birthday gift was...
Little One was breast feeding like a champ. Again, the nurses were impressed because they stressed that it is only around now that babies start to work on their SSB (suck-swallow-breathe reflex). Little One was doing this at week 31 and she's 33 weeks corrected now. She's really interested, keen and wants to breastfeed! The nurses are very happy about that.

The other present that Little One thrilled me with was that she went for two hours without any help whatsoever with her breathing! We were going to take her off her CPAP so she could breastfeed, but when the RT (respiratory therapist) came to switch her over to low-flow, he just stood there watching her and said, "This baby doesn't need low-flow! Look at her! She's breathing on her own, saturating 100!"

It was decided that we try her off low-flow. She had nothing on her little face! No mask...no prongs...nothing!! It was the first time and I loved seeing her sweet little face with no CPAP or prongs in her nose! Mom got to witness this with me. I think Little One was showing off for her Grandma...or she just wanted to make her mama happy on her birthday!

She went for two hours of breathing on her own (unassisted, baby!) while I held her, sang to her and talked with her grandma. Then I wanted to put her back! I just don't want to overwork her and make her exhausted. Plus, breastfeeding for preemies is hard work already. The nurse and RT are thinking that she may soon not need anything to help her. They kept telling me "She's a big girl now"! I kind of laughed because she's only 4 lbs! However, in the NICU she is considered a big girl now! I guess big in comparison to what she was like when she was first born! :)