Grandpa and Grandma Great visit...

 Grandpa and Grandma Great came to visit Karisa.  It was a sweet time for us to have them there.

 4 generations of moms!

 And Grandpa got a turn too.

 Then we had pizza at our house before Grandpa and Grandma Great headed home.

Sunday visits...

 Visits from Aunt Julie and Uncle Andy!

 And a visit from Aunt Elayna!

I took a picture of Karisa's board because they change things on it every Sunday night.  She hasn't been gaining much weight...only about 10 grams a day.  But that gain is better than nothing.  She is close to having her IV removed and moving to an open bed...probably tonight.  Fingers crossed she comes home soon!

Family dinner...

On Saturday, July 9, we had diner at mom and dad's before Dallin and Cassie headed back to Hillsboro the next day.

 It was especially fun to have Elayna and Avery here too!

 These cousins LOOOVE to get together!

It made my heart happy to be a part of family gatherings again...but then Darran and I ran off to the hospital to see Karisa!  Soon enough we will ALL be together!

More visitors...

 Aunt Cassie and Uncle Dallin meeting Karisa!  

Cassie and I were talking about how strange it is...she is due August 27th (2 days after Karisa's due date).  I was saying how crazy it is to see her pregnant and think that should still be me.  But she said it's crazy to think that she's holding a baby who would be just the size of the baby inside her tummy right now!  We're excited to meet him...but not till the end of August!

Bili blanket!

 Karisa's bilirubin levels have not been where they wanted them to be so they decided to put her on a photo therapy blanket.  It lights up underneath her...today the nurse tied a bow around her!

Grandma holding Karisa.

Sweet face...

 Look mom!  Nothing on my face!  Her feeding tube kind of fell out on it's own...though she's known for grabbing things around her so we're sure she assisted in it's falling out.  And they didn't put it back in right away since she's been taking her bottle so well.  She just looked so peaceful!

 Aunt Sarah with Karisa!

Aunt Shantal and Uncle Derek holding her too!

This is the Daddy face of concentration that comes with some serious bottle feeding!

Spinal headache...yuck!

 Aunt Missy holding Karisa.

 Unfortunately, day 3 for Karisa was a rougher one for me.  I was having super painful headaches.  When I was laying down flat I felt fine and was able to rest.  But when I was up I felt dizzy, nauseous, and I couldn't seem to concentrate.  That morning we happened to see one of my nurses and Dr. Kobalter at the nurse's station.  We stopped and talked with them and showed them pictures of Karisa.  Then I told Dr. Kobalter how I was feeling.  He said that it sounded like I had a spinal headache.  So later that afternoon we went to the main nurses station and told them how I was feeling.  Bill Taylor (who we know from when we were in the Ridgeview ward and is an anesthesiologist) was standing there when we were explaining things.  He jumped right up and said he'd take care of me.  He said it was indeed a spinal headache...so I was readmitted to the hospital (blah) and he did a spinal patch.  They drew blood from my arm and then he immediately put that blood in my back to help heal the whole in my spine that was causing the pain.  Then I laid in the bed for about an hour and they released me.  Luckily it was quick and not a huge ordeal.

And we were done in time to get to Karisa's 6:30 feeding...holding her and already feeling a million times better!

Bottle feeding champ!

Having the girls at Cocolalla with Grandpa and Grandma was a HUGE blessing to us.  We were able to go back and forth to the hospital as much as we needed whenever we wanted.  And when we weren't there I was able to get some sleep at home for a few hours.

Karisa never struggled to take a bottle and the doctor kept increasing her feeding amounts almost on a daily basis.  She isn't behaving like she was born at 32 weeks!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!  I stayed in the hospital another night so Darran went home to spend the night with the girls and make them pancakes in the morning.

Darran, the girls, and Grandpa and Grandma came back to the hospital that morning to see Karisa.  Then the girls headed back to Cocolalla with Grandpa and Grandma so they could see fireworks that night and spend a few days at the lake with their cousins.

Karisa was moved to an isolette and put on photo therapy to help with her bilirubin levels.  So she gets to wear her cool mask to help her sleep!

She got to try her first bottle...with 3 CCs of milk...not very much but she took it really well!

Happy 4th of July!

I got to leave the hospital that afternoon too!  Dr. Mulholland (who did my c-section) came in to check on me and asked if I wanted to go home.  Half thinking he was joking I said yes...and he said let's get your discharge in order and your on your way!  I couldn't believe it...a little over 24 hours after Karisa was born and I was free to go home!  Sleeping in my own bed that night was amazing!  Darran and I went home for a little while and then went back to the hospital to check on Karisa.  When we left to head back home we saw fireworks on the way.  I thought I would be trying to see fireworks from the hospital that night but it wasn't in the plans!