A.R.E we there yet?: progress.

Wow, what a busy week. Obviously the first thing to go when things get busy is the blog. Sorry!
Avery is a total rockstar. She is up to 2 lbs 14 ounces as of Wednesday night. She has tolerated her feeds well since the very beginning, but lets face it, getting fed through a tube 24 hours a day just isn't a realistic lifestyle choice. So her doctor decided yesterday to start consolidating her feeds down to shorter periods of times with the idea that soon she'll take the whole feed at one sitting every 3 hours; a more normal feeding schedule. Yesterday was her first day and they did a 2 hour feed w/ one hour off to digest. She handled it like it was no big deal so today she is doing her feeds over 1.5 hours with 1.5 hours off. So far she has had minimal residual and her belly looks great. All these transitions mean we are getting closer and closer to her nippling her feeds and hopefully closer to her coming home.
She is also now a full time cannula baby. They went back and forth for several days but yesterday something clicked with her and she didn't tire out from being on the cannula. As long as she continues to be stable, she'll probably say adios to the CPAP from her bedside where it sits just in case. This also means her lungs are getting stronger. Today during our hold she was practically down to room air, which is fantastic. I like to think it is her way of saying "I love these holds with my momma. You should let her hold me all the time."
Avery has also started working with the Developmental Therapist. She set her up on "work out routine." Really it is a set of joint compression exercises we can do with her to help stimulate her bone and muscle development. As I stand there doing her little exercises with her I can't help but wish that I could exercise while laying in bed! Lucky girl.
As I mentioned before this has been a busy week. I return to work on Monday and am trying to fit a whole list of "to dos" in to one week. I had my 6 week follow up on Wednesday w/ my doctor and he has cleared me for regular activity that doesn't involve heavy lifting. So that means going back to work. I have mixed feeling about this. When I was on bed rest I missed work terribly and couldn't wait to get back. But now I am in such a routine that doesn't involve work, that it is hard to imagine going back. I know ultimately it will make the days go by faster and before I know it Avery will be coming home and I'll be leaving work again. But in the meantime I'm sad to give up my afternoon snuggle times w/ her. I will still be able to use my lunch break for visits, but probably won't have enough time to kangaroo care with her. Just thinking about this makes me tear up and I try not to think about it. I know I'll make the adjustment, as I have had to adjust to every new situation over the past 11 weeks.