Hello Everyone,

I started to write these updates as a way to cope with all the events and stress like we have never experienced before but now it has become more of a fun thing to do. I know people have told me they still like to receive these updates but I am sure there are also some people who may not be so interested anymore. Good thing the delete button is only a touch away and if you like to be removed from the list then please feel free to let us know, I would not be offended.

For those who still like to receive the updates with pictures, we want to let you know that all is going so wonderfully well. Lorena is finishing pretty much every bottle now. However she mostly falls asleep after the 1st half and then begins the struggle to make sure she takes the rest. She may be a little stubborn at times pushing away the bottle with her tong but then so are we and we are not about to give up easily as we know how much she needs this food to grow. We are hoping that if she keeps drinking all her bottles empty that we may be able to stop putting a feeding tube into her. However the doctor will need to decide this.

We decided it was time to give Lorena a bath. After all she did not get any baths for about 25 days. She loved her bath but we soon discovered why no one had been eager to bathe her. After her bath she was so tuckered out. It took so much energy from her that she was sleeping tighter then ever throughout the day. We had a hard time waking her for feeds and to keep her awake during feeds. So we have decided to not give her to many baths yet as it costs her to much energy and she needs this energy to grow instead. It was also not easy to bathe her with the wound on her foot that can not get wet, we put a plastic bag over it just in case.

It is not fun having that oxygen hose on her all the time as this means wrapping her hands tight in a sheet. Today however she wiggled free and pulled off both the feeding tube and oxygen hose with sticker and all. Lodewyk on the other hand, knows how to put some humor into it and he showed me our little angel with a halo.....see picture below.

All in all things are going well and tonight help arrives from Ontario. My sister is arriving at the airport (just a 10 minute drive from us). The kids are all thrilled and want to be awakend when she arrives around 11:00 PM. Not sure if we will do this.

We are looking forward to the baby shower my friend planned to have for us this coming Saturday. This is so nice as we never really had a baby shower yet for any of our kids. It will be fun to gather with family, friends and acquaintances to celebrate the birth and life of our little girl together. This especially because we know it could have turned out so different.

Visitors are welcome to come by at other times too but please do phone to set up a time as we have an odd schedule now.

Love Lodewyk, Rena, Janita, Jeremy & Lorena