Monday Evening 11th February 2008

Well heres the second update for the day. We have had a very positive day. We could not have asked for more.

The day started with us going to playgroup to keep things normal for little Bailey. He had a great time and did some 'glooming' (glueing lol) and made us a picture each. It was nice for Tony to see where he goes and he had a good play with him too. One of my friends there asked what I'd been 'up to' since she last saw me and of course that set me off! She hadnt even known I was pregnant so was stunned to find out Id had a baby.

It was nice to share though as I have been feeling that we have a dark, dirty secret. I was happy to announce that we now had a daughter and despite the fact that she came early and is in critical condition, she is still wonderful and we love her.

After playgroup we went to the hospital. We dropped Bailey happily off at creche and he barely even said goodbye. It really helps that he is so comfortable with other people and he even slept there for 1.5 hours! He was really tired! We then grabbed some lunch before settling down for the afternoon with Niamh.

When we got there we were told that she had a steady morning and things were looking stable. We were also told that a whole list of people wanted to talk to us including a social worker/counseller, a physio who will monitor her progress and development until she is 7 (!!) and the two head paeds who are taking care of her, plus one of her nurses!!

What the paeds told us today which we consider fantastic is that we have absolutely made the right decision to keep Niamh. She is in great condition and is responding really well to everything. She has lots of problems, but everything is anticipated and planned for and very normal for such an early premmie. She hasnt thrown anything at them yet that they cant handle and they even went as far as to tell us that she has 80-85% chance of making it!! We were astounded at those stats! We thought we were looking at the 20%s so have not been very positive and have been taking it all as it comes. We were very happy after hearing that and now have some real hope. We are aware that things can change very, very fast, but we will take that good news and hang on to it.

The current issues are her lungs and bowels. But again, we have just phoned them and received more good news. I told Tony Im scared we are hearing too much good news but we can only be positive. They have been concerned because she has been bringing up bile, yukky green bile. That was a sign that there was a possible perforation in her intestine or in her bowel. She has not been doing any poo either and it was a large concern. Well they have now given her an x-ray on her bowel and there is no damage!! We cant believe it. She is also responding well to some Nitric Oxide therapy which will be a big benefit to her.

Wow, what a long post! Its been a long day, I need to phone some friends although its getting late now and I would like to have some down time. Everyone has been so fantastic. Thankyou all so much for the texts and emails. Im sorry I cant respond to them all, Im getting about 30 a day and if I reply that turns into 60 or 90!

We really, really appreciate all your support, comments on this blog and well wishes.

Niamh is definitely a strong little girl and is doing her best for us.