February 5th, 2007 9:10 a.m.

We apologize for the delay in posting. As you may know, we've been busy packing, moving and dealing with Connor's cold.

Fortunately, Lauren continues along her path of stability and growth. Last night she crossed the 1500 gram mark, which is roughly about 3 and half pounds! (Considering she was at 1.5 lbs at her lowest, we consider this a huge improvement.) The volume and frequency of her feedings keep increasing, as she continues to demonstrate that she can handle the additional breast milk. The additional weight is filling out her face, and she is starting to look more like a newborn.

Our next hurdle is getting her off the bubble Cpap machine, which has been somewhat of a challenge. Although she has been off of it for periods of time (1 hour while they clean the machine) she is not ready to make a clean break yet. But, they have reduced down to a level 4 pressure which she will stay at for another week or so, and then they will reduce it down to 3.

Kaia continues with her daily kangaroo sessions, which we think Lauren now looks forward to every morning. Apparently, she is really active right before Kaia shows up. Her eyes are open much more now, which is comforting to see.

We were delighted to see a 23-week old little boy finally go home from the NICU on Sunday after 120 days. He weighed less than a pound at birth, and was close to 7 pounds when he left. It was extremely encouraging to see them go home with a healthy little kid. The parents were beaming with excitement, and probably a lot of relief. We look forward to that day with much anticipation.

Thanks for all of your continued support.