Annabella had a very busy day today. Actually, she's had a couple very busy days. Her lungs have been doing better. The doctors gave her some medicine that helps to break up "junk" in the lungs - something you really don't want when you're really tiny. They've been able to get some "junk" out of the lungs, allowing her to come down on the ventilator settings.

Over the last week and a half she's been working hard to get off of the big ventilator (oscillator). They tried her on the conventional ventilator a week ago but she didn't like that at all. When we left her today she had successfully moved on to the conventional ventilator. We hope she stays there and continues to get stronger but for now this is really good news. Mama and I are very proud of our little girl.

Here are some answers to a few questions I've received over the last few days.

Q. Just how big is Annabella?
A. Annabella was born weighing 689grams. That's 1 pound 8.3 ounces (a pound and a half). She actually weighs less than that right now. All babies lose weight after birth. Preemies take a lot longer to get back to their birth weight. As for how long she is, they didn't measure her when she was born but I can tell that when she's sleeping (legs curled up) she's about as long as the tip of my thumb to the tip of my pinky (10"). I'd guess she's somewhere around 16" long stretched out fully.

Q. Have we held her yet?
A. Unfortunately, not yet. We can't wait though. We have a while to go before she's freed of some of her "helpers".

Q. Has she opened her eyes yet?
A. Actually, YES! She opens them and looks around although I don't believe she can focus on much right now. Most of the time she just squints at us. It must be a very bright world for her.

Q. Are there any more pictures?
A. Soon grasshopper, soon! We're hoping to get some more very soon.