Dave Here.
It is 6:21 in the morning on Thursday. We got our unrequested daily wakeup call. Can anyone out there who works in a hospital explain why doctors wake people up around 5:30-6 every morning to ask random questions? Anyway. I would have felt rude saying "I wish you would shut up and get out of my life!!"-"Napoleon Dynamite"

Well, things continue to go well, preemie style. Two steps forward and one step back. The team of doctors making their round each day assess how he is responding to what they are doing for him, and decide whether to tentatively step forward or backward with the treatment. Of course, it is always encouraging when they step forward, like taking him off of the ventilator, or starting to feed him with breast milk, but even when they do decide to step back, they are always reassuring, explaining that they are trying to keep pace with Drew's development, and he is telling them that he is not quite ready for what they are doing.

As we are trying to decide what to do for the future, there are more variables than we had anticipated. I am talking here about relocating him. Our intial plan was relocating to Asheville. But then we found out that they wouldn't be able to take a transport baby before 34-36 weeks. And by that time, he may or may not be ready to just come home with us...so Asheville didn't seem like the best plan. Then we thought that we might go to Huntsville, but we are starting to hear that the insurance company is reticent to send him across state lines, without medical reason, especially when it is still so far from our home. And we had thought about Atlanta, because it is closer to home, but we would still be in a city relatively far away, and additionally, Gracie is going to have to stay very close to the hospital all the time, so it isn't like she can just go home every day from Atlanta, and I am planning on staying with her, except for short, tactical trips to manage the construction project that I am building. Also, we absolutely love the care that this hospital is providing to Drew and Gracie. We do believe that God providentially brought us to Chapel Hill, 10 minutes from this facility for the birth, and possibly for the extended care as well. The thought of transporting to an unknown hospital in Atlanta, where the care may not be as good, the doctors not be as helpful, friendly and flexible is not very appealing. So we started considering last night simply staying put. We are going to look into renting an apartment for a month at a time, close to the hospital. There is also a Ronald McDonald house available only minutes away. Please be praying for us as we try to make the best decision for Drew.