Still a long way from home

She's doing better these days as she is still maturing, but she just can't seem to gain weight fast enough. I joke that if she really had my genes we'd be on our way home by now because she'd be gaining weight like a champ! She may just turn out to be a very petite girl, but right now she weighs 4 lbs 3 oz. It will take almost 2 more pounds before they will do her stomach surgery to put her intestines back in order. The hospital staff affectionately call it "humpty dumpty surgery" because of the way they are 'put back together.' Once the surgery is completed we're told it should take 2-3 weeks for her to heal up properly & be well enough to go home. This means we are still looking at about 6 more weeks in the NICU if all goes well although we had hoped that we'd get to take her home by my due date of July 20. She's such a brave girl and I wonder what she must think of life. So far hers has been quite the struggle, but we are so proud of how far she has come. It's pretty amazing to see the changes in her features each day. Most days she looks more like Jimmy, but maybe I'll get lucky enough to see myself in her some day.
Despite everything, it seems like she will be a happy baby as she smiles all of the time. It is debatable as to whether or not the smiles are intentional or just reflexes, but either way, we see each one of them as a blessing because it always brightens our day. We are, not so patiently, awaiting the day when we get to bring her home and then we will all smile all of the time!