Goodbye ventilator!

It had been pretty hard on us (Josh again) leaving the hospital yesterday without Ruby. We got the kids situated this morning and returned just in time to witness another great milestone. They had just removed her breathing tube. The ventilator setting had been turned down to 18 breaths per minute, and she had been breathing 45-50 per minute on her own. Her chest looked like it was heaving, but she was getting all the air that she needed and the oxygen level in her blood was excellent. This means that other than the small tube in her nose that she was being fed through, she is now breathing and recovering on her own. She will need to continue resting from her surgery, but every day we see more and more life in her. Tomorrow they begin introducing breast milk, and then on to normal feeding from there. They told us today that she might be home for Christmas, so we are hoping she beats that time line as well. Every day we have something more to be grateful for.