Ms. Eubie Blake?

Look at those long skinny fingers! While I want to make sure my little girl grows up to be whoever and whatever she wants, even if it means dad has to drag his curmudgeonly bohemian asthmatic tuchus to field hockey practice and pretend to be excited about it, I'll bet she'll take after her grandmother and play the piano. Nettie may be the first Thomas to have been born outside of Charm City in generations, but Baltimore is still in her blood, and just maybe whatever's in the water that endowed Eubie Blake with those elongated ragtime digits found its way to Ms. Maude.

Mr. Eubie Blake
and his long Baltimore fingers

Today Nettie got another chest tube/drain taken out, which is progress. She still has tons of gunk in her throat and lungs, and as she's becoming more awake and cognizant, I think she's getting a bit more annoyed. The doctors and nurses told us today she had the loudest lungs (a.k.a. cry) in whole ICU. It's a really good sign she can cry loud in regards to her health, and it's great she's got some fight in her, but here's to hoping she's not as stubborn as either of her parents. They had to put her on some more oxygen this evening, but they were hoping to ween her back throughout the night. Tomorrow they're gonna' try again to bottle feed her Julie's milk. Once she bottle feeds, they should be able to move her out of the ICU and into a general recovery room, hopefully by Wednesday.

Overall, the doctors and nurses are still really happy with her progress, her swelling has gone down significantly (hence the fingers), and mom and dad are getting antsy to bring her home (though it may be a week or so).