Such A Great Day! - April 29th, 2016

I got to the hospital very early this morning, so I decided to go have some breakfast and get some coffee before having to go back to wait for the doctors to round.
When I got back up to the room, the doctors came fairly quickly. She said that she wanted to start bottle feeding (PO) and the nutritionist that was with her said that she wanted to increase your feeds to 40 ml. They didn't want to do both at the same time, so they decided to increase your feeds and worry about the bottle feeds this weekend. You are now getting dressed and bundled in the isolette and on air mode. They keep weaning down the temp to see if you can hold your body temperature. If you get down between 26 and 27 degrees Celsius, and you can still keep your body temperature with a blanket, then you can come out into a crib. The doctor said she wanted to take you off of your breathing support, but the other doctor said that it would be easiest to wean you from 1 to .5 just incase they have to turn it up a little bit. They are starting to gravity feed again instead of giving your feeds over 30 minutes.
After this weekend, it seems like the only thing that we are going to have to work on is eating. They said that they give a bottle before breastfeeding because it is easier to see how much milk you are getting. Hopefully even with the bottle feeds, we will be able to breastfeed. They say that preemies have a harder time eating because it is hard to suck, swallow, and breathe at the same time. Hopefully you don't have any issues!
Today was a very emotional day for me. Having so much good news at once was overwhelming, just thinking about how far we have come. I cried happy tears quite a few times because it seems like it won't be too long before you can come home. It will be a few more weeks, but we also have been in the NICU for 9 weeks. Just thinking about where we started is crazy. Such a crazy journey that I wouldn't wish upon anyone, but we are so happy to have been able to meet you so early and watch how much you have grown.
You are making amazing progress. We love you so much and can't wait to bring you home. Mommy is not going to want to put you down. A lot of parents don't like to change diapers and deal with babies crying, but I can't wait to change each and every diaper, and be able to hold you and comfort you when you cry. Maybe it will be short lived, but I have learned to cherish each and every thing that I can do for you while in the NICU. I hope it continues on when you come home. You are our little hero.