Million Dollar Baby!!! (So Far)

Owen is once again trying to take matters into his own hands, literally. He decided that he was done with his oxygen yesterday and pulled the nasal cannula out of his nose. He was doing so well that the nurses and doctors decided to leave it out and see how he does. Well now he's on day two without oxygen support and he's doing really well! And in even bigger news he successfully took 10 cc's of his milk from a bottle tonight. They said they may try the same amount tomorrow, but may do it at two different feedings if he handles it well. He's made a lot of big steps in just a couple days. I think he's trying to impress his Mom for Mother's Day. Pretty sweet gift if I say so myself.

Owen's first bottle. He did really well. The nurse said he knew just what he was doing. He got a little messy, but that's normal. He swallowed well. No spit ups. No desats. He burped nicely.

We're so excited!!

Owen had a pretty good day today. He's been spitting up more since his last feeding increase to 45 ml. They took it back down to 40ml to see if that's the problem. The other issue however for today, is that they ran out of breastmilk and he was getting formula only. We made a second trip up there this evening to get him his breastmilk. We do have a whole deep freezer full, for goodness sake. We also have a new plan so that doesn't happen again.

Owen received less in his feedings today. Plus he spit a lot of it up. But he still gained weight. He's almost 5 and a half pounds.

He moved down on his flow today too! He's at 2!! If he does well, that means we get to move off the high flow cannula, and we get to work toward bottle feeding and then breast feeding. 

Owen had a good day! They moved him back down again on his flow to 2.5. He kept pulling out the cannula and breathing fine without it. They would go in randomly to check on him and it would be on top of his nose. If he can breathe without it completely for indefinite amounts of time, they figured he could be moved down a bit. It may have to be turned up during assessments and such. He does not like being messed with.
His eye exam went well today. The ROP condition is still regressing. Not another test for 2 weeks. They've increased his feedings to 45 ml and adjusted all his medications based on his growth. He's at 5.16 lbs.
When we went to see him this evening, he looked so good! He was resting well and tolerated his assessment well. His color looked good. His skin looked and smelled very nice, and his little cheeks look a little chubby. We got to see several smiles and were even able to catch a few in pictures.

Owen's new area in the hospital is very nice. Comfortable, spacious, and peaceful. He gets a lot more attention.
He hit the 5 lb mark! He weighs just over 5 lbs.

Owen is doing well today. No changes in his care. He was moved to a new area last night. The nurse practitioner said they like to call it "a suite". I'm anxious to see what its like today. The charge nurse said they wanted him to be in a quieter area. We're looking forward to that. 

Owen had a little episode last night with his breathing. He went down pretty low on his sats. He had been moved down to 2.5 on the flow yesterday. We were so excited. They were talking to us about when he gets to 2, its time to have the speech therapist check him out and see if he's ready for bottle feeding. Well we'll get there, but for now, he's back on 3. He did well through the night on 2.5; no more episodes. But he was irritable and having to work too hard to breathe.
They're working on helping him grow. His feedings are increased to 40 ml. Hopefully with a little growth, he'll be ready to move down again.

He finally got to meet his PawPaw!

 Owen's wardrobe is expanding. He now has a "daytime outfit" as they say. We've never seen him in little pants. He's even moved up to sleepers with zippers instead of snaps only.

 He loves his paci. Its almost as big as his face. But he loves it!

He keeps moving along. Today his gases were good again and they moved the flow down to 3. They say that sometimes when they move the flow down, they have to increase the oxygen level. But so far they haven't had to do that with him. His oxygen remains at the room level.

He's doing better with his spit ups.

He's not gaining any weight lately, but he's not losing, and that's a big deal because he's using more energy, burning more calories being off the ventilator.

We're so happy he's doing so well! Hoping it continues. We want to bring our baby home soon!!