Movin' on up

Today we were reminded just how fragile these little lives can be. We feel so blessed the Lee was born so healthy and that he continues to do so well. Lee is a fighter, and God has allowed him to be with us for a reason. We can't wait to see what he has to hold in store over the coming years.

On Sunday night as we were laying in bed not sleeping again, the phone rang. I sleep with it in the bed with me these days just in case the hospital needs to reach us, but not ever expecting that they would call. At 10 pm the phone rang, and the second I saw that it was the hospital, my heart dropped. Come to find out, everything was great and they were just letting us know that they had moved LJ upstairs to the step-down unit! It doesn't mean the long road is over, but it means that LJ is strong enough to move out of the most critical part of the NICU! He graduated from the 2nd floor to the 7th...this is a big deal in our new world of hospitals! We both felt like we needed to head to the hospital for a late night visit to make sure LJ was adjusting to his new world...some sort of logic prevailed, and we decided to let him be for the night!

I went in yesterday morning and I felt oddly disoriented. I was getting used to the protocol and routines of the 2nd floor and I had to figure it all out again. I think LJ adjusted better than we did...he was sound asleep when I got there. Actually, I think he is happier in his new apartment. It is much quieter and he seems much more peaceful. I laughed because he was the "easy" baby downstairs, but now it seemed like his alarms were the only ones ever going off. The only time LJ has really cried is when we change his diaper. He hasn't even done that the past 2 days...he seems to have given up the fight. That said, he is so much more alert. When we have been changing him, he will open his eyes and watch us quietly.

LJ continues to make progress...he is still in an isolette, but it is a more basic one...within the next few days, they hope to have him in a crib. They continue to lower the temperature in the isolette. Once he gets to room temperature and he maintains his body temperature for a period, he will move into the crib...he is almost there! They continue to lower the oxygen supply as he tolerates it, and soon he should have the nasal tubes out as well. His jaundice numbers were still good today, and they stopped the iv nutrition today too...he is just getting my milk (granted its the souped up version that has calories and fat added). He is gaining weight after his initial dip, and he is at 3 lbs 11 oz! I told Matt today that he really doesn't seem that small anymore. I was assured I was just getting used to his size :)

I am very excited about tomorrow...I get to start doing non-nutritive breast feeding. Basically, he won't get anything but what he gets from the feeding tube, but he will start practicing a couple times a day. In a couple weeks they will start having him try to breast feed and supplement it through the tube and then a bottle when he will tolerate it.

One of the biggest things in his new place is his need for clothing! They make them wear clothes in the crib, so we are practicing now. The preemie clothes were big! Its very difficult to clothe a baby with a bunch of wires through the arm holes in the isolette, but LJ has been very patient with us and doesn't seem to mind the clothes.

The nurses say that it will still be awhile before everything works together, but every day is a step forward!

Random knowledge of the week...babies don't get nipples until the very end. I assumed they were just covered by the sticky things that hold on the wires...nope. No nipples yet! They should be here soon!