Bottles..Bottles..and more Bottles!

So I get to the NICU this morning about half an hour before its time for Eli to eat. I take a look at him in his crib and he has wiggled to the bottom of his crib, pulled out his NG tube and is wiggled into his swaddle. He is wide awake just looking around with his normal I'm hungry face. Not upset or anything just perfectly content and snuggled up waiting for breakfast. So because his tube was out, his nurse says ok Eli, sink or swim time..I'm not putting the tube back in. He took a whole bottle no problem, then we spent the rest of the morning cuddling like normal. At noon, she said ok Eli, put your rally diaper on time to take a bottle again. He did pretty well, out of the 52cc's he left 7. At three, he got the tube put back in, just in-case he got too tired. He left 2cc's but we count that as a whole bottle and at 6 he did the same. Hopefully he is turning a corner here and does well tonight.

He's still having some desats that he needs to get over. But this week he's 36 weeks gestation and the doc says between now and 38 weeks is when this whole thing really comes together as far as suck swallow breathe. Because he's a "wimpy white boy" this may take longer. I'm not sure if I've blogged about the wimpy white boy thing yet., but apparently a white boy is the worst kind of preemie patient to have. They take the longest to get out of the NICU, because they are a little ahem...lazy...but don't tell Eli that, he is working so hard! This isn't something that the nurses say just at our hospital either. I've been reading blogs of other preemies boys and they all have mentioned something about "wimpy white boy" problems. Very interesting....

But anyways we hope to be home relatively soon. Though home means Eli does not leave the house until flu/RSV season is over in April (except to go to doctors appointments) Also, he can't have very many visitors either. Just as a heads up, if you are hoping to come visit, as much as we want to see you, it still will probably be awhile. We will have to see what the doctors say. From what I'm reading from other blogs, the docs recommend that the next flu/RSV season he doesn't leave the house as well (that's October-April). But let's not get ahead of ourselves!

crazzy eyes!!

Holding daddy's hand and looking at him

all that bottle drinking is very tiring