Johnny Update-Day 3

So angelic in Daddy's arms...

Today is John Michael's third full day of life--and it's been an exciting one! We attempted nursing for a bit last night and this morning and at his noon feeding today, he took 15 cc of mommy's milk in a bottle. He took it slow, but he took it all and did a great job--even let out a hearty burp halfway through which the nurse said was great and something she rarely sees a preemie do. We thought it was awesome!

He's going to be on an every-three-hour feeding schedule. We'll try nursing every other session but the most important thing is that he gets as much of my milk as possible, whether it's through me or the bottle.

I was at his bedside this morning during rounds--something John said was really cool. I didn't understand what he was talking about until I got to experience it myself. We are at, in my opinion, the absolute best hospital we could be. It's a teaching hospital, so senior residents do pretty much everything and they are overseen by the neonatologist fellows. Watching the resident in charge of John Michael's care give her report to the fellow was like watching a master artisan demonstrate their craft to an enthralled audience--I being the entrhalled audience. Wow, they know their stuff.

Since all he needs to do is learn how to eat and grow, he's going to be moving out of the NICU tonight up to the transitional nursery. The great thing is if I want, I can sleep at his bedside in the rocker up there (not allowed in the NICU--no passed out parents in rockers!). However, it looks like we're going to qualify for a sleep room with a full sized bed in it because we live far enough away from the hospital. And if that wasn't nice enough--because I'm nursing--as a courtesy from the hospital, they're going to allow me to continue to order meals free of charge as if I was still an in-patient. Thank you, UCMC!

Everyone has been wondering when he might be able to come home--and the ultimate answer is whenever the doctors say he's ready to go. They think that will most likely be 7-10 days from now. We're going to be extremely patient and know hiccups may happen that may push that date back a bit--but we're ever so hopeful that he will continue to thrive, eat well and gain weight so he can join us at home soon.