5 weeks, 33 weeks adjusted

We've had a big week! Marco is officially in big boy clothes, is *almost* 4 pounds (3pd 15 oz), got rid of his big CPAP mask and is starting his weaning journey off of oxygen.



I'm starting to see the end of the tunnel, even though we are still 2 months from home. The doctors/nurses walked us through the weaning process and they even started talking about breast feeding in a couple of weeks. I know we have a long way to go, but being able to swaddle him and hold him like a normal baby was so soothing to my heart. I feel like I'm finally getting to know him as I can look at his sweet face while we snuggle (no mask - yay!)

Big milestones to look forward to:

1. Cradle vs. Giraffe - Marco is currently in a "Giraffe", the fully enclosed incubator that helps maintain a baby's temperature. Once he can do this on his own, he can be transferred to a crib. To build him up to this, they put him in real clothes and lowered his bed temp closer to outside air temp. They will slowly lower the temp inside until it matches the outside, then he can hopefully transfer.

2. Tube vs. Oral feeds - The final milestone to hit before we can go home is successful oral feeding. Up until yesterday Marco had been fed through a tube in his mouth. Yesterday they were able to shift to a nasal feeding tube now that the cpap mask is gone - this allows for easier sucking for Marco (i.e. pacifier) and preps him for oral feeding. Once he is strong enough/gained enough weight, they'll try breast/bottle feeding. This typically happens around 34 weeks (so soon!). He won't have a ton of energy, so I'll only be able to breast feed 1x a day - which, honestly, is all I can do anyway as it is so hard for us to fit hospital visits into our schedule.

    Related side story - in an earlier entry I mentioned Marco's "neighbor" baby going home - I was wrong. He went to the "transitioning" room where babies go when they are almost ready. His parents came to bring him home, but that day he had an episode with bottle feeding and they had to go back to tube feeding - which means he was transferred back to Marco's area. (where I could eavesdrop on their conversations.) I'm so sad for them, and also thankful that I saw that because it will help me manage my expectations when our time comes.

3. Formula vs. Milk - As I continue to clear my milk of cow protein and soy, Marco is on formula. He's on a super expensive formula, so hopefully he'll either grow out of this or he'll do well on my clean milk. Originally they told me we had to wait 48 hours before my milk was clean, but now they are saying 7 days - this sucks because it puts so much more pressure on me not to mess up. I almost licked my finger yesterday with cream cheese as I made the boys lunch. I do this at least 10x a day. So easy to slip.

Overall I'm feeling really positive - didn't cry once this week! Only 7 more weeks to go.






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