Getting Closer to the Big "D"

The past week was good, but busy. Benjamin has started doing better with feedings and has taken the entire prescribed volume of milk on several occasions. I usually get to feed him and therefore have been spending more time at the hospital. He hasn't had a brady episode that I know of since the one a little over a week ago that I wrote about last time (thank you God!) He is still not gaining much weight. He actually lost weight a few days and as of yesterday was just getting back to the weight he was a week ago. My thought is that this is because he is burning more calories eating and keeping himself warm (which he is doing ok with again). To hopefully help with weight gain, they decided to fortify his milk, and as of yesterday they are fortifying it even more.

Despite being small, he has still received a good report overall from his doctors. Multiple doctors and nurses have commented on how good he looks and behaves for being born so very early and also having gone through so much. They have said that he doesn't have the typical "25-weeker look" and "toaster head" (skinny long face from laying on his back so long and having his head moved only side to side.)

One thing to keep praying about, but I am already praising God for is that his doctor checked up on the potential hernia situation and she believes that there is no hernia!!! I asked her if it could have resolved itself and she said no, they do not resolve themselves. What a miracle! The 3 doctors that have seen him before her were convinced that he did have the hernia. They will have a surgeon look at him to be sure.

The past few days we have been hearing the big "D" word more than once - discharge! That's right...the end of this NICU marathon is almost in sight. It has been 12 1/2 weeks since we walked through those doors for the first time and it sounds like we might be leaving for good by the end of June, possibly within the next two weeks! Benjamin will likely go home on oxygen and a monitor, but we will be home! All he needs to do now is eat every feeding completely for a few days, pass the car seat challenge (1 hour sitting in a car seat without having any breathing/heart rate issues), and not have any apnea episodes or severe oxygen desaturation episodes for about a week or so. Basically, he has to behave like a full term baby. He is getting close! We are praying that he will be a strong eater and good breather. How what exciting things await us in the coming weeks!