5 Weeks Later.....

I'm big enough to wear clothes & sleep in an open crib!

The IV & O2 tube are gone! My only tube left is a feeding tube...

and it wont be much longer til it is gone too!!

Then I have to go home with these people?!?

I can't believe it has already been 5 weeks since this all started. Time has really flown by. I don't think that would have been the case if I was still in the hospital! If Ethan hadn't made his own plans, I would be facing an induced labor this week. Instead I have a month old baby! We are so incredibly fortunate that he is so healthy and seems to be progressing so well. This week he has started on his biggest and last hurdle before coming home: the bottle! On Saturday Ethan got his first bottle and is now learning how to suck and breathe at the same time. Most babies don't start to learn this behavior until they reach 32 weeks so he has been fed with a feeding tube this whole time. On his first try he drank 12ml which, according to his nurse, is fantastic for his first time. On his second try, Sunday, he drank 22ml and by his third bottle the next day he drank the whole thing (38ml)! As of Monday they increased his bottle feedings to 2 to 3 times a day because he is doing so well at it. He is still learning how to breathe while he drinks; right now he sucks and sucks without breathing then stops to catch up. This is common in preemies and according to his nurses, is like running a lap and not breathing. As soon as Ethan conquers this he should be headed home! We are anxiously awaiting that day! In the meantime we will keep everyone updated here!