14 more days until Blake's due date which gives us some sort of indicator as to when he may be home! Hopefully all the Thanksgiving hustle and bustle make the time fly by.
Blake was taken off the vapotherm yesterday. He has done amazing without it. He does have a low flow oxygen cannula but his nurse said that he really doesn't even need it. They just gave it to him so he didn't have to go cold turkey on oxygen. And now that the vapotherm is gone, he no longer needs the tube in his mouth that was venting air that was getting into his belly. The only tubes he has now are the oxygen cannula (which is less bulky) and the feeding tube that goes through his nose.
Blake was also able to breastfeed for the first time yesterday! We weren't sure how well he would do but he latched on like a pro. I think the tube being out of his mouth makes a huge difference. He didn't seem to have any problems with breastfeeding. In fact, he did better with breastfeeding than he has done with the bottle. Although when I tried to feed him today, he was so sleepy that he wouldn't wake up long enough to try again. But later when he finally woke up, he managed to eat 45ccs (a little over an ounce) of milk from a bottle! His only issue is trying to coordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing. He gets so excited to eat that he forgets to take a breath. Once he learns how to pace himself and gets up to full feeds by nipple, then we should be able to bring him home!
With Blake's discharge being so close, I have been nesting like crazy! I want to make sure everything is perfect for when he gets home. I want the transition to go as smoothly as possible. I can not wait to just have both my kids under one roof. I feel like once he is home, I can stress a little less. But only a little. I will still be a worry wart about him getting sick. I plan on making sure everything is clean and disinfected. I really want to limit outside germs as much as I can. The hospital recommends that Blake not go outside or go in any crowded places for the first few months. I might go a little stir crazy being on lock down with him 24/7 but I am so ready for it! After him being in the nicu for as long as he has been, I could definitely deal with being home with him for awhile. I am getting so anxious!!
His nurse has been talking about him graduating into the CCN, Continuing Care Nursery, the last few days so I'm hoping to go into his room tomorrow to find out whether or not that is in the plan. The CCN is where babies go right before they get discharged. Once he is in there, then we are definitely in the home stretch! Soon soon soon our baby will be home. =)
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