No more feeding tube!

So Ryan's feeding tube as been removed! He now feeds only from the bottle. And he is gulping them down. It takes him about 15 minutes for 2 oz of milk. The orders are that he has to eat at least 52 ml per feeding, but if he wants more he can have more. Such a chunk. He is now 5 lbs 14 oz.
Ryan had his ear test yesterday and passed with flying colors. His personality is really starting to develop. After we changed his diaper last night, he just laid there in a pose with a grin on his face. You can really see his dimples now that he doesnt have any tape for his feeding tube.
He also passed the car seat test. He sat in the car seat for 1 1/2 hours on Wednesday night.

Ryan also has a new cousin. Jen called me this morning and she had Aiden William at 5:25am. 7lbs 6oz, 20 1/2 inches long. We have a leap baby in the family! Congrats cousin! Ryan cant wait to meet Aiden. Ahh 2 boys only 10 weeks apart. Jen, I think we are in for a heap of trouble.

Every Feeding is from a Bottle

So Monday, orders were written that Ryan can feed 8 times a day from a bottle! He has done really well with it. Only one time yesterday he did not take the full bottle. He took about 3/4 of his noon bottle. We are very proud of him. He is only on oxygen when he feeds now. So Tim or I place the cannula in his nose, feed him and remove it. The amount of oxygen he is on is minimal and it is just until he gets over this hump. We dont have the test results back from Mondays test yet. The cultures usually take a few days.
He is growing everyday, now 5 lbs 11 oz and is 18 3/4 inches long!

On Room Air again

Friday, Ryan had his cannula removed, so now he is back on room air. He is learning how to feed more from the bottle. He is doing well with it. Taking most of the bottles.

He is 5lbs 6 oz, losing a little over night. He worked so hard yesterday on his feedings, he probably burned more calories than what he took in. (I wish I could do that!)

He has a test scheduled Monday to see if he still has the infection and to see if he is still required to be in isolation. We should know then if Ryan can have visitors again.

Doing 'Back to Back' Feedings

So yesterday the orders were written for Ryan to start taking more than 4 bottles a day. He is now taking a bottle for back to back feedings. This means we give him a bottle at 3pm and 6pm and then a tube feeding at 9pm. Then bottle at midnight and 3am then tube feeding at 6am. This is another big step.
Last night he took the 3am and 6am feedings in about 15 minutes. He is also gaining more weight, now up to 5lbs 7oz!
Another CRP test was run to see how his infection is behaving. A normal test result is less than 1. His result was .4. More good news, then infection is nearly gone.
I dont want to brag on him too much. Everytime I do, we have a minor setback. But he is doing well and we are very proud of him.

I have a new bed

This morning, Michelle and Christy, changed out his bed and Ryan is now in a crib! We are so excited and this is a huge step which means is getting closer to coming home. He is still on oxygen, but such a small amount. They are weaning him off more and more each day. He still has the infection, but he is getting better. They plan on retesting him on Thursday/Friday to see if he still tests positive for C.diff.

Even with this infection, he is still gaining weight, now at 5lbs 3oz.

This afternoon, my girlfriends threw us a baby shower. We received some great gifts and some really cool toys. We thank all our friends for everything.

Here is a picture of Ryan in his baseball attire. Tim is so looking forward to spending the summer watching baseball with Ryan

Keeping Mom and Dad on their toes

Just as we brag on how well he is doing, Ryan has a minor setback. Thursday, he started having some pretty nasty diapers. Well, they ran some tests and today we found out he does have an infection. He has what is called Clostridium difficile infection or C.diff. It is an infection where bacteria affect his colon. Normally, different bacteria live in the colon and dont harm the body. There is a balance between good and bad bacteria. A C.diff infection happens when this healthy balance changes and may give the C.diff bacteria a chance to grow and cause an infection. He could have got it from antibiotics he received a few weeks ago, but we are not sure. The good news is it is treatable with a specific antibiotic that targets C.diff. There arent any side affects, just some diarrhea. The bad news is it is very contageous. So the doctor marked his room as an isolation room. This means that when the nurses come in, they have to put on protective gowns and gloves. They dont want to infect the other babies. He will be on antibiotics for the next week or so.
Since he has been sick and really tired, they put him back on oxygen thursday. This is just to help him out until he feels better. He hopes to be weaned off of it by early next week.
The other good news is that this 'bug' will not delay him any more from coming home!
Ryan has requested that he spend some private time with just mom and dad until he gets over this.
Thank you!

8 Weeks old today!

Ryan is 8 weeks old today. He has had some really good days lately. He has been gaining weight like a little man. In the past 2 days, he has gained 130 grams, thats 4 oz! He is now 4lbs 14oz. Nearly 5 lbs now. He also grew too, now 18 inches.
Its so hard to believe how far he has come. 8 weeks ago, he was fighting for his life, hooked up to numerous machines and now, almost 5 lbs and in the home stretch, getting close to coming home. The one thing he needs to focus on now is feeding. Once he masters feedings, the next step IS coming home!
He is now doing 4 feedings a day on a bottle: every 6 hours on a bottle, the opposite 6 he still fed through a tube. Still not able to do back to back bottle feedings, but it would not suprise us if orders are written for that this weekend.
I gave him a bottle tonight at 6 and he took most of it, with some extra help on my part. We found that when I feed him, he gets too comfortable and wants to cuddle and fall asleep, therefore he wont take the bottle. We still have some work to do, but he is getting there.
We are asking so much of him; I have to remember he should only be 35 weeks and I should still be pregnant!
We are so proud of him and are counting the days til we can take him home

Feeding 3 bottles a day

Ryan had a good weekend. His feedings have been going well. Thursday he took a full bottle when Tim fed him. Friday he took almost a full bottle, so his doctor decided to up him to 2 feedings a day. Since he has done well with that, they pushed him to 3 feedings a day! We dont do the feedings back to back, they usually will feed a bottle, the next feed through a tube, the next will have a bottle. He is up to 42 ml every 3 hours or about 1 1/3 oz. He is on his way. He is also up to 4lbs 8oz.
Now that I am back at work, I do get to go see him at lunchtime for about a half an hour and then I go see him after work. It was really hard for me last week, but if I break up my day like that, the day goes much faster. Soon he will be home and can spend all my time with him

7 Weeks Today and the Roof is Open

Today, Ryan is 7 weeks old. I can't believe how far you have come!

He is now 4lbs 4oz. When I walked in his room today, the roof to his incubator was open. He is now big enough to maintain his own temperature! He gets to wear clothes all the time. Most clothes just drown him, but he will grow into them soon. This is a huge step for him, he must be able to accomplish this before he comes home.

We've started doing physical therapy on him too. The therapist came in and went over exercises for us to do with him several times a day. There are 6 main objectives for us to work on with him so that his muscles start to develop and we can try to head off any future obstacles. He is doing well with them. One of his favorites is "How big are you...'So Big!'"

Tim gave him another 20ml in a bottle today too.

He is definitely getting ready for Opening Day

Ryan, keep up the good work. Mom and Dad love you!

Feeding more from the bottle

Today, Tim fed him 25ml from a bottle. Thats a little less than an ounce! I am going through Ryan withdrawals. I was supposed to start back to work today, but I got the flu and had to call in sick today. Hopefully it is just the 24 hour thing. I hate being sick and now that I cant see him makes me hate being sick even more.
He hasnt gained any weight in a few days. He is still at 4lbs 1oz. When he was taken off milk last week, they also took away the HMF, or Human Milk Fortifier, which adds calories to the milk and helps him gain weight. They are adding HMF back today. I dont have any pictures to upload today, should have some more tomorrow.
When Tim was feeding him today, he called me and held the phone up and I could hear his hiccups. Ryan gets them all the time and they are loud!
I'll get up there soon to see you, Love Mom.