NICU roller coaster

Yes, I love hiccup videos. But you'll also see Duncan putting his hand to his mouth which is a sign of him getting better at feeding and indicating he's hungry. Except at the moment of the video he's actually not hungry - he'd just eaten his entire bottle...But it's still pretty cute! (from the totally unbiased Momma)

Today was an up & down day at the NICU. The doctor came in & told us some options that may be down the road if Duncan doesn't "get" bottle & breast feeding soon. They're pretty dramatic but we appreciate (sort of) the honesty. However, he did well during his 9 am breast feed/bottle feed and was very sleepy during his gavage feed at noon. That's okay because we're trying to build energy during the gavage feeds. He was awake at 2:30 and was still awake at 4 when I left...And at his 3 pm feed he took the ENTIRE feed from the bottle and was still alert enough to play afterward!!

Hopefully he'll go to sleep & rest for a bit so he's ready to go for the 9 pm breast feeding/bottle feeding.

And we're saying lots of prayers Duncan catches on to this feeding thing soon. His Daddy & Momma are worn out.

Oh and, for the THIRD time, Duncan pulled out his gavage tube. BTW - the gavage tube is the nose tube. 3 times. But it went back in more smoothly this time than the last time. And it's taped much closer to his nose so hopefully he won't pull it out. I've given up on the mittens I knitted for him. He figured out how to pull them off today. He puts them up on the velcro on the right side of his head, waits for them to stick & pulls. Voila! No mitten. I'm taking up socks later to see if they'll stay on better. I do so LOVE my Wiggly-Boo!!!

We met with Margaret, one of the occupational therapists, during the 3 pm feeding. She is very impressed with Duncan's nippling skills (yes, that's the actual term. Weird to write but heck, I write about breasts so why not??). He also latches on very well when he breastfeeds. So he has the skills to eat, just not the energy. But we're getting there. I'm still hopeful we'll be home soon. Besides, I didn't intend to spend my entire maternity leave at the hospital so I'm sending SUPER positive vibes and prayers to my Duncan so I can spend lots of time with him at home soon :)

And now, I need to go & see if we actually have a living room. I remember it once but it's been missing for a couple weeks. I have just over an hour before it's time to pump again so I can dedicate some time. For some reason I actually have energy. Could be the first Pepsi I've had since October...Nah. That couldn't be it!