Day 9: Unmasked

James had a great day today. His feeds are advancing, from every 8 hours to every 4 yesterday, and today the amount increased to 2 ml. For those not acclimatized to metric, think 2/5 of a teaspoon. Not much, but he is a little dude. Also, remember, the feeds are going into his naso-gastric tube and straight into his stomach.

When some labs were reviewed yesterday there were also a few changes. No more super-hero mask for James! The lights are off now, as his bilirubin is down. Also, the antibiotics are now being stopped.

James and his parents are also making more friends in the NICU. Quite the group. There are the twins, the full-termers who need a little help, and the other preemies. The closest neighbors are the twins, beautiful girls sharing James' birthday but born at 30 weeks, now wearing their own clothes, eating well, and getting close to graduating. A new friend was delivered today in the front seat of his father's car! He is only here for some antibiotics and is doing great. James' first friend and neighbor, Ava Grace, is now in the other room. She is doing very well too. Lots of happy news around the NICU!

Yesterday, Robin's mother finally asked the question that we had been wanting but reluctant to ask... how long might our stint in the NICU be? Nurse Anne explained that they no longer follow the 5 lb. rule; instead, there are a bunch of factors to consider. James will need to be able to breathe on his own, stay warm without an incubator, and feed by mouth. A rough rule of thumb for discharge: preemies might go home somewhere around their due date if everything is stable. The earliest would be 36 weeks gestation; it could be much later. We don't want to get our hearts set on a date in case it comes and goes, but it'll be 2-3 months at least.