Weight Update and Baby H's First Bottle *Updated*

After losing a few ounces and having his weight fluctuate for a few days, baby H gained a little weight over the past two days. As of last night, he weighed 2 lbs 11.25 oz. Praise God!! It is encouraging to see him gain weight, as this is one of the criteria needed for him to come home. We've been told that, for him to come home, he has to be over 4 lbs and be able to drink a bottle in 20 minutes or less. These things cannot happen fast enough for me and Michael! We are so, so eager to bring him home with us!

Because baby H has been doing well sucking on his pacifier, on Thursday his nurse gave him his first bottle. He was able to take about 5 mL (of his 23 mL feeding), but it seemed to be challenging for him to suck on the bottle and have something come out of it. It may take a few times for him to coordinate all that is happening when he takes a bottle. Hopefully they will try this a little more over the next couple of weeks, so that he can get lots of practice as he is gaining his weight.

Thank you again for your continued thoughts and prayers! Baby H is making wonderful progress, and we will continue to pray for his weight gain and progress with bottle feedings! Please pray for us (especially super emotional Mommy!) as it continues to be extremely hard to leave the hospital without him. We know God has blessed us in so many ways, and we will continue to focus on how He has answered so many our prayers as we anxiously wait to bring him home!

Today we learned that the neonatologists have started baby H on the "step down" care path. This means that he should be moved to the "step down" area of the NICU very soon (right now he is in the "ICU" area) and that, as he gains more weight, we will be able to hold him more, feed him more, and spend more time with him. This was very encouraging news!

Finally, here are some of my favorite pictures from the past few days...
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*Tonight when we arrived at the NICU, baby H was no longer in his little area. We searched for him for a minute and then learned he had been moved to the "step down" area! Also, he weighed 2 lbs 12 oz tonight!