Dane meets Great Grandma!

Dane got to see Grandma Anderson again and meet Great-Grandma Miller for the first time today. They also brought him some additional clothes...we are super excited for when he gets home and he can start growing into and wearing all the cute clothes we have for him! We could tell he was very excited because even AFTER eating he managed to stay awake and look around the room. And this had been no ordinary meal. After successfully taking a whole meal from a bottle yesterday, today Dane did a great job of breast-feeding (on his first attempt)! Following this strenuous activity, Dane promptly decided to yank his NG tube completely out of his nose. We think he was saying "I can eat on my own now and this tube is uncomfortable!" but he isn't quite ready to have it out (still gets tired eating and can't do all his meals on his own). So we got the chance to see him with his face completely uncovered before the nurses had to put the tube back through his nose to his stomach again before the next feeding.

Either way, he is doing really well. He did move from the isolet to a crib today, so that is exciting. We know there isn't really any difference between Dane in the isolet and Dane in the crib (assuming he can maintain his body temperature, which he is doing) - but he looks so much healthier when we see him in the crib! So much more like a baby almost ready to come home...we can't wait.

He also is gaining weight (which is good)! He measured 1800 grams today, which is just under 4 pounds. Now that he is eating well, he will still be getting some meals through the tube in his nose, but the IV fluids (TPN, D10, and lipid solution) have all been turned off. As long as he continues to tolerate his tube and/or oral feedings well, he may get to have his PICC line taken out tomorrow. That'd be nice just so his arm is a bit more comfortable. We'll keep watching to make sure his weight continues to go up now, especially when he is breast-feeding more (because it is pretty much impossible to figure out exactly how much he eats in that case other than by following his weight).