We celebrated Greysons 4-week birthday today! Thank you to everyone who sent cards and such for him. :) As I write tonights update, I have some mixed feelings on how to approach it. On one hand, I have all the pent up frustration wanting to be done with the NICU process and just bring him home. There wasnt much change over the course of the week, and I know some things you just dont want to rush in terms of his development. But on the other hand, today was a flurry of new progress, which seems to wash away everything with excitement and joy. His birthdays always end up being big days. Speaking of big, as youll see in the pictures, he really has grown a lot over the past month. Hes up 93 grams just today, and is just shy of his next milestone of 1,800 grams at 1,766 (3lbs 14oz). I assume we will hit that tomorrow, which means hell most likely be able to move out of the isolette and into the open crib. I know that 4lbs doesnt sound like much, until you consider that hes almost doubled his birth weight, and it shows. They removed the airflow machine today, and will most likely remove his nasal cannula tomorrow. Well finally get to see those cute cheeks without all the tape and such. All that will remain is his feeding tube. Preemies usually cant start on a bottle until 34 weeks, but he continues to be ahead of normal development timelines, so that may be coming soon. Hell be 32 weeks gestational age on Thursday. Were very proud of our son, and the impression he makes on the medical staff. Originally, everyone was cautious and wanted to ensure that we took things as they came, not focusing at all on the future. But now, even the doctors and nurse practioners (who are least likely to instill false hope) are telling us that it shouldnt be much longer now, and that his risk of complications at this point is extremely low. This certainly doesnt mean that hes out of the woods, but its nice to hear the confidence in their voices. Several of the nurses who have been doing NICU a long time have told us this week that he doesnt act like a 31-weeker, and that his behaviors and mannerisms are more developed than theyd expect at this age. They also says that he exhibits signs of being very smart due to his ability to pick up the things they are teaching him so quickly. I know they are speaking clinically, but its hard to not beam as parents when we hear that. :) So thats pretty much all I have for this week. Ill post more videos later in the week, since those seem to be pretty popular. For now, enjoy these photos of our 4-week old.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 02:42:38 +0000