Five Weeks

Highlights from theWeek:

• Weight: 1904 Grams or 4 LBS 3.1 Oz 

 Open Crib- On Tuesday the 18^th Owen was able to come out of the isolate bed and moved into an open crib.  This is a big milestone and so exciting.  Preemies are placed into isolates because they can’t keep their body temperatures regulated and need to be warmed.  Owen has been keeping his body temperature for quite some time.  He was getting so warm in the isolate they were unswaddling him because of this.  He definitely inherited that warm body temperature from his dad. 

·         Bath in the Bathtub- On Tuesday the 18^th Owen got his first bath in the actual bathtub.  We did a swaddle bath and he seemed to enjoy it.

·         ½ Liter of Oxygen- Owen has been on two liters of oxygen since coming off of the CPAP.  Now Owen is on a half liter of oxygen and doing great on it.  They have to raise the percent of oxygen during his feeds but the most it gets raised to usually is 24%.  He breathes anywhere from 21-24%.  Room air that we all breathe is 21% so he is doing pretty well with his oxygen.

·         Bottle Feeding- The last two days they have started Owen on feeding from the bottle. They will keep his feeding tube in but also work with him on bottle feeding. The process of sucking, swallowing, and breathing is very tough on a preemie.  The whole multitasking thing makes preemies very tired, but Owen has been doing great.  The first time they tried the bottle he drank 15 ml of milk out of his total 36 ml he drinks every three hours.  In the last twenty-four hours, out of his total feedings, he took 42% from the bottle.  This is a great sign! In the nights he tends to drink the most from the bottle because he tends to be more awake.  I also think it’s because one of our favorite nurses Kristina is working with him and he wants to show off for her.  During the day he takes a bit less from the bottle because he gets tired and falls asleep more often.  However, all in all, we are impressed with his progress so far on bottle feeding. This is one more big step to being able to eventually come home!

***Our little O-man is working so hard and we couldn’t be more proud of his progress. He continues to surprise the doctors and nurses and is meeting big milestones.  Our little miracle continues to humble us and teaches us something new each and every day.  We absolutely love our little warrior and couldn’t be more blessed. 

Sleepy boy with a cute and little double chin!

First time we held Owen to holding him now.

Owen's footprints from when he was born and when he turned one month.