Turning a corner ... slowly

Yesterday was a wonderful and surprising day. Finn was awake and alert and ready to eat by mouth. He had three amazing bottle feedings of 15, 22, and 42 cc's out of the 42 cc's he eats each feeding. He was also alert enough to take an unknown amount by breast in the morning. After his full feeding of 42 cc's at 5:30 pm, I rushed to the hospital, taking Brian's turn, so that we could try the breast again. This time the nurses weighed him before and after the feeding since 1 gram of weight gain is basically equivalent to 1 cc of breastmilk. With this method, we figured that he took about 8 cc's by breast.

Finn must have worked too hard yesterday and needed the rest today since he barely woke up for any of his feedings. Despite his sleepiness, he was able to eat another 10 cc's by breast. Just so that you know, the remainder of his feeding is fed to him by his feeding tube. Tonight, Brian made it to the hospital for Finn's 8:30 pm feeding and fed him 18 cc's by bottle. He's on his way home now and called to let me know that being able to feed his baby son meant the world to him.

We still have a ways to go before we can bring him home but are encouraged that Finn has started showing interest in eating. Thank you for your prayers. Brian is well enough to visit, and Finn has started eating by mouth. Your prayers are truly needed and very powerful.

Oh, and can you believe that Finn is 2 weeks old today?