Plugging along (97 days)

Every day, I wake up and hope that today will be the day we learn that Bryce will be coming home, and every day the answer is, "not yet." In a way, it feels a bit like waiting for a full-term baby to be born, except in this case, we know precisely what needs to happen: Bryce needs to mature enough so that he can take all his feedings orally.

When Bryce started nursing, the nurses estimated how much he'd eaten based on the duration of the feeding, but when his cleft palate was discovered, they started weighing him before and after each meal. Christie and I were dismayed to learn that the "full" (based on time) feedings of days gone by were actually only half that. The good news is that we've been moving in the right direction: on Saturday, he took more than half of his total milk volume by mouth, and yesterday he set new records for nursing (32 ml) and bottling (45 ml -- a full feeding).

In all other aspects, Bryce has been doing great. In spite of all the feeding difficulties, he has been gaining weight (5 lb., 10 oz.), and a little experimentation has proven that his earlier digestive problems were caused by the protein powder. His breathing support is still only a trickle, and the opthamologist said his eyes are steadily improving! I highly doubt that the happy homecoming will happen before the holiday weekend, but as for the following week.... stay tuned. :) Print this post