Day 79

I am so excited: Curly Q is doing FANTASTIC! Yay! Finally! So, on Monday, they lowered her oxygen down to 1.5 liters which shocked me. The day before they lowered her to 2, and I fully expected her to be bumped back up to 3 to recoup (because she's done this in the past every time they lower her less than 3). But she did great on 1.5 liters of oxygen pressure. Basically, she's just on oxygen support, without the pressurized oxygen. This is finally low enough oxygen for her to begin oral feedings!

Yesterday, the Doc gave the okay to begin nursing. Last night, we did a trial run to see how she latched. The occupational therapist was there to consult and help. Curly Q latched immediately with no problem and began nursing like a pro. The OT lady was shocked. She said she's never seen a baby do so well. She grabbed the stethoscope and listened to her throat to hear her swallowing. She was gulping milk and breathing fantastically. The OT lady stopped Curly Q before she was finished because this was supposed to be a 'dry run' and she didn't expect her to do so well. Afterwards, Curly Q was not happy we stopped her. She didn't want a pacifier and she was getting upset. She just wanted to keep nursing.

This morning, we tried again. We weighed Curly Q first to see how many grams she weighed. Then we weighed her again after she ate and that's how they determine how much she ate. Once again, she did fantastic! I was so proud of her! I could hear her gulping milk and breathing great between each swallow. The nurse asked if I could feel her swallowing, and I told her I could hear it. We weighed her and she weighed 50 grams more. 50! 66 is her full feeding. I asked the nurse if that was good and she was shocked and said it was absolutely awesome! I'll go back to nurse Curly Q tonight, and if she does well, then tomorrow we can bump up to 3 times a day. Then maybe 4 times a day. Then try back to back feedings. Then 12 hours at a time, then 24 hours, then HOME! If she continues to do as well as she is, she could be home next week! Hooray!