Another First

I'm so very proud!

My little man had another big first.

You see, the only thing left now is learning to eat.  On Friday, the doctors had ordered that he be bottle-fed twice a day, but not until his breathing rate slowed down.  He has been breathing very fast, so they wanted it under 70 breaths per minute.  Over the past couple of days, he hadn't seemed to be slowing down at all.  Finally, he slowed down enough that the nurse said we could try, since my husband and I were there to feed him ourselves.

Finally, he took a bottle for the very first time.

I have been very nervous about beginning bottle-feedings, because everyone has been preparing me for the worst.  Learning to suck, swallow and breathe, all at the same time, is a HUGE challenge for preemies.  They often have trouble breathing, drop their oxygen saturation, choke on the milk, etc.  It is also very common for babies to get worn out, because it is a lot of work sucking, swallowing, and breathing, all at the same time.

But I have to say, I am so proud.  My little boy did SO GREAT for his very first time!  He normally gets 50 ml of milk every 3 hours, so we started with the bottle first, and he drank almost half!  Even the nurse was impressed, because his heart did not brady, nor did his oxygen level drop.  It was still a lot for him to do, and he would chug a few times, then stop and breathe, then chug some more, until it was a little much and we had to stop.  But still, that was amazing!  I'm hoping he will continue to eat well, so that they can gradually increase his bottle-feedings until he is eating a complete bottle every 3 hours, and no longer needs a feeding tube.  Slowly but surely, we are getting there!!