Wednesday, June 4, 2008

To be or not to be

5 pounds- that is the question Toby is deciding. Yesterday, he reached that milestone and generated much rejoicing. Yesterday was also the first time he went an entire day with only nipple feedings and nothing through the tube. By this morning, he had lost an ounce and could no longer lay claim to 5 pounds of greatness.

He continues to improve with his feeding abilities, but it is hard work for him. The weight loss basically means that he expended more energy eating than he took in. He also had a number of alarms yesterday and today while eating. That is a sign of fatigue and the amount of effort it is costing him to eat. I think he did manage to take in a greater volume today, though. So we will WAIT -have you heard that word from us before?- and see how his weight is tomorrow morning.

My understanding of the criteria for release is that he must nipple all his feeds for 48 hours while gaining weight and having no alarms. Any problems restart the clock, so it is impossible to know when you will actually leave. In my time here, I've seen many parents disappointed by delays caused by an alarm late in the game.

So here we are.

2 comments:

Monica Stafford said...

Nancy,
5 lbs. that is so good! Toby looks great too! I check the blog every day and then I pray specifically. What comfort to know God is in complete control.
Monica S.

Anonymous said...

I am saying prayers!