MAY 21ST

Ryan weighed 5 lbs. 8 oz. last night!!!

GREAT NEWS!!!

I spoke to the doctor this morning and she wants me to "room in" with Ryan tomorrow night!!! I am so excited! The NICU has rooms that moms stay with their babies in order for the mom to fully take care of the baby before they go home. Basically, I will take care of all of Ryan's needs for a 24 period. The doctor wants to see how Ryan does with 1 person feeding him each feed. She said the consistency of 1 person may help him.

I'm excited because I haven't had the opportunity to do this and I'm sure it will make the transition to home easier. After all, I will be taking care of all of his needs 24 hours a day from now on.

Don't know if I have updated everything on Ryan......He is on room air only (meaning no cannula, just breathing like us), except for his feedings. They put on the cannula before he eats and take it off after he's done. They have tried to feed him without it, but his oxygen saturation level drops dramatically and so does his heart rate.

I think he's doing great though. He was just on 5 bottle feedings per day on Sunday and they upped him to 8 on Monday, so I think he just needs a little time to adjust.

So the big question...When does Ryan get to come home? Well, if he does well with the feedings when I room in with him, then I would expect him home in a few days. Joey and I will still have training to do i.e. oxygen, monitors, medicines, etc. that we have to know how to do before he comes home. However, after that, he'll be able to be at home with us where he belongs.

If he doesn't do well with feedings, then they will reduce his bottle feedings per day and we'll have to wait for him to do 8 feedings well per day. I'm sure if this happens he'll adjust in no time, but it will probably be another week.

Ryan is so alert! He will just lay in my arms with his eyes wide open and look around at everything going on. He makes little cooing noises and is just so adorable. I can't wait for everyone to meet Ryan in person.

Please pray for us that all goes well with rooming in!

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers. They have worked miracles for Ryan and helped Joey, Alec and I through a difficult time.


Lisa