Day 7

It's hard to believe Mason is a week old already! He continues to make progress and is doing great! Last night Richard and I decided that we're going to try bottle feeding him instead of nursing him while he's in the hospital. They said that once he starts feeding on his own, he needs to do that for 24 hours before they can take the feeding tube out of his nose. He started to get the hang of nursing after the second time, but they still had to give him milk through his tube. I had a small meltdown because I felt like I was giving up too easy, but the nurse said that most families who want to get out of here faster end up bottle feeding, then nursing once they get home.

We gave him his first bottle at 5 am this morning and he sucked it down like a champ! The nurse started giving it to him to monitor his breathing, then Dad was able to finish! I got to do his second feeding at 8 am and we switched off the rest of the day!

They're going to take out his IV's tonight! Then all we have left is the feeding tube that will hopefully be removed tomorrow morning!

Tonight they're going to start some of the tests he needs to pass before he can come home. The nurse is going to do the hearing test tonight when it's quiet. He has his car seat test scheduled for 8 am tomorrow morning. All preemies who are born before 37 weeks have to pass the car seat test before they can leave the hospital. They'll sit him in the car seat and monitor his oxygen levels for 2 hours to make sure that he'll be fine on the way home.

The Doctor thinks that he'll be able to go home sometime this weekend, so we're crossing our fingers!

Richard and I are coming home tomorrow afternoon. Richard's grandpa passed away last night, so we'll be home for the wake. I also have a baby shower at 6 pm that my sister-in-laws are putting on for me. Our plan is to sleep at home and then my mom and I will drive up on Saturday morning and Richard will stay home for the funeral and come up in the afternoon.

Thank you again for all of your prayers!