Warm and Bundled

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello precious! Lots of news today. Gigi (mommy's mom) met me at the hospital today. Your weight at the last weigh in (last night) was 3 lbs 4.9 ozs. Then, before we left, the nurse weighed you and your weight went to 3 lbs 5.6 ozs!

Your feedings have increased to 32ml of milk every three hours. Previously, they added a fortifier into the milk (at a ratio of 2:1) to add some extra calories to help you gain weight. Since you're growing better, they've decreased the ratio to 1:1.

Gigi got to hold you again! I passed you off to her after we did our second "lick and learn." :-) You were all warm and bundled in her arms. :-) You slept soundly.



We did two "lick and learns" today. We did the 3pm and the 9pm feedings. At the 3pm, it was just us, and I held you for several hours afterwards. At the 9pm, I had one of the lactation nurses come in to check on our progress. You did really well for the nurse! We used the nipple shield and you had several big gulps of milk. You still have to pace yourself and go slowly, but each little drop counts. The nurse tried to aspirate the milk out to see how much you digested. She got one ml, but she thinks you probably got more than that based on your actions and the large, loud burp you had! :-) Afterwards, I changed your diaper, and it was a big poop! The nurse said you've gone past "lick and learn" phase .... now you're sucking and swallowing and trying to add breathing into the mix. Each day we'll do a little more. :-)

You're such a cute little man!

I'll always be here for you! I love you very much! :-)

~Mommy