One week old!

Trout reached a week old last night, is starting to gain weight back and has had his feedings upped to 34ml/3 hrs so he is right on track! He has had his IV tubes removed (so he is just eating Mom's milk now) and his oxygen reduced to 25% which is just a bit over room air. Rose got to hold him skin on skin for over an hour yesterday while he was eating, one of the best experiences of her life so far (and his too I'm sure). Holding him naked except for a diaper against bare skin lets him smell her, hear her heartbeat and stay warm and allows him to regulate his own heart rate and temp better, two skills he needs to master before we can take him home. He is now 32 weeks along (vs 40 to term) and is starting to process waste better so his UV lights (sort of a tanning lamp that helps him break down waste in his blood) have been turned off. For Rose and I we are living hour to hour basically with lots of emotional ups and downs thruout the day. Leaving him in the ICU at the end of our daily visit is a heartbreaker every time and every time we go into the ICU in the morning is a mix of anticipation and fear. We've been spending about 6-8hrs at the hospital each day hanging out, pumping milk every 2-3 hrs 24/7 and meeting with Trouts neonatologist every morning. So tiring I can't even imagine what it will be like when we do have him at home though at least the milk pumping may get a bit easier (no hoses, bottles, pumps just breastfeed him directly). All the nurses tell us there will be ups and downs as he matures over the next few weeks but we can only really handle ups so look for silver linings everywhere we can...like since he will have two months extra experience by the time he reaches full term won't he be two months smarter than all those other kids ;)? Poppa