Her lightbulb has turned on!

Hi everyone,

There is so much good news today I don't even know where to begin. Willow's little lightbulb in her brain has officially turned on. It's really amazing, actually. They kept saying it would happen all at once as she neared her due date - that she would suddenly "get" the sucking thing and just take off, and she has. On Sunday and Monday she was still taking half her feeds or less by nipple, and then she would sometimes not take the whole thing. Then all of sudden on Monday night, something clicked, and since that 11:00 PM feeding she's taken EVERY feed by nipple and eaten the WHOLE thing. I still can hardly believe it. Her due date is on Friday. Just like they said. The human brain is an amazing thing! She actually wakes up every 3 hours now for feeding, and she actually fusses like she's hungry, like a regular baby! Sometimes she's so upset and hungry I can barely get that nipple in her mouth fast enough! I've still been using the bottle. I don't want to throw her off and, like I said, we can work on breastfeeding at home.

She's been doing so great they took out her NG tube (the feeding tube in her nose) today! They also took off her pulse oximeter. That's the thing on her foot that measures her oxygen saturation levels. They decided she doesn't need it anymore because she hasn't has a desatting episode in so long. She's also been doing great with her Apneas and Bradys. Her nurse today said that, as of now, it doesn't look like she'll have to go home with a monitor! Let's see...what else...oh, they started her on the Neosure formula today. See, forever, Willow's been getting every other feeding breastmilk and every other feeding Human Milk Fortifier formula, because it has more calories and has extra calcium and phosphorous, which she needs. But they don't send babies home on the H.M.F.because it's not really available outside a hospital and it's REALLY expensive. So they switch them to Neosure a few days before discharge. It's a preemie formula that can be bought at the store and it's much cheaper.

They're still talking rooming in-now they're saying maybe tonight or tomorrow! I'll put updates on the blog (hopefully-I've heard rooming-in is a little bit of a shock to the system but I should be able to bring my laptop in there).

Goooooo Willow! Rah rah rah!