Almost Homeward Bound

Ever since Eli started nasal cannula he has been progressing very quickly! Here are the big milestones he's achieved in the past 2 weeks:

Breastfeeding - Eli can breastfeed like a champ! He has always loved his pacifier and that seemed to help him transition well into breastfeeding. Since it's hard to know exactly how much he's eating, the nurses weigh him before and after he eats. The first time we weighed him he took in 90mL! That's a lot of milk for him because he is usually tube fed 63mL every 3 hours. We thought it was a fluke so we tried again the next day and he took 70mL! We are so happy that he can successfully breastfeed. Almost all premature babies are unable to get enough volume from the breast because they have to work so hard to get it. It doesn't seem to be a problem for Eli! He does, however, have a harder time taking milk from a bottle. The occupational therapists have been trying to find a bottle with a flow that works best for him. In order to come home, Eli needs to take all 8 of his feedings in a 24 hour period by either breast or bottle. He is well on his way!

Breathing - just today, Eli was switched from a high flow cannula to low flow. On the high flow cannula, Eli started at 30% oxygen at 3 liters per minute and was weened down to 30% oxygen at 1 liter per minute. With low flow, he receives 100% oxygen at .2 liters per minute. He is doing so much better on this setting and is able to keep his oxygen saturation high! We anticipate that Eli will be on oxygen for a little while after he comes home. Ideally, the doctors want the settings to be 100% oxygen at .1 liter per minute, so we are almost there!

Grandma took this cute picture while looking in on his webcam. 

Bath - with his central line removed and being on nasal cannula, Eli was able to have his first swaddle bath from us! It was probably the cutest thing I've ever seen. He didn't cry at all but just seemed happy to be there in the warm water. Watch the video below to see his reaction:

Update: Here's another video of Eli getting a bath. It's our favorite thing to do! :)