Lot of news to report (I'm behind in blogging)

So, it has been a while again since I posted on here. My new plan is every weekend, so we'll see how that goes. Charlie is doing very well and continues to gain weight at an encouraging pace. He is up to 5lbs 7oz as of today! They are mixing in powdered formula with the breast milk and are also supplementing with calcium and phosphate to help his bones. The nutritionists and doctors have explained to us that being on the TPN (IV nutrition) for so long was hard on Charlie's bones because they are not able to give calcium through the IV. So, while on the TPN, Charlie's blood probably leached the calcium that it needed from his bones. Luckily, Charlie's calcium and phosphate numbers are already looking better on his most recent blood test.

Charlie passed his hearing test with flying colors. We weren't too worried because he has always been sensitive to sounds and seems to respond to and recognize voices. He gets his eyes checked every two weeks and the most recent test shows some early retinopathy (ROP) which isn't good news, but it doesn't necessarily mean a bad outcome. If he shows further signs of ROP, he might need eye surgery, but if the surgery is successful, his sight could be fine. So, like many things with Charlie, it's a wait-and-see (no pun intended).

Charlie's biggest change lately was a change of scenery! He has been moved to the Continuing Care Nursery, which is a less intensive division of the NICU that handles babies who are on their way home. It is very swanky and Charlie has his own private room with among other amenities, a flat-screen TV. I'm not sure what he watches when we're gone, but usually it's just easy-listening, new age music and nature scenes when we're there. I'll attach some pictures of it in the next post.

Speaking of moving, Shannon and I have been learning a lot more about what life is going to be like when Charlie finally gets to come home. He may be bringing a friend home with him for a while, well an oxygen tank actually. The developmental specialist said it's possible that he might still have to be on nasal canula oxygen for as long as a year after he comes home. Initially it seemed like a big pain to have to lug an oxygen tank around with us everywhere, but that won't be a problem because we won't be going anywhere. Yep, the developmental specialist also said that Charlie will need to stay at home for a solid year from his delivery date except for doctor's appointments and limited outdoor public activities. He definitely cannot be around other children and for the most part people who have children. So, we need to ask yet another favor of all of you, our friends, PLEASE don't forget about us! The good news is that we are able to keep Ernie, Emily and Joey (our 2 corgis and 1 cat who thinks he's a corgi, for those of you who don't know). We weren't sure that was going to be the case initially.

It's a bummer because Shannon and I had wanted to be those parents who were unafraid to take there kid anywhere and we did not want having a baby stop us from being social and getting out. But, like many of our other plans, they have had to change. Conversely, we're so excited to have Charlie home soon that we're not too disappointed about him having to stay there. Charlie also has a few grandparents that probably won't mind watching him when Shannon and I need to get out.

As far as when Charlie is coming home, when is still up to him somewhat. He has been learning to feed from the bottle, but it has been pretty slow progress. He has good days and bad days, but it is pretty stressful feeding him because he basically chokes every time. Sometimes he gets a fair amount before chocking or only chokes a little, but it is still not fun. He "Bradies" as they call it which means his heart rate and oxygen saturation go way down and you kind of have to help revive him by rubbing his back and head. I'm not sure that he is n any real danger when it happens since someone is always right there, but it is unnerving at best. Regardless, once he does get the hang of eating all his food from the bottle or breast, he'll get to come home. Needless to say, we are trying to help him along in learning as fast as possible, but it's really up to him.

So, I'll post some more pictures soon. And more info.