Finally...a face!

Today was such a good day. This morning, Wyatt's CPAP came off. We can finally see what he looks like! He has got so much hair! I checked the other children's newborn pictures, and he is definitely the winner of the hair contest! What else...his blood cultures came back negative (again) so he came off of antibiotics (again!). His hand IV port was removed too. Right now, he has oxygen prongs taped to his face, and he is so much more comfortable without the CPAP stuck on his face.

The neonatalogist examed him at 10:30 am and decided that he was born at 34 weeks 6 days. She tested his reflexes and examined different parts of his anatomy to determine his approximate gestational birth age. He opened up his eyes wide during the exam and was not too pleased! It was great to hear him cry.

I tried nursing him in the afternoon, but he was too tired. We had a nice cuddle though. After supper, we tried the breastfeeding again, and this time, he latched on a good ten times or more. I was certain he hadn't got a thing out of me, but before the nurse gavaged him, she checked to see what was in his tummy. Three cc's of fresh breastmilk!!! Not a lot by any means, but for his first real attempt, I was so happy. (He needs 46 cc's for a full feed, given every three hours).

After he was fed, Wyatt lay there quietly on his side, looking around. He made eye contact briefly with me for the first time. All in all, a very very good day! Thank you to everyone who is praying for him and us. Today seemed like several small miracles. Please pray that his bilirubin levels will start to drop and that he will continue to be receptive to breastfeeding.