NICU Day 17: take that feeding tube

Dear Colton,

Wow…Mommy and Daddy couldn't be more proud of you! Each day you continue to amaze us. 

Grandpa Lloyd came to visit you early this morning before Mommy got to the hospital. The nurses told him the good news and he shared it with Mommy on her drive into the hospital. The doctors are going to try to take your feeding tube out today! You have been doing such a good job eating by bottle that they want to see if you're able to continue eating without the use of the feeding tube. Mommy is sooo excited. I decided to wait for Daddy to see you himself tonight instead of telling him. It's the first time he'll see your face without any medical tubes connected to you…I love it!!

First photo without your feeding tube

Of course…there is the possibility that you may need to have the feeding tube reinserted. This morning you ate all of your breakfast like a champ, but this afternoon you left about 10 ccs. You had your bottle with the vitamin in it and I think there was something wrong with nipple because you were sucking for a long time but it didn't look like you were getting anything. Plus, you had your first bath in a tub this afternoon and got weighed…so Mommy thinks you were just really tired from all the 'action' before your feeding. Oh, and…Grandma Jibby got to hold you for the first time. She started to cry a little bit. You definitely made her day!!

You seemed to really like your first bath in a tub…much better than laying naked on the scale and having Mommy wash you with a cloth! You didn't even cry once!

Your first bath in a tub. You LOVED it…no tears!

Drying off with a smile

First time hanging out with Grandma Jibby! She cried!

Dr. Mike also told Mommy this morning that they were going to stop your caffeine and see how your brady episodes go without it. This is BIG STEP as well, as you can't go home while on caffeine so they are trying to take you off of it to get you another step closer to going home. If your bradies get worse then they will just put you back on the caffeine…but we hope this isn't the case. In about 5-7 days the caffeine will no longer be in your body and then from there, you will have to have 6 whole days without a brady before you can go home. Mommy and Daddy are so excited we're at least taking the first step with this in the right direction!

Daddy came to visit for your 6p visit like he does everyday. It was an important time because if you didn't take all of your bottle he was going to feed you then your feeding tube would have to be inserted. Mommy was so nervous. But, as always, you progressed through it and ate the entire bottle! Mommy and Daddy were so thrilled and we were able to leave for the evening knowing that you (hopefully) have gotten into the routine of eating from a bottle. What a HUGE milestone!!!

Here are some pictures from your time with Daddy tonight:

Daddy and you were talking about the Duke vs. North Carolina game tonight

Passed out after eating all of your bottle!

We just love your face when you sleep!

Another great day in the NICU! Fingers crossed you continue to progress daily and then maybe, just maybe, we've spent more days in the NICU than we have days remaining here.

We love you so much buddy! Sweet dreams, we'll see you in the morning.

Love,
Mommy, Daddy & Youkilis