DOL 27

Hello from the NICU! I hope that you are all making headway on your holiday shopping. I'm going to have to do all of mine online this year on account of my being stuck in this place...that and that I can't walk.

Things are going great though...I'm gaining weight little by little. I am 2 lbs., 14.4 oz. as of last night. I am guzzling down my feeds and in a couple of weeks, mom and dad will be able to feed from a bottle. It's going to take me a while to get coordinated with the whole sucking-swallowing-remembering-to-breath thing. But, I'm a fast learner and I can't wait to get this tube out of my nose. It can't happen soon enough!

Until then, I'll just have to be content with sleeping the day away here in this little plastic house. I heard my doctors talking about me today. Apparently, I'm doing much better than most babies who are born as early as I was. That's nice to hear. They said that in several weeks, I may be able to leave the NICU and go to a "step-down" nursery. Then, my mom and dad can stay the night and do all my feedings. This is all in the future, but it's something to look forward to. Plus, this will give dad more time to get the house ready before I come home. I'm sure mom will remind him...

I feel good. The doctors here figured out that I really like caffeine. This keeps everything running smoothly until a lot of my neuro-motor functions mature. Tomorrow marks what would have been 31 weeks of gestation. I'm getting closer and closer to my due date! I'm quite the Christmas gift!

Here are a couple of videos of me. It's getting harder and harder to get photos of me...no, I certainly don't shun the attention, it's just, I spend so much time asleep these days, without the lights on...that the flash photography really irritates me. So, I told my dad to keep them to a minimum. So, instead, he's been sneaking the video clips, which don't need the bright flash lights. See you later!