Day Three

Well... we made it through our nightime schedule although it is certainly going to take some getting used to! I'm not used to two hour sleeping blocks!

Hayden had some ups and downs today. He is having trouble feeding with the bottle. He had a couple good feedings, but he just hasn't quite got the hang of it yet. As he builds more energy he should show continued improvement. For now they put a feeding tube in through his mouth that goes directly into his stomach. This way they can make up for what he won't eat through the feeding tube. I can tell you he isn't a huge fan of the tube!

The good news is that he got a few of the other tubes removed today. At noon today they removed the big IV that was attached to his head (evidently there's a good vein up there). The nurses called it his party hat! The BIG news was that they removed all the oxygen sources and he is totally on his own breathing. It was kind of funny how they decided to remove it... Basically, Hayden ripped it off his nose by himself and then just continued breathing on his own "I don't need this pesky thing anymore!"

Grandma Ray arrived today and she was so thrilled to see her little grandson. She held him and helped with his feedings and even read him a few stories.

If all goes well, they expect that they may be able to release him sometime next week. His basic checklist of things he still needs to improve before he can go home is:
1) Maintain his temperature without the incubator (he makes progress on this each day)
2) Maintain a steady heart rate without needing stimulation for at least 5 days (ocassionaly his heart rate will go down and we'll need to rub his chest to get it back up)
3) Take full feedings with the bottle for five days

Day by day he is making good progress and we're so thankful for that.

Here are today's pics:

Look Dad, No breathing tubes!

Hayden's Corner