June 10, 2018

Another special day for Charlie! For the first time in his life, (173 days to be exact but who’s counting), Charlie got to leave his room and go for a walk around the NICU! All of his different procedures and his surgery were done in his room; he’s never had to leave it so it’s all he’s ever known. It was amazing to watch him explore his new world, even if it were for only 30 seconds because he fell asleep! I’d say it’s definitely a step in the right direction!

Charlie is 10lbs 6oz and no longer on milk fortifier! They were mixing mom’s milk with human milk fortifier to help him grow and gain weight faster, but now they mix the milk with formula. Eventually, they will wean him down until he is able to eat mom’s milk only. All good things!

Charlie is on 1 liter of wall oxygen and still is getting albuterol breathing treatments. He still sleeps all night and stay awake longer during the day. He even sleeps through his baths when mommy does then at night after work! He is getting so big! It’s hard to believe he will be 6 months old in 9 days!

He is still working on bottle feeding. He gets 84mLs in his bottles (a little under 3oz), and he averages about 30mLs during a feeding by bottle, and has to be fed the rest through his tube. So he is getting there, just needs more time and practice!

Please pray that Charlie will get better and better at bottle feeding and that he will do well on this oxygen! He needs to master bottle feeding and have lower oxygen needs in order to come home. We still don’t have a clear time frame of when he could come home but we hope it’s sometime this summer! He is such a little miracle and we are beyond blessed. Thank you all so much for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers! Have a great week!