JC just called me, and they are on their way home from visiting Eli at the hospital – they were there for quite a while! JC said that he looks absolutely fantastic, and that he is down to 27% oxygen, which is great. He got his first bottle of milk today, and did great – it was 11 cc’s of breastmilk. Previously he was on a feeding tube, and was only getting 5 cc’s of milk per feeding. Commentary from Rachel: For a frame of reference for those of you who haven’t been through the “fun” of pumping and storing breastmilk, 1 ounce is about 30 cc’s, and most infants start out on 2 ounces (~60 cc’s) and quickly move up to 4 ounces (~120 cc’s) per feeding. So Eli is taking about 1/3 of an ounce of milk per feeding.
The best part of the visit was that they got to hold him for the first time!! (Lindsay got to hold him right after he was born, but she doesn’t remember that too well and JC didn’t get to hold him at all). JC said that it was definitely one of “life’s greatest experiences”, and that it didn’t feel like he was holding anything but blankets. Eli even opened his eyes for a minute while JC held him.
They are thrilled with his progress, and thrilled that he got moved down to the CCN. They took some pictures and promised to get them to me tonight to post for all of you!
