Countdown to Holding Benjamin!

Today was an exciting day for us because we learned that they'll be taking his thoracic line out of his chest tomorrow...which means...WE GET TO HOLD HIM FINALLY!! They put in a PICC line so that they still have IV access to his heart should they need it. We are so excited and cannot wait to hold him tomorrow!! We'll definitely be taking pictures so be sure to check the blog!!

His feeding varies; one feeding he'll do great and take 30mL and the next he'll take like 6 or 7 mL. He is doing great though and we just have to give him time...easier said than done though! The doctors are happy with his progress. I spoke with Dr. Pastuszko today and he said that as sad as it is to say, they hate healthy babies in the NICU. Benjamin is a healthy baby and they cannot wait to send him home...and neither can we! We are optimistic that perhaps he might come home sometime next week but only time will tell. They are starting to involve us more in his routines though. We have been changing diapers and feeding him, if we are there at the right time, as well as learning to administer his medicines. That's been nice because it's more physical contact with him, which we most thoroughly enjoy. As of now, we know he'll be on at least 3 medications when he comes home: Aspirin, Captopril (meds for his heart), and Lasiks (to help him pee). All are given orally, except the aspirin which is in suppository form :( poor guy. We'll let daddy take care of that one!

The girls enjoy going to the hospital with us even if they don't get to see baby brother. They like to look at the pictures when we're done. I take little videos for them too. The pictures you see of the girls are just to show you the goodies they get at the hospital! These are ice cream mustaches leftover from an ice cream that the cafeteria lady gave to the girls for free! How nice!