71 days

Things are going well here. Owen is continuing to work on nursing. He is doing a good job, but is not efficient enough to get a full feeding in 20-30 min. If he sucks longer than that he consumes more calories than he takes in. So I have to supplement his feeding until he gets a little stronger. I am avoiding using a bottle this early on, so I have tried a drip tube that allows him to get more milk while he's nursing. In the last 24 h the doctor has allowed me to feed on demand, instead of following their every 3 h schedule. It resulted in me getting a lot less sleep, but I think it will smooth out after a few days. Even with the new schedule he gained weight - that's what really matters.

This method I use to quantify Owen's progress is one the doctor called "unconventional" and apparently it's new to the nurses and I have to explain it at every shift change. Basically I have to take Owen's "pre-weight". Then I feed him, using a tube to supplement with breast milk while he's nursing. Then I take a "post-weight". Each gram increase is a ml of milk. I subtract the # mls that I put in the syringe/ tube and that gives me the # mls he got from nursing. I add the total number of mls he eats per day and make sure that he is getting enough. Then when I weigh him after 24 h I ensure he's gained. It doesn't seem that complicated to me, and it seems like they should have a process for teaching preemies to nurse. But apparently people don't do it, almost everyone uses bottles. I was so surprised. I kind of enjoy the process...numbers, data...it's like doing my own little experiment, but it is very time consuming. I will have to keep doing this at home until he's mastered nursing full feedings.

But the doctor felt that if we can continue this process for a few days, and I feel comfortable doing it at home, and he continues to gain weight, I can take him home:). However, nothing is simple, and the complicated part is arranging getting home. The doctor feels it would be safer to fly than to drive. If we drove the 1,000 miles, we'd have to stop every 2 h and she thinks it would still be too hard on him. If we fly the risks include the elevation (less oxygen, which we don't know if this would be hard on Owen or not) and the exposure to germs in the airport since preemies are high risk for infection. We are looking into taking oxygen on the plane, but the airlines won't allow portable oxygen tanks. I also have to see if our insurance will cover a protective RSV shot to help protect him from RSV. If we can make all the arrangements, hopefully we will be home soon.