Finally, we got to visit with Grady and he was awake and checking out his surroundings. Seems like we are always interrupting his naps. You will notice the happy face with the paci in his mouth. The not so happy face is when he realized the paci was missing. Grady still accidently spits the paci out. He clamps that mouth down, just in case someone tries to put a tube down it. That is my thinking, anyway. It will take him a second or two to realize that he really wants that paci back. And you all can see his face when that happens. Grady is adapting to his new attachments. Moving his head around and looking in different directions is still a little foreign to him, but he is getting the hang of it. Someone will speak to him and he tries to look at them, then realizes he can move his head in that direction. Once Grady goes to the transitional care area, he will begin some new lessons. There, Grady will start trying to breath without the respirator. They will also start trying to see how well he does with bottle feedings. For now, we do not have a schedule for this, but are looking forward to being a part of these lessons. Transitional care will teach all of us how to care for Grady's extra needs. It is hard to destiguish between what is nerves and what is excitement.
Grady is taking 60 ml at each feeding. He should gradually move his amount up, as he needs it. Two ounces per feeding is about where most babies begin. Since Grady should be born in a couple of days, he is about where he needs to be with this. Grady weighed 6 lbs and 12.4 oz. He is holding at 16 3/4 inches for now. As I said the last time we spoke, Grady is receiving less calories than he has been. The doctor wanted him to gain weight and he did. Now that he is a good weight, he needs to work on getting some of his fullness down.
The nurse asked Mommy to bring some of his jump suits. Now that Grady can maintain his own body temp, he is getting too hot in the jammies. No more long sleeves for now. This little man wants his feet loose. Grady still gets wrapped up in light blankets. That helps keep the G button away from little hands. Grady is strong enough to pull this out, so that will be one area we will really have to watch. He loves his hands and loves to grab things. His nurse put a cloth tube in his hand, yesterday, because Grady was grabbing at his tubing and pulling. We don't want that. Thank goodness for his bells and whistles. One tube disconnected today, and beep, beep, beep. Sound one went off. Grady was not best pleased at that. It is a shrill noise and Grady is content to just listen to his CD player with animal noises. He does not like the sharp noises in the least.
With all the changes in recent days, we are so blessed to have Grady where he is. It will be sad to move to the next area and leave all of our friends in the NICU. All of these wonderful people love and care for so many babies that need extra care. I hope they know just how very important they are to all of us.
Just like all of you. I truly hope you know just how much we love you and appreciate all of your prayers and support. Family is everything and you are our family. And, if you are around any of us soon, we all have video on our computers. You will love Grady in motion. He is so precious. Just ask, someone will show you. If not, call JoJo or GiGi. We both have our videos and will show everyone!
Talk soon,
JoJo
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