More benchamrks

The last 24 hours have been exciting for us! Ethan came off the CPAP machine and is now breathing on his own! He's started eating this morning, they're feeding him every 3 hours. There is a line going into his mouth all the way down to his stomach. They give him about 3 cc's each feeding to start with. Before each feeding, they syringe out the tube to check if he has any undigested food left, and so far, he's digesting all or nearly all each time. This afternoon, the nurse gave him 4 cc's and he ate it all! They will slowly increase his amount over time.
They don't want to overstimulate him, so the nurses schedule "hands on time" every 4 hours to change him, check temperature, etc. Katie was able to be at the last 2, and has changed his diaper twice. (Mommy-hood here she comes!)
It's certainly very fluid based on how he does, but if everything goes well, we'll likely get to have Ethan come home in about 4-5 weeks.



Katie is off all IV's, and is just on one med for her blood pressure. They were able to take out the epidural last night, and after a shower, Katie felt much more human. She's alert, and doing very well, walking around, sitting most of the day today in a chair not in a bed. Katie is so busy eating, sleeping, and pumping! We've heard that this is going to be a time of very little sleep, but we're experiencing it first-hand now.

Dr. Iurcovich came in today and told her that he will most likely send us home tomorrow, so we're excited about that.
We love you guys so much! I know many of you are anxious to come see us and visit. We'll let you know as soon as Katie feels up to visitors. Thank you all for your support, love and prayers!
- Ken