Time is flying by {thankfully!} and our little boy is two weeks old! We have had so much fun getting to know Ben and seeing his personality start to show – he’s such a character already. We can’t wait to continue watching him grow up. One of my favorite things about Ben is how expressive he is – he’s always making some ridiculously cute/funny face – it’s hilarious sitting there watching him. He is an extremely content baby – he seldom cries and seems really chill – hopefully that keeps up!
Here’s what’s going on with Ben:
- Ben is doing exactly what he should be doing – sleeping, growing and learning to eat.
- Ben weighs 3 pounds 14.5 ounces {his birth weight was 3 pounds 3 ounces} and is 17 inches long {he was 15 inches long at birth}.
- He got moved down to the intermediate level nursery on Friday night, so he’s in a less intense care unit now. It’s much quieter downstairs!
- Ben passed his “binky trainer” feeding program where he learned how to drink milk out of a pacifier. The pacifier was hooked up to a little tube, which was hooked up to a syringe filled with milk, so when he sucked on the pacifier he would be able to pull milk out of the syringe.
- After passing the “binky trainer” he started bottle feeding! This is a four phase feeding plan, which begins with him taking the bottle once per nursing shift {there are two shifts per day} for four consecutive shifts. From here, it will move to him taking the bottle twice per shift for four shifts, then he’ll have to take the bottle for each feeding {every three hours} and then the last phase is he’ll have to demand his bottle for every feeding time. This whole four phase plan will take a minimum of eight days – likely many more than that as he learns to take a bottle and increase the volume he’s taking orally. We think it will take Ben a while to get through the first phase.
- Ben can officially regulate his body temperature, so he came out of the isolette and is now in an open crib. This was a huge milestone, as this was one of the three things he needs to be able to do to come home! {The other two are: breathe on his own (done!) and bottle feed.}
