I have just finished reviewing our posts and photos of Cole’s first week. It is remarkable how much the little bugger has changed since he first came into the world. He looks so different! No oxygen, no IV lines, a sweet pudgy face instead of a scrawny one. He’s looking like a healthy little baby these days. I’m so happy that Tom created this blog so I can reflect on how far Cole has traveled in his minute existence. It is also been wonderful to hear everyone’s positive feedback. Thank you all for taking the Tom to write! He is still being fed with the G-tube, but is beginning to take to the bottle. During the first weeks, he was being nourished through his IV - that is, through his veins. For the last couple weeks he’s been fed through his G-tube because of a weak suck reflex. Since then, he has gone from 2 ml of milk to 46 ml every 3 hours. He has passed all his tests with flying colors:

Eyes!
Kidneys!
Heart!
Brain!

No problems! There are many typical problems that come with being a preemie, but fortunately, Cole has not been effected by them as we had feared he might. The only thing left for Cole to overcome now is feeding by breast or bottle, without the use of a g-tube. When he passes that milestone, he will come home for Christmas. Yesterday, he graduated from an incubator to a crib since is able to regulate his own body temperature (thanks to the extra pudge) and was taken off the caffeine because he is now able to regulate his breathing without having any “events” - problems with apnea and bradycardia. He is a strong little bugger compared to his fellow NICU mates. I have recently been able to destress with the belief that Cole will be just fine - a fighter just like his sister.