Day 89....

Benjamin is closing in on his 3 month birthday now...it is so hard to believe that he is going to be that old already. In some ways, it has flown by and in others it seems like he's been here for a long time already. Last Sunday, I had attempted to give Ben his first haircut, as he was sporting a mullet....let me just say, he is the only person I think is cute in that hairdo these days...Anyway, I attempted to start to cut his hair and he had a pretty good fit. So he only got part of his hair cut that day...the rest didn't get finished until aunt Laure came to visit on Thursday. The past week and a half has held a bunch of milestones for Benjamin...he is now off of his versed (sedation medication), but is undergoing some pretty bad withdrawals from it...they added a less potent medication on to help take the edge off...but it is pretty much just knocking him out, so he has been very sleepy the past few days. He is now up to 21ml/hour on his breast milk and he is off of his lipids....now we just have to get him off of his TPN and his fentanyl and then he pretty much won't need the broviac line in his right leg anymore. Today, he is very touchy again...as he has been the past few days when we've been up to visit. I don't think he is feeling very well, and really doesn't do well with being held these past few days. Earlier in the week, he was such a big boy....he sat up in his bumbo seat, which he isn't too fond of, and he had play time on exercise mats on the floor in his room!! It was pretty cute. He also rolled over from his belly to his back! Way to go Ben....Today, his oxygen flow got turned down to 3 liters (he has to be down to 1 to go home)....this may take a while yet. We also have to get him to be able to take his feeds at a larger rate before we can even try giving them to him by mouth....so right now is a waiting game.....some good and some bad.....more good than bad these days. He is getting so big and so handsome!! I will try to post some new photos of earlier in the week when he was feeling better....he is smiling in a few and just looks quite amazing. He will be weighed and measured tonight, but as of last check that I heard, he is about 13 pounds, 5 ounces. We would also like to say a big thanks to our little 'elf' friends who surprised us with an early Christmas present...the delivery of a new deep freeze to store Benjamin's food in.....it is so appreciated and was totally unexpected! Hopefully, when I post next, Benjamin will be feeling much better and we'll have even more great progress to share....til next time....Love to all....Kelly