New Week.....New Updates!

I apologize...it has been about a week since I updated the blog! There have been many changes since the last posting. First things first, Henry is doing very well overall! We have been "kangarooing" (not sure if that's the right term) him daily and he seems to be really enjoying it! On Saturday I held him on my chest for 2 1/2 hours! I dozed off a couple times, luckily the nurses didn't catch me! I actually played basketball that morning and went up to the hospital without showering before holding him.....so the nurses had to give me Henry's bath wipes to clean off my chest. Ironically they were the products Luke (my brother) sells to the NICU! Thanks Luke!
Well, his weight hasn't changed much so far. He dropped a couple ounces but has gained that back, so he is actually back to his birth weight (2lb 9oz). They removed his IV this weekend....which I thought was a fairly large step forward!!! Because he hasn't gained much weight so far, they are now fortifying (adding more calories) to his breast milk. Hopefully Henry wasn't planning on dieting anytime soon! Each time they feed him (every 3 hours) they actually suction out everything in his stomach to measure how much he has digested since the previous feeding. The nurses were a little concerned because he wasn't digesting as much as they would have liked, so they put him on a continuous feeding cycle, rather than every 3 hours. They put his feeding syringe in a little vice, and it slowly squeezes the syringe to slowly deliver his milk through the feeding tube. While I was holding Henry on Saturday he got the hiccups. It sounded like a mouse squeaking every few seconds. He is now opening his eyes regularly and the nurses say he can recognize Jenny and my voice because he has heard it in the womb for the past 6 months. I wasn't sure I believed this at first, but he actually perks up a little when Jenny and I talk to him....so I guess I'm a believer now.
We went to the Sullivan Christmas party last night and it was great to see all the family! Every year all of the young cousins sing Christmas songs and to say Phoebe had fun would be a gross understatement! We have a few family members who also had preemies and spent time in the NICU. Jenny enjoyed talking to them and sharing stories. We were talking about Christmas day last night and Jenny broke down thinking about Henry up in the NICU that day by himself while we were spending time with family. Talk about a hard time of year to have a little one in the NICU!!! I know there was more to update you on....but my mind has gone blank. When I remember (or talk to Jenny) I will give more updates......