IV FREE!!!!

Yay! We finally were able to get the PICC line out. Justin had his last round of antibiotics at 1pm this afternoon and he is done! They wanted to take the PICC line out right after. So, he is not connected to anything anymore, other than his nasal cannula and feeding tube. He is still gaining weight and is 3 lbs 14 ounces today. They still think some of that could be water weight and they gave him a medicine to make him pee more and get rid of some of the water. We'll see if he stays at the weight he is at or gains/loses for tomorrow. They changed his feedings a little bit today too. They are doing what's called bolus feedings now (as long as he tolerates it). Instead of a constant flow of 9 mls per hour, they will give him 16 mls every 2 hours. This will help him get the hungry/full effect. They feed him the 16 mls over a half hour period (still in his feeding tube) and then stop for the next hour and a half. They also give him a pacifier when they feed him so he associates the sucking with full belly. He had his first bolus feeding when I was there today and seemed to do just fine. They checked his tummy and he digested it all which means he is tolerating it and they will continue to check for that every time they feed him. Oh yeah, they also adjusted his flow to 1.5 liters today. I think the doctor's goal is to have him out of NICU by the end of the week. At that point, we will be transfered back over to Abbott in the Special Care Nursery. I originally thought we would go to ICC across the hall but I was told that is for more chronic and longer stay babies. The Special Care Nursery at Abbott (which is run by the same team of Children's Hospital docs and nurses) is for the "feeders and growers". Basically healthy babies that just need to grow and learn how to eat on their own. Will keep you posted on our move date and everything else that is happening! Justin got a new present in the mail today...a camo NICU outfit. He will be ready for SWAT just like his daddy!