day 8, better and better

Just a few hours after being told Thomas would get off the vent within the next few days, the NICU called last evening (leading to no small amount of panic on my part as a call from NICU has invariably been associated with bad news up to this point).... they decided to just take him off the vent last night! He is now getting oxygen through a cannula. His breathing is a bit labored and rapid but he is doing pretty well, all things considering.

And then, we arrived this morning to find his chest tube had just been taken out after a favorable chest x-ray.

This afternoon, one of his umbilical lines was taken out.

At that point Thomas had few enough tubes and wires on him that our nurse let us do his bath! We're still not quite to the point of being able to hold him, but it was wonderful to feel like a real live parent for a few minutes while we gave him a sponge bath in his isolette.

Soon after the bath, he got a feeding tube put in, and he got about a teaspoon of milk for his dinner tonight! Thomas was rather grouchy today and it's likely he was finally feeling well enough to be upset that his tummy was empty. He'll gradually get feedings through a tube and then hopefully soon he can try nursing.