Birth + 12: A Monkey or a Bird?

There was much excitement on Saturday as we discovered that Oliver has progressed from isolette (incubator) to bassinette! This means that he has demonstrated the ability to regulate his body temperature without assistance and no longer needs to be confined to a controlled environment.

Continuing his steady march towards discharge, Oliver has started taking food from a bottle for at least two feedings per day. The picture below shows our little baby bird after Nurse Vanessa attempted an early bottle feeding.


He showed only passing interest on Saturday (why suck a bottle when you can have the food pumped directly in your stomach while you sleep?) but by Sunday he was suckling like a champion! Nurse Terri had him drinking fast and steady on Sunday night, and was quite impressed with his "dainty" burps. "Just like his father," I told her.

He continues to look strong and gain weight. If he masters the bottle feeding and shows he can breathe without the nasal cannula, he'll be quite near coming home. Is he too young to go trick-or-treating this year?