The End Is In Sight!!!

Lately, Adrien has been doing his best "Little Blue Engine That Could" impersonation..."I think I can...I think I can!" Hour by hour, day by day, he has chugged on towards being completely self-fed (the second last milestone).  In order to pass the "self-feeding test", he must have all eight feeds by himself over 3-4 days. Tomorrow marks the first day of Adrien attempting to take all eight feeds orally.  In addition to eating more by himself, his meal volumes have also increased. As a result, he has been packing on the...ounces --- tonight he weighed in at.... 5lbs 4oz.

BOTTLES: Those of you who know us and our approach to breastfeeding might be wondering at this point about all the pictures of our little Adrien with bottles... ("What are they doing?!")  In keeping with this entire journey, Mommy and Daddy have had to *chuck* our preconceived plans and ideas about feeding at the door and work within the situation.  We have also made every decision regarding Adrien's feeding with the help of breastfeeding/lactation-trained medical staff and on the advice of lactation consultants here in Victoria.  Thankfully, the medical staff at the Victoria General Hospital are very pro-breastfeeding and have been very encouraging of our efforts to get Adrien to breastfeed!

A few of the nurses who have special training in breastfeeding and lactation have spent much time with Mommy and Adrien assessing Adrien's ability to breastfeed and assisting Mommy in suggesting various helpful techniques.  For now, however, Adrien faces a physiological challenge.  It has been explained to us that in terms of feeding (and as with everything else...) preemie babies are very different from term babies.  Adrien  is apparently not alone in the preemie world in having something like "baby lockjaw".  Despite the hours of practice so far, he has not been able to open his mouth wide enough to breastfeed succesfully (beyond the act of latching).  However, apparently this challenge disappears as the baby edges closer to the "corrected" 40th week (which for Adrien is only another 3 weeks away!).  Mommy and Adrien will continue to practice breastfeeding every day and we have started to look into hiring a lactation consultant for when we return to Ottawa.  It has been encouraging for us to hear from the staff at the hospital and from the lactation consultants that, generally, preemie babies are more adaptable and resiliant than term babies when it comes to learning how to breastfeed after having been bottle fed.  Please pray for Mommy and Adrien's determination and patience in this learning process.  We will let you know when it is complete! : )

CAR SEAT TEST: Should his self-feeding over several days satisfy the doctors, Adrien's next mission (should he accept it), will be the "car seat test."  This involves putting him in his car seat for an hour, with the monitors attached, to see whether or not his respiratory rate, pulse and oxygen saturation levels remain stable.

When he passes this test, he will likely be discharged from the hospital. (Mommy and Daddy wait with baited breath for that moment).  Once his discharge papers are signed and we clear those all too familiar sliding hospital doors, you can bet the Moore family will be getting on a plane back to Ottawa as soon as possible!

GABRIEL: Gabriel spent last weekend with Grandpa and Oma...he had a GREAT time!!! It was an excellent chance for them to create more memories on Mayne and for Mommy and Daddy to have some focused time with Adrien.

PRAYER REQUEST: Last week, Adrien developed a thrush (yeast) infection in his mouth which he passed on to Mommy through his attempts at breastfeeding.  The NICU has been administering Adrien's treatment plan and Mommy consulted a physician today for help in developing her plan to rid herself of this very unpleasant infection.  Please pray that both Adrien and Mommy will recover quickly as the infection is painful for both of them right now.

Again, we would like to THANK YOU so much for your continued prayers and support throughout our West Coast adventure.

PS - Funny Comment from a Friend: "Adrien just wanted to have as interesting of a story joining his family as his older brother." Ain't that the truth!