A Real Bed

We had good news yesterday -- they removed the nasal cannula from Gus' nose. That means he's simply breathing room air without any help, and that now he just has one tube -- his feeding tube -- which is wonderful, because we can really see his face.

Even bigger news is that today they moved him out of the incubator and into a regular bassinet. It's just a good sign of his weight gain and ability to regulate his own temperature. And it's one step closer to the Continuing Care Unit (and then home). The CCU is a little quieter, since the babies there need a little less attention (though there are still nurses on duty 24 hours a day). Before he can officially transfer there, he'll need to have fewer apneic spells (which he is) and be on a lower dosage of caffeine. Yes, caffeine. He's been getting it for a long time, to stimulate his heart and lungs. Hopefully, he won't be addicted or get headaches when he quits.

He's still gearing up to nurse but will hopefully get the hang of that in the next week or two.

That's the gist of the good news. And here is a nice picture one of the nurses (Leslie) took while we were visiting yesterday: