Bright and early this morning, Leisel got to the hospital so she could see them change the dressing on Truitt’s feet, and we are so glad she did! His little feet are pink all over! They still have some swelling, but outside of two little purple dots, the color is normal. It could just be because the swelling has gone down, but the sores on his feet also look smaller to us.

The occupational therapist came and saw him today, and showed Leisel how to massage his hands to hopefully help move the fluid out into his arms to be reabsorbed. To facilitate this, they had her hold him like a normal baby, wrapped in a blanket, instead of the skin to skin kangaroo hold. This was the first time she had been able to hold him like a normal baby.

He had a few visitors today, which he snoozed right through. The manners of some people’s children! But mommy and daddy greatly enjoyed the fellowship and getting to show him off a little.

The big accomplishment today came as a big surprise. He’s been rooting around and sucking avidly on his pacifier, and when it gets close to his feeding times, he gets rather grouchy. The nurse this afternoon decided it was a long shot, but she was going to ask the doctor if she could give him a feeding in a bottle, as she felt like he was showing signs of being ready. The doctor surprised her, and said we could try it ONCE if his respirations stayed below 60, and his belly was not laboring to breath. We worked hard to make sure he slept good so he would be ready for the 6:00 feeding. Though he was pretty drowsy (he really likes sleeping on mommy!), he did awesome, and downed his entire feeding without leaving any for us to have to put through his tube! It was so good for Leisel to finally be able to feed him herself. He still won’t get every feeding through a bottle, but getting his first one and handling it so well is a huge accomplishment!

He is doing really well keeping his temperature up on his own, and if they wrap him up too much, his temp gets a little high. Today, the nurse noticed that each time he has not tolerated a feeding, his temperature was either a little too high or too low. Monitoring his temp more in between feedings and adjusting his layers of blankets accordingly seemed to fix his not tolerating the feedings.

He has a chest x-ray to check for fluid reaccumulation, and blood work to check his liver counts in the morning.

Praises:

• He drank from a bottle today!
• The color is returning to his feet, and the sores seem smaller.
• He is tolerating his feedings better.
• Leisel got a good report from her doctor today.

Prayer Requests:

• That there would be no fluid accumulation on the x-ray tomorrow (there is a higher risk since his feedings have increased).
• That his liver counts, especially the direct bilirubin, would be down.
• That the swelling in his hands would go down quickly.
• That the sores on his feet would continue to heal.