Sunday, October 7: Making Progress

Ashton is doing so much better today! He's slowly being weaned off of his respiratory support, and he's really starting to like being fed (he must be my child). He's started to fuss a little about 10 minutes before his scheduled feedings, so that's a good sign! He's also becoming more active and alert and observant of what's going on around him, and he's been opening his eyes quite a bit today, which has been really fun :-)

Today they did a head ultrasound to make sure his brain looked like it had developed normally. Everything looked structurally normal, but we obviously won't be able to tell if there's any development delays until we either find out through the chromosome tests that he has a genetic disorder that causes development delays, or we start to notice delays as he grows. But right now it's looking good, so no reason to worry just yet (easier said than done). 

Today was the first time I did skin on skin with Ashton, and I absolutely loved it! I think he did too, because he was super relaxed the whole time and his respiratory rate was at an all-time low which was awesome. I know I keep saying that he's such a sweet baby, but seriously, he really is. Hopefully things continue to progress--we just have to take it one day at a time. 

I was discharged from the hospital today, so I got to go home and see my finished house for the first time! My family did such an amazing job at getting it all cleaned and organized, and I'm so thankful for all of their help. As nice as it was, though, it was hard leaving Ashton at the hospital. When you have a baby, you're supposed to be able to take him home with you when you leave. Luckily our house is only 3-4 blocks away from the hospital, so it's not hard to go over anytime we want. That's definitely been a blessing, and Kirk and I are so grateful to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Know that they're working!