On a good note...

We celebrated Oliver's 2 week birthday yesterday, but instead of us presenting him with gifts, he showered us with 24 hours of nothing but good news (the only gift that really matters.)

His bilirubin levels have been quite stable the last few days, so it appears that at least for now, phototherapy is a thing of the past.  The blood culture results have returned from the lab, and no bacteria had developed within the normal growing period of 48 hours, so the doctors halted the doses of antibiotics yesterday morning.  Since that time, we all have noticed that Oliver's energy level has not declined one bit.  He is back to his feisty self, grabbing onto wires and frequently disassembling his CPAP.  Even though this keeps the nurses extra busy and rolling their eyes at him, we are thrilled to have our little monster back.

14 days marks the period of time outside of the womb where a baby's skin has developed enough to adjust to the air on earth.  While Oliver remains in the isolet to keep his temperature stable, the humidity is now turned off.  For several days, it had been on a steady decline from 75 to 40 percent, before the nurses finally ended the treatment yesterday.

Since his skin no longer needs to be conditioned by the moisture, and the chance of phototherapy in his future is slim, he now spends most of his time wrapped up with blankets in a cocoon like fashion.  The pressure from the tightly wrapped blankets simulates the feeling he would have if he were still inside his momma.

Oliver has not been gaining much weight, even though his feedings have been on the increase.  This is due to the decrease in his fluid intake.  Today, the doctors decided to add some extra calories to momma's milk, in order to help him pack on a few extra pounds....(oops, I mean grams :).  The maximum feeding amount he will receive through his feeding tube is about 6 ml per hour, and right now, he is getting 3.7.  This quantity continues to rise a little bit each day.

Oliver opened his eyes a bit further today, and Poppa finally got a couple decent pictures.  I think he is saying "Hello, world.  Are you ready for me?"  We are son, but you just aren't quite ready for the world.

Overall, the last 2 days have been quite stable, and we are enjoying each moment that we have with our boy.  The nurses even suggested that due to how well the little guy is handling things, "Kangaroo Time" might soon become a twice a day occurrence.  I know one baby's momma who was excited to hear that.  Oliver has spent 4 hours, during each of the last two days, in his mother's arms.  When the two are connected, I have noticed that his oxygen saturation is very stable, and so is his heart rate.  I think he is telling everyone that being cuddled up next to momma is where he belongs.