Seth OFF of CPAP; other fun stuff

Seth is now on Vapotherm high-flow nasal cannula and actually has been for 2 days. (This update is very belated, as is any sort of thing I need to sit down to write.) His nurses say he seems happier with the reduced breathing assistance. We are praising God, of course. The end really seems in sight now! I well remember the Vapotherm stage of the other babies now happily playing/sleeping/eating around me. :) He's receiving 4 liters per minute of oxygenated air (mid-40%'s); when he gets down to 1.5 liters he can start trying to bottle feed. He's already receiving therapy to help him associate sucking with pleasure. He's also receiving occupational and physical therapy. They read to him, play with him, note his progress in various areas, test his reflexes and development, etc. He sure is able to push up with his arms and hold his head up and follow an object.

All the babies are enjoying the activity mat with its hanging toys. Seth loves his mobile. They are getting more and more fun, cooing, vocalizing, even starting to smile socially from time to time (Will, David, and maybe Gracie, so far). They are sleeping about 5 hours at night, hooray! They also went back to sleeping better during the day. I think many of you must have been praying!!

The army of volunteers continues to amaze us. We are SO inexpressibly grateful!!! We even took our volunteer to the doctor's office with us today. She was invaluable! First time we've taken all 4 out. That got some attention, needless to say. :)

All are gaining weight beautifully and are nearly completely over their colds. Thanks for praying! They are eating so much more easily. It's like they figured out what to do and woke up enough to actually do it. Except Marcie; she's ridiculous. We have to feed her on the changing table to keep her from dropping off immediately in our arms! (See last photo.)

Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of Seth when I was there last. I'll try to get some cute ones tomorrow!

Love and gratitude,
Carrie

Will in a Christmas suit with his Marmi (Gavin's mom)

Gracie held her own paci!

David really needed this bath after a major blow-up

It's a good thing Marcie is so cute; her sleepiness during feeding times is inconvenient!