Movin' on up

After 40 days in the NICU, Austin was moved up to the Intermediate Care Nursery (ICN) late last week!  This is obviously a big step in the journey to get him home.  He's still on the nasal cannula and is requiring between 24-28% oxygen depending on his mood.  Otherwise he's doing all of the breathing on his own and has done very well without the nasal trumpet. 

Austin is also working hard at learning to feed from a bottle.  In just the past few days he's made some really nice progress and has taken as much as 30 mL's in a feeding.  The nurses and Mom have been working to find the best feeding method given his Pierre Robin/cleft palate.  They've been experimenting with a normal bottle as well with what is called a Haberman feeder, which is essentially a bottle with an elongated nipple that is much easier to use for babies with impaired sucking/swallowing abilities. 

Tonight Austin weighed in at 5 lbs, 11 oz. and got to enjoy a nice bath.  Apparently he's got quite the gas and his nurse (Tracy) felt he needed to smell a little better. 

Here's a few pictures from the past few days.

Mom feeding Austin with the Haberman feeder

So fresh and so clean

Enjoying his new digs in the ICN