Tuesday, June 12th: 32 weeks!!!

Burp... :)

On Sunday, Finnegan graduated and is now a "32 weeker"! This is when he would generally be able to eat from a bottle, breastfeed, have an open crib (depending on weight), has different oxygen and stat requirements. and moves that much closer to going home. It's not very surprising that Finnegan has already accomplished 4 of these things! :)
 

Finnegan's new crib! :)

Daddy feeding Finnegan for the
first time! :)

On Friday, Finnegan ate for the first time from a bottle. It's amazing that he was able to coordinate the "suck, swallow, breathe" technique at 31 weeks, because most babies don't pick up on that skill until at least 32 weeks. It was quite the experience feeding him for the first time. Feeding a preemie is unlike anything I've done. It's kind of awkward because you have to lay him on his side with his body angled away from you. You lay him more on his side so the milk can pool in his cheek instead of choking him by going straight down his throat. Before his first bottle attempt, the nurse warned me that most babies don't take much the first time and that usually stats will drop because the baby is trying to figure out how to do everything at the same time. Finnegan (of course), blew all those babies out of the water. Finn ate 11mL of his 25mL bottle the first time! On Saturday, when daddy got to feed him, Finnegan ate 6mL. Yesterday, Finnegan decided to show off for Grandpa and Grandma Doman and ate 13mL. We couldn't be happier with his progress. In order to increase the amount of bottle feeds, Finnegan has to finish at least half of his bottle for two days. Then they will move him to 2 bottles a day. Once he finishes at least half of both of those bottles for a couple days, they'll move him up and so on. Then, we will be able to attempt breastfeeding.

Speaking of food, Finnegan likes it! He's gaining weight like a champ! Yesterday, Finn weighed in at about 3lb 5.75oz, double his birthweight! He also measured at 14.6 inches and his head circumfrance also increased!

Because of his increase in weight, Finnegan graduated from his isolette to a big boy open crib! :) When we walked into his room on Sunday, Ian and I were totally taken aback by his new setup. He was bundled up like he was heading into a snowstorm, but he was out in the open! What was best, was that we didn't have to look at him through a plastic box anymore! It's also a lot easer to get him out to hold him! It became that much easier when he was taken off of his oxygen/cannula! Now, Finnegan is literally breathing room air! Antother plus is that his feeding tube has been removed from his mouth and placed down his nose. It doesn't look very comfy, but he doesn't seem to mind it. He is sneezing a lot, but I probably would too if I had a tube up my nose. This is a positive because now he'll have an easier time feeding, and he must have because he finished his entire bottle!  He took my breath away when I saw him this evening. He's just such an amazing miracle. I was also told that I would be able to breastfeed Finnegan once a day. Can we say excited!? :)

Cousin Maggie

Counsins Brittany and Maggie having fun visiting Finn!

Finnegan had a couple visitors since Wednesday. On Friday, Finnegan got to meet his cousins Brittany and Maggie. Brittany and Maggie came down with Aunt Meghan and Grandma Bruckner for Finnegan time and dinner at our house (homemade tacos!... YUM!). I think they had a lot of fun. I sure enjoyed having them around! :) And on Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa Doman came to visit for a while! This week, Finnegan will have more visitors! On Thursday, "Aunt Jessica" will come visit, and on Friday Great Aunt Jan, Great Grandma (GiGi), and cousins Katie and Timmy will come visit. Then, on Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa Bruckner! This kid is so stinkin' popular!

Things are beginning to look up at the Bruckner household. I found out this weekend that I was approved for unemployment insurance while I continue to search for a job. Still no interviews, but I'm applying for about 3-5 jobs per week (anywhere from clerical work to teaching). It's sad to think that there are that many jobs out there, but more people looking for a job than there are jobs available. Also, Ian has an interview on Wednesday for a possible promotion. It's nice to have the prospect of some good news after our very stressful couple of months.

We're praying that things work out so that we can settle down in a nice family house by the fall. The dogs could use a backyard to run around in, we could use the extra room and a garage, and Finnegan would probably enjoy a room for all his toys... that won't have a treadmill in it! :)

Ian and I spent Saturday planting flowers and herbs on our back patio and cleaning it up. We then enjoyed our hard work Sunday evening with cheeseburgers and asparagus on the grill! :) So yummy!

I am still so overwhelmed by all the amazing pictures of Finnegan that Joanna took. She continues to post new edited pictures on her Facebook page. The link is: https://www.facebook.com/JSPhotographyBusiness. She also posted a blog on her professional photography website with new pictures. The link is: http://www.jsphotographysite.com/. We'll let you know when the photos are available for ordering/printing/etc.

I had my 6 week (well actually 7 weeks) postpardom appointment with my doctor today. Everything is looking good and I was cleared for normal activity! I've already started walking at least 45 minutes a day, but I want to eventually build my muscles back up to start back with jogging or more rigorous exercise. I seemed to block the long period of bed rest and otherwise inactivity from my memory. I guess that was why I was so surprised that my body hurt after a long walk. Eventually, when my muscles are used to movement, I will start up the Couch to 5K program. It's a self-motivated workout plan that I got halfway through last summer before I gave up. The goal is to ready your body from being otherwise unfit to being able to run a 5k in a matter of months. I'm going to take it day by day. :) Let's hope I have the strength to keep it up! I have some baby fat to lose! I'm hoping that putting it out on the blog will hold me more accountable... at least it's worth a shot! :)