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So, on his 5th try, Mr. Colin took the entire feeding of 20 cc's! The nurses and doctors are quite amazed because he is still so small. In fact, his nurse last night told us he's the tiniest baby she has ever bottle fed - and she's been a nurse for 20 years! What needs to be considered, of course, is that Colin is actually 35 weeks gestation as of yesterday. So, it's not surprising considering his age, just that he's still so tiny for his age. The doctor yesterday said his growth chart/growth curve is way behind schedule. I told him as long as Colin isn't still 3 pounds by the time kindergarten rolls around, we'll be okay. He guaranteed he wouldn't be - maybe 4 pounds though ;-)
Since his "big feed", he's been a little up and down on the feedings: anywhere between 6 and 15 cc's, and he'll tire a bit after feeding for a while. Overall, however, he's just doing very well. The doctors have decided at this point to not add MCT (Medium-Chain Triglyceride) Oil to his feedings. Instead, they will try to again reintroduce just a little of the other fortifiers to boost his calorie count. We're hoping this works because this feeding intolerance can become a bigger issue as time goes on.
Colin also continues to do well on room air, so it looks as if the days of needing assistance with breathing is behind us! And regarding the anemia, as long as Colin remains symptom-free, they will not transfuse him - and he remains symptom-free to this point. His little body needs to figure out how to produce enough reticulocytes. It just has to.