Ella Bun had another amazing day. We had a great time hanging out and playing together.
 
They changed her feeding schedule slightly. We are venting 10 minutes before feeding, feeding 100% breast milk over 1 hour and venting for 15 minutes (versus 30 minutes) after the feeding.
 
Ella was running cooler last night and throughout today, thus the warmer outfits. I think it might be related to the fact that her heart is not working as hard with her new medicine, as evidenced by her sustained lower heart rates. We can tell that the heart medicine is really working wonders.
 
Her urine output is less than it has been over the past few days. Hopefully, this is not a sign of fluid retention. We don’t think so because she has still been losing small amounts of weight each night. They are hoping to see it level off and then go the other direction with small amounts of weight gain (without respiratory compromise).
 
I participated and gave Ella a real bath today. That was so much fun.
 
Another interesting thing we tried today with the occupational therapist: we put some breast milk on the binky and let Ella taste it. She really liked it! It was fun to watch her face as she tasted it for the first time orally. Then towards the end of the small container, the OT went ahead and gave Ella a small swig in her mouth. She swallowed it free and clear which is a really good sign.
 
Nurse Janet is taking care of Ella tonight which makes for a good night’s rest. If Ella can sustain her increased stats over the weekend, she will likely get moved back to the NICU 2 on Monday.
 
We praise God and thank Him for the blessing of Ella Renae. As we experience this journey, we continue to learn His ways and trust in Him daily.