Cade found his hand

Yesterday was another good day for Cade. When we got there last night, he was alert with both eyes open. He has been trying to pull out his respirator for a long time and so far has not been successful :) So, we figured that his nervous system was making some connection. But, last night he really saw his hand. He brought his thumb so close to his eye that it made his eyes cross. It was such a funny sight (unfortunately the camera battery was dead) until he kept going and almost poked his own eye. So, then for the rest of the evening he was freaking us out by continually trying to poke out his eye. I took this as a good sign that he could focus on his hand. It just seemed like such a "normal" baby thing to do. He has also been able to focus his eyes on us but of course we have no idea what he sees. Everyday there seems to be a little progress. We are also learning how to calm him down. The nurses have learned that he likes head rubs and also if you place your hand on his chest and apply light pressure he calms right down. The nurses explained that preemies like to feel confined like in the womb. So, Sean and I do our best to keep him calm and comfortable and we also try to help out the nurses when we get a chance. We have been able to change a few diapers, take his temperature and clean off his face and mouth as needed. In the last couple of days he also has started to play with his tongue. He's constantly moves it and last night I caught him licking his blanket since he was on his tummy.

Today, we got a report from the neurosurgeon's nurse practitioner that she did drain some fluid from the reservoir and everything looked good. So far he's having a good day. Grandma Linda and Grandpa Reg are coming today. So, hopefully tonight we can all make a visit.