baby steps

Charlie gained another 50 grams last night, putting him over a kilo (about 2 lbs, 4 oz). Now that he's over 1000 grams, George and I can touch him without sterile gloves, which is nice. Even nicer is that I started kangaroo care, and it was great to be able to hold his little body close! We should be able to hold him skin-to-skin at least every other day as long as he remains stable, so Dad should get his turn tomorrow or Wednesday.

Yesterday, they were able to turn off the last of his bili-lights that were helping with his jaundice. He's now in the dark, to simulate the womb - his isolette is covered with a hospital blanket (I found one with a lamb pattern, which seemed like a good omen). Since he's no longer in the "tanning bed", he doesn't have to wear his sunglasses anymore, meaning we can see his eyes (when he decides to open them). Today he kept looking at me, sometimes slyly through just one eye and sometimes through both - too cute! I'm not sure how well he can see yet, but I love being able to finally look into his eyes.

In other news, he now has a belly button! We're not sure if it's going to be an outtie or an innie, but we're glad he finally got rid of the yucky scab so we can see it.

We're proud of him and the baby steps forward he continues to make!