Bottle & voice BIG DAY!!

Today was a BIG day. When a baby is in NICU they have tasks they must "master" before they can go home. Gain weight gain, breath on their own, regulate their body temperature with no assistance & the most difficult, feed from a bottle. (among other things.
Jayven has moved through most of his tasks with ease and little to no complications. Today he started the most difficult (for some babies) of all.
He started to bottle feed. I had been prepped for all kinds of issues and complications so I was worried BUT I was ready.
The nurse gave me a few little tips about feeding a preemie and what to do and not do. Jayven took to feeding with a bottle with NO issues. For now he is only bottle feeding 2 times a day and both times he was a champ!! He took in very little as expected but with time he will work his way completely off the feeding tube.
(Please ignore my hot mess hair, time and $$ do not permit for mommy "touch-ups" these days)

Another NICU learning curve is not hearing your baby cry. Jayven never cries. He will be 1 month old this Sunday and today is the first time we heard him cry. He found his voice and I just love that little cry.
Seems like an odd thing to ask for, right? Not many parents WANT their baby to cry but this was a sound we welcomed and even took a video of because it made us so happy to hear. I am told over and over to enjoy the silence while we can but I don't think his cry will ever get old for me.

So we had 2 HUGE mile stones today and we are so close to 1 more - Jayven is only 1/2 an ounce away from being 4 pounds!
I bet he will hit that one by tomorrow night.