It has come to my attention that I've used an acronym some aren't familiar with. And probably others too, and I'm learning new ones all the time. Just a couple that come up most often:
NPO: nil per os, Latin for nothing by mouth. This state is possible because of-
TPN: total parenteral nutrition, meaning you get everything through an IV.
CPAP: continuous positive air pressure, helping immature lungs stay inflated.

And speaking of NPO, as of right now, Quinn is eating again. 4 ml every 8 hours and the interval will decrease as he shows he can digest well. I'm so relieved he can eat again. It's been a frustrating week without it but it looks like he is improving on all fronts. Kurt got a turn holding him today and he squawked a bit as we were trying to get him and all of his accoutrements out of the incubator. In general, babies get rid of tubes and wires little by little, but over the last week he has been gaining them, another frustration. Someday... He weighs 1020 g, about 2 lbs 4 oz.

So here's some more medical bill fun. The weekend before I checked into the hospital, I was bleeding heavily and decided to get checked out and went to the hospital where the midwives I was seeing practice. It was the weekend, otherwise I would have gone to their office. That's where it was determined my membranes had ruptured and so forth. They wanted to admit me and transfer me downtown, but I said no and went home again. For the record, no, the midwife on call was not comfortable with that, but it wasn't her decision. It was mine, and I was comfortable with it. I received the first dose of steroid shot, then went back the next day to receive the second shot and went home again. Both days, when it came time to discuss the decisions to be made, the midwife on call wasn't actually in the hospital and called me via the room phone. At no other time did I use this room phone, nor did I turn on the TV. Yesterday I received two statements in the mail, one for each day I went in, charging me $17.50 for each day for phone and/or TV use. They are charging $35 for me to receive two phone calls because the midwife wasn't actually in the hospital while I was there. Yeah, someone will be hearing about this.