44 days

Gestational Age: 30 weeks 4 days
Weight: 1190 grams
2 lbs 10 oz

Josh is doing really well today. They increased his feeds to 1.5 cc an hour and changed him from the SNIP to a CPAP. He is tolerating that great! The nurse thinks he will be off CPAP soon. We had a great visit and did take some pictures that I will add later.

Day 43

Gestational Age: 30 weeks 3 days
Weight: 1150 grams
2 lbs. 9 oz

They adjusted Josh's settings down on the SNIP. The next step is a CPAP and they think they will switch him over to that sometime either tomorrow or the next day. He seems to be moving right along. Everything else seems to be the same. He is tolerating his feeds and just holding his own. We think he is just too cute. He chews on his tubes and looks like he is smiling these days. I know it's too early for that, but I like to think he is just the same!

That's all for now. We get to spend a little more time with him tomorrow.

I bought this little outfit over the internet.. can't see the whole thing but had to get a picture with him in it! He just gets cuter and cuter every day!!

Day 42

Gestational Age: 30 weeks 2 Days
Weight: 1150 Grams
2 Pounds 9 Ounces

Not much has changed today.Josh is still doing well on the nasal cannula with only occasional desats.They are still doing 1cc an hour on feeds.The lateset measurement is 15 1/2 inches long.Woohoo another inch.He is scheduled for a normal blood workup for this weekend to see how everything is progressing.Pretty much no news is good news.Keep up those prayers everyone.They seem to be working. :)

Thanks to evryone and much love to you all!
Dave & Dianna

Day 41

Gestational Age: 30 weeks 1 day
Weight: 1170 grams
2 lb 9 oz

Joshua continues to do well. The antibiotic was stopped today. His feeds are going okay. They are still unsure how much he is actually absorbing, but are continuing them anyway. He is as cute as ever! One of the nurses decided to put clothes on him today. They were adorable. We took a picture but it was on one of the disposable camera's so will be a bit before we get that developed. So much easier with the digital!

Dianna and Dave are doing okay for all those wondering! I am back to work and tired but otherwise well. Dave is tired too. The drive is long and exhausting, but worth it. As much as it is tempting sometimes, I wouldn't want to miss a day with the wee one!

40 days and 40 nights

Gestational Age: 30 weeks
Weight: 1170 grams
2 lbs 9 oz

Josh is holding steady. His feeds seem to be going well, and he is doing great on the SNIP (Sniff nasal inspiratory pressure). He still has his desats, but they are mostly because he loses air out of his mouth. We try to plug the hole with a pacifier, but of course, like any baby he has a hard time keeping it in there. He does have good sucking, which is a plus and will be beneficial later when he can actually eat. One of the nurses (Lynn) says that she puts a little breast milk on his pacifier so that he can get a taste for it. Yummy for him!

We didn't talk to the surgeon, but Lynn said that they probably won't even think about the re-attachment until he is 2 kilo's (3 lbs 7 oz)... he needs to gain another whole pound for that.

Have a great evening all.

Day 39

Gestational Age: 29 weeks 6 days
Weight: 1110 grams
2 lbs 7 oz


The other cultures are negative so far. They did the spinal tap and cultured that as well and it's also negative. So that is good news.


Feeds started again. Our surgeon is back and made the decision that the output that was measured while Josh wasn't on feeds is what they will use as a baseline.


Josh got extubated today! He was very agitated. They were going to wait until tomorrow but his actions told them that he was ready now. He was doing fairly well before we left. We leave you all with some pictures.

Dave took this picture. His hair was all sticking up because of the lotion... it was cute!


This is the note that Doreen wrote for the other nurses.

This was today after extubation. His cheeks are still puffy.

I tried to get a full face picture but had to try and aim from the top of the isolette.

Day 38

Gestational Age: 29 weeks 5 days
Weight: 1160 grams
2 lbs 8 oz

We saw Josh today and he was doing really well. Sats were very good and they are weaning him down off the ventillator. I held him for awhile today, and then Dave got to hold him... so he got Mommy and Daddy time! YAY!! This is the good news.

They stopped his feeds again. Seems he is outputting a lot and they get concerned. I am sure this will change when his surgeon comes back. This has been a major disagreement between the surgeon and the attending as no one knows what he is supposed to be putting out because of the extra fluid. We will keep you all posted as usual.

We got home and got a call from the hospital however, and one of the blood cultures came back positive. Seems the catheter area is indeed infected. They are going to start him on an antibiotic, and also do a spinal tap to ensure that the infection hasn't spread. This is a routine test and the doctors perform them all the time, so there is minimal risk. I don't like it, but I know it's necessary.

We took some more pictures. I will upload them sometime tomorrow.

Day 37

Gestational Age: 29 weeks 4 days
Weight: 1060 grams
2 lbs 5 oz

Josh was doing really well today. His sats are better... they were giving him a transfusion today and increased his dosage of lasix.

His broviac catheter has been looking "suspect" the last few days. The area around it is red... there is some swelling near both sides of his neck. The surgeon has looked at it a few times and doesn't think that there is anything wrong with it, but they ran blood cultures anyway to rule out any infection. Hopefully everything is okay there.

They started feeds again today... back to .5 cc an hour.

One day at a time! Love to all.

Dianna and Dave

Day 36

Gestational Age: 29 weeks 3 days
Weight: 1100 grams
2 lbs 7 oz.

Things seem to be the same. He is having the same issues with the desats as always. The Neonatology Fellow told us today that he has lung disease and this is common for preemies. Their focus is on getting him bigger and then off the vent and then getting him to a point where he is breathing on his own. Some portions of the lung disease will get better once that happens.

They have not started feeds again yet. His surgeon is on vacation, and no one is sure what to do since he is still getting fluid ouput (most probably duodenal fluid) even without feeds. I am sure they will start again when she gets back. The problem with not feeding him is that the intestine will start fail if it is not being used, so I am sure they will start those again soon. The feeds have nothing to do with his weight gain. The amount they give him is small and very low in calories. The TPN (intravenous feedings) are what is going to help him gain weight.

Love to all. Keep up the prayers. They are working!

5 weeks

Gestational Age: 29 weeks 2 days
Weight: 1110 grams
2 lbs 7 oz

We got the results of the eye exam... his vessels are immature... Okay. We may have been able to tell them that! They will do another exam at a later time to determine if there are going to be any eye problems.

He is back on lasix daily (I guess he was on it every other day), there is still fluid in his lungs, but no one seems too concerned. I guess it's still expected because he is still little and even with the steroids, his lungs are not as developed as they would be if he were term. The really big weight gain could be fluid, we will see what the weight is this evening to be sure that is really correct!!

He was doing pretty good today. I held him the whole time I was there. At first he was satting high and then when he was tired of me, he started desatting again. My mom got to see him finally, as she hasn't been up since before we left UConn.

There is a nurse there that we totally didn't like. She was really rough with our little dude, and for a baby who doesn't like to be messed with, this is not a good thing. I was pumping when she handled him badly, and Dave stewed about this all day. So we asked if we could request that a nurse not take care of Josh and they said absolutely. So that is a good thing. We want to feel secure that they are taking good care of our little guy, and she was not doing a good job. Luckily one of our favorites has him tonight!!

Love to all.

Day 34

Gestational Age: 29 weeks 1 day
Weight: 990 grams
2 lb 3 oz


They did an x-ray today and noticed some alveolar collapse, so they increased some of his vent settings so that they expand them more and keep them open.

They also gave him some Adderall today, as they thought that his anxiety was causing some of his desats. This made him very jittery (Gee... stimulants usually have that side effect) so they won't give it to him again. Thank goodness because I am no doctor, but giving a stimulant for anxiety doesn't make any sense to me. They did however give him a very small dose of morphine to relieve his anxiety.

He seemed to be doing pretty well today. Sats and desats as usual but that has become the norm. He was getting his eyes examined tonight, so hopefully we will get the results of that soon. Other than that, he is holding as steady as he can.

I leave you all with another picture. He had his little hand on his chin like the thinking man, and we just had to get a picture. The lighting is a little bright, but here you go!

Day 33

Gestational Age: 29 weeks
Weight: 990 grams
2 lbs 3 oz

Josh was almost back to his normal self today. I took some close up pictures because you can see some more hair coming in... His hands and feet look bigger too!! They have started to gradually increase some of his IV nutrition and haven't started him on his breastmilk feeds again. They are waiting another day or so for that. The broviac looks okay.... still oozing some fluid so they are keeping an eye on that but that's pretty normal. Other than that, he is a-okay. Below are some pictures with my hands in the isolette to give everyone a better perspective on his relative size... I didn't hold him today. I want to wait until the catheter site has healed a bit.

Day 32

Gestational Age: 28 weeks 5 days
Weight: 960 grams
2 lbs 2 oz

Joshua had the broviac catheter inserted today. He was still sleepy when we got there, but while he was all nice and relaxed, and not fighting the vent, his sats were wonderful! They did give him a course of antibiotics before the surgery but won't do any more unless he shows signs of infection. He is off the feeds for the night, and they started the TPN through the catheter this evening (better nutrition). We didn't spend too much time as he was pretty out of it, and they were doing some stuff with the catheter while we were there. His face still looks a little puffy to me, but no one seems concerned, so I will just note it and mention it every day! Tomorrow should be a better day.

Love you all!

Day 31

Gestational Age: 28 weeks 5 days
Weight: 920 grams
2 lbs 0 oz

Josh is doing well today. Nothing really to report. Same stuff as yesterday... still having desats on occasion... I got to hold him for about an hour or so... love mom time. It's what keeps me going... I could sit and stare at him all day. He is a beautiful baby.

In answer to a question posted yesterday (I am not sure by who since it was unsigned), it's highly unlikely that one could do a directed donation for Josh. First of all it takes 5-7 days for a directed donation to actually be ready to be transfused. Josh usually needs it immediately. If you want to donate, the Red Cross is always in need of blood and not just for one person. Please donate if you can.. having said that, Josh has a unit that he has been using since his first transfusion, and will use until it's gone. Since they only use a small bit of the unit, he can use this one for awhile. Blood for preemies, must also be CMV negative. This is a virus called cytomegalovirus and can be extremely dangerous to preemies. They also usually give them O negative blood. Exposing him to blood from different donors can increase his risk for infections.

And for Peg... Arran hasn't been able to see Joshua yet. For the first few weeks he was sick with bronchitis. UConn would have let him in to visit with a health check from the nurse. Yale won't allow any child under the age of 16 in until the end of flu season for risk of flu and RSV. So we have to wait about another 2-3 weeks before they will let him in. I know he is anxious to get in and see his little brother!!

Love to all.
Dianna

30 days

Gestational Age: 28 weeks 4 days
Weight: 920 grams
2 lbs 0 oz

Josh was good today. I think they decided not to try again for the PICC line, they are just going to insert a broviac catheter sometime on Monday. They still have to talk to the surgeon. He got a transfusion today. One of many. He is still on Lasix for fluid and caffeine daily. There are no other changes. Still on the vent and still having desats. Their main concern now is getting that line in so that they can give him better nutrition and get some weight on the little man. We will keep you all posted.

Love ya!

29 Days

Gestational Age: 28 weeks 3 days
Weight: 960 grams
2 lbs 2 oz

We are not going to venture up to see him today. Another day of bad weather that takes away from my visiting time. Sucks, but I don't want to risk our lives to see him.

Wow! We have hit the 2 pound mark if the weight is correct. I am going to call this evening after his weigh in to make sure this is correct!! If so... whoo hoo! One major milestone reached!

They are going to give him a break today and not try the PICC line. I guess they will wait until tomorrow to try again. He has been awake here and there today. Eyes wide open and looking around. He is still on the lasix and 1 cc feeds. Still having desats/sats and they adjusted his settings on the vent a bit today. We will see him early tomorrow, hopefully before they poke him again. That's all for now. I may update after the call this evening. Love to you all!

4 weeks old today

Gestational Age: 28 weeks 2 days
Weight: 860 grams
1 lb 14 oz

I only got about 10 minutes with him today. They were trying to insert the PICC line again. They did once while we were there and were going to try again but didn't want the morphine to wear off, so we only had a few minutes. I got the call after I got home that they were still unsuccessful but were going to try some vessels in his leg tomorrow. The poor boy has been poked a lot the last few days. If they don't get the PICC line in, the will have to do a surgical central line. This is either a hickman or broviac catheter. They need this to give him better nutrition. The one that is in now, is not where it's supposed to be and they are at a limit of the amount of nutrition they are giving him right now, and their goal is to get his weight up.

I did get to talk to the Attending today andJosh is on the lasix because they can hear fluid and junk in his lungs and are just trying to get rid of it. Because his lungs are so small and underdeveloped he is a prime candidate for Chronic Lung Disease...

I didn't get any pictures today since he was pretty drugged up and I didn't have a whole lot of time with him. I will get one tomorrow (weather permitting). Say some prayers to guide the hands of the doctors so that they get the PICC line in successfully tomorrow. We hope that he doesn't have to have a surgical line put in, but if that's what it takes...

Day 27

Gestational Age: 28 weeks 1 day
Weight: 830 grams
1 lb 13 oz

First of all I would love to ask you all that if you leave a message, please sign your name. We are going to print this for Josh when we are all through and I would love for him to know who left him messages! Thanks.

Now for today's visit. Josh is still doing well. The surgeon upped his feeds to 1cc an hour. They are hoping that he tolerates them well. They have him on Lasix again for fluid, but we didn't get to ask why he was on it again (we saw it in his chart). Mom and I noticed yesterday that his face looked swollen again, I am sure that is part of the reason. Everything else is pretty much the same. He is still having desats and then sats but they are not too concerned. They just have to play with the amount of oxygen he is getting all the time. He must like the attention! He was a little groggy when we got there. They were trying to put in another PICC line. The one that is in is no longer functioning the way they need it to. The doctor was unsuccessful in getting a new one in. They gave the little man some morphine before the procedure, so it was still wearing off while we were there. I guess they are going to try again on another day. I hope they get it next time.

Love to all.
Dianna and Dave

Day 26

Gestational Age: 28 weeks
Weight: 820 grams
1 lb 13 oz
Height: 14.5 inches (he has grown 2 inches)

The blood culture and urine culture (for infection) both were negative after 24 hours. This is great news. He is pretty much holding steady today. Same as yesterday. Still having desats and then sats.... he goes up and down. The nurse (Lynn) was saying that he tends to hold his breath against the vent.. so when the vent is trying to give him a breath, he decides he doesn't want it, and hold his breath. This of course causes the desats... little stinker. She also said that as he grows longer, his lungs will develop more surface area and therefore start working better and have more expansion capacity. He looks good. His color is more even and pink... still not the color of a term baby but getting there! He is definitely one of the cutest babies in the NICU. OK so I am biased but all the nurses say so!

Love to all.

25 days

Gestational age: 27 weeks 6 days

Josh is doing well today. Of course, as soon as we walk in he has a desat... gotta show off for mommy and daddy. i got to hold him for a bit this evening and for most of the time, he had no desats. He did however have a few after the surgeon was messing with him and his ostomy bag. They are still trying to figure out the feeds and how much that is dumping into the bag is stool and how much is duodenal fluid.... I am sure they will figure something out! They think he isn't as active as usual and did blood cultures and urine cultures today to rule out any infections. We should get some results by tomorrow. They did adjust his vent settings a bit higher today. I do believe that is all for now. Keep up the prayers and good wishes. Love to all!

Day 24

Gestational age: 24 weeks 5 days
Weight: 740 grams
1 lb 10 oz

Josh is doing better today but still not wanting anyone to bother him. Dave and I both put our hands in the isolette and he had desats, so we didn't bother him the rest of the time we were there. That's a hard thing to do, but we have to take our cues from him and if he isn't in the mood, we have to listen.

They have him on minimal assist settings on the vent, he is still doing a lot of the breathing on his own. The doctor said that they are just going to leave him with the breathing tube for a few weeks to hopefully take the pressure off and let him just grow.... we like that idea. They knocked back his feedings to 1/2 cc an hour again. They were concerned that not enough was getting absorbed with the 1cc.

That's all the news for today. Love to you all.

Daddy Picture

I promised to show you the picture of Dave holding Joshua. Here it is. It's a bit blurry, I am still not totally familiar with my digital camera!

Day 23

Gestational Age: 27 weeks 4 days

They intubated Josh again today. He was just struggling to keep it up on the SNIP so they decided it was best to intubate him so that he didn't have to work so hard. I think we sometimes forget that he is only 3 weeks old... we really expected this to happen so it doesn't really feel like a setback, just making it easier for the little man. They will do this for about a week or so, and then try again and see if he does better. We didn't stay long today because he was still "recovering" from the ordeal of getting the tube and needed some rest. We'll of course be visiting again tomorrow and hopefully he will have settled in a bit.

Day 22

Gestational age: 27 weeks 3 days
Weight: 730 grams
1 lb 9 0z.

Josh is doing about the same.. Still having desats and the feeds are up to 1 cc an hour and he seems to still be tolerating them well. Dave got to hold him tonight for the first time. I held him and then went to pump (and get some fresh stuff for the next 24 hours) and Dave had his time with the boy. Dave must have been rigid sitting there (fear of moving)... his arm got cramped and is still hurting now. I'll post a picture tomorrow of Dave holding the little man.

3 weeks today

Gestational age: 27 weeks 2 days
Weight: 780 grams
1 lb. 11 oz.

Josh is 3 weeks old today. He is still getting desats, and had a few bradycardia episodes today, but the doctor isn't concerned, he pretty much expects it at this stage. They gave him some Lasix tonight. This is a diuretic to get rid of some excess fluid. I thought yesterday that his face looked a bit swollen but no one seemed concered while I was there. The doctor said that sometimes on the breathing apparatus, they can get extra fluid and lots of preemies are on Lasix. He is tolerating the feeds well. They haven't increased the amount. Still a half cc per hour. He now has a colostomy bag on. If they get too much stool, they will know that it's not absorbing into the intestine. So far, they haven't gotten a lot which is a good thing. The doctor said that there is no evidence of any other perforations at this time. Josh was moved to an "overflow" room for a bit. It's really small, with just him and one other baby. They said they needed room in the big NICU and there were sicker babies that needed attention. That is great to hear!! His Attending this week says that he is an overachiever.... he is doing better than they would expect for a 24 weeker at 3 weeks. We like to hear that too. I did get to hold him for a bit today but not K-care. There isn't enough space in the little room for the recliner. He cried when I put him back! It's such a cute little cry but it breaks my heart whenever I hear it. The nurse said it's good for him to cry, it makes his lungs work better. So I leave you with a few pictures. The one with the lamb was taken yesterday. Dave told me not to take the picture because it looked like the lamb was.. um.... having relations lol... I put him that way because it has a little weight, and feels like my hand on his back... we tried to move the lamb sideways and he didn't like it, so I put it back that way. Someday we can blackmail him and show this to girlfriends lol....

This is where his cheeks look swollen.

No more pictures, Mom!

Day 20

Gestational Age: 27 weeks 1 day
Weight: 740 grams
1 lb. 10 oz.

Josh is doing about the same. He is still getting desats... but that pretty much is it. They don't seem too concerned with them. I think it's just that he is small and not taking the deep breaths that it takes to saturate his lungs. He takes more shallow breaths because that is easier for him. I am sure he will "get it" eventually. They were starting feeds today... the surgeon was in putting in the feeding tube as we got there this evening. She put it in through the second stoma (the jejunum). I couldn't watch this... it was not a pretty sight. They are giving him about a half cc an hour to start with, and see if he can tolerate them. I hope he does well, but this part scares me. With the perforations that he had before, I just worry that he is not all healed.... mom's worry, I know. I can't help it. We'll let you all know tomorrow how the feeds went.

**Do the links to definitions of these things help you to know what and where these things are?

Day 19

Gestational Age: 27 weeks

Josh was doing okay most of the day, until I got there. I guess he decided to show off for mommy and he had desats the whole time I was there. We tried some K-care but he was still acting up so it was time to put him back. We want it to be relaxing for him and not stressful, so it was best to shorten it. Everything else is the same. They didn't change any more settings, they are going to leave him be for a bit, and see what happens. We'll see how he is doing tomorrow. I think maybe it's tiring him out trying to breathe on his own!

Joshua's Surgeon

We found out the other day that Dr. McKee is a child genius. She started college at age 11 and med school at age 15. She was a surgical resident by the age of 19. If I ever doubted that Josh was in good hands, I have no doubts now. If anyone is going to "fix" him, it will be her.

Here are a few articles about her:

Boston Globe
Grand Forks Herald
Culture Pulse
Yale Article

Amazed

I have to post this today because I am amazed at the outpouring of love and support from family and especially from those people that barely know us. Dave put his thank you up before we received some other stuff. I have to explain. I belong to a few message boards. A few people from those boards have gone above and beyond that of normality and have given donations and gifts to Dave and I for Joshua. This has been totally unexpected and it just leaves me speechless that there are people out there who are genuinely kind and loving. You all know who you are... thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I really can't even put into words just how this makes us feel. So thank-you, thank-you and thank-you.

Dianna & Dave

18 days

Josh is having a so-so day. I guess he can't have good days all the time. His breathing hasn't been good today. They had to adjust the settings up for today, meaning making the machine do more work vs him doing a lot of the work. He has been having many desats and a few apnea and bradycardia episodes. They are also giving him a bit more caffeine. No k-care today... the nurse didn't think he was stable enough to tolerate it today. Sucks, but I agree that if he is not feeling right, taking him in and out of the incubator probably isn't a good idea. We'll see how he is doing tomorrow. All in all this isn't bad... he is still young. We sometimes forget that he is only 2 1/2 weeks since it seems so much longer for us.

Love to all.

17 days

I report once again that Josh is doing well. I don't get tired of saying that! They dropped some of his oxygen settings and he was having some desats today (oxygen saturations were low) but all in all they say he is doing well. He is on his daily doses of caffeine and now Vitamin A (the nurse said it's for lung development and had he been born there, the protocol is to put them on it for the first month of life). So he will be on that for the next month. Unfortunately this is an injection for poor Josh.... she says it's a small needle....ugh! Any needle is too big.

I got K-care again today. God I love holding him and he really does respond well. No desats the whole time he is with me. So I will ask for my time daily as long as he is doing okay. I always hate putting him back... Dave gets to do some K-care time this next weekend when he has enough time to play.

Thanks

While we have a couple minutes of spare time,we would like to take the time to thank all of you devoted people for all of your prayers,well wishes and words of encouragement during this stressful time.we'd also like to thank those who sent over food and gas cards.You wouldn't believe how handy they all have come in.It's nice to see that our little boy has so many special friends and family out there that he has yet to even meet.Thank you all! You have made our struggle that much easier.Please keep up the prayers.Its a long road yet.!

Love to all,
Dave and Dianna

Day 16

We got some K-Care time today.... YAY!! I got to hold him for about an hour and 15 minutes. She tucked his little feet and body inside my shirt (you need skin to skin contact to keep his temperature up). He did really well. His temp didn't go down and his vitals were really good. The nurse actually had to turn down his oxygen setting while he was with me. His sats were too high! I think he liked it almost as much as mommy!! I hated putting him back but it was time. Hopefully I'll get some more time tomorrow. Seems there are nurses that offer it, and then those that maybe don't want to be bothered with the time it takes to get him out and situated. We'll see tomorrow since we have now done it, and will expect it! One of the nurses said that there are some parents who don't want to do kangaroo care... can you believe it? I will take it every chance I get. All of the studies have proven that babies who get K-Care get off the oxygen/vent quicker and do better overall. That doesn't surprise me. I think touch is so important to babies at every stage. We'll update again tomorrow. Love to all.

What a difference!

I was looking at these two pictures. One taken at 6 days old and the other at 15 days old. Holy cow. I can see a difference in his appearance already! His face is filling out a bit. Hard to notice when you are looking at him every day, but very noticable when you are looking at pictures. Just thought I'd add this thought and share. And to answer everyone, Dave and I are doing fine. Hanging in there. My emotions are better for now. Day to day they get better as long as he is doing well. Sleep? Getting up every 3 hours is brutal. I don't get a break because he isn't home yet. I should be totally used to it by the time he gets here! Thanks for caring all. We appreciate each and every one of you. Later, when Josh is home, we will print out this blog for him to read later in his life, and he can see how many people cared about him and his family. We will make sure to tell him that there were MANY, MANY more who followed the blog and prayed for his healthy homecoming that didn't post! We are all loved. This I know for sure. Have a great day. We will post an update when we get home from the hospital later on today.

15 days

Josh seems to be having good days. They are proud that he is doing well. I managed to get a picture with a little bit of eyes. All of the nurses come over to say how cute he is. He is already a hit with the ladies! He was 700 grams tonight. That is 1 lb 8 oz... so as of today he is back to his birthweight. I'm not sure that is really good since his weight yesterday was 640 grams... he gained 60 grams in a day.. that's a lot!! But in any case, we'll have to see how that goes. His color looks really good and he loves to be swaddled (as do most preemie babies). I got to hold him for a few minutes while the nurse changed his bed. He is so light.. but it was great to hold him even if it was only for a few minutes and under the heat lamp.

I sit and stare at him for hours on end. I am just amazed that he is so little and yet so strong.

Keep up the good work. Your prayers and comments here are appreciated.

2 weeks today

Josh had quite a day today. Not bad, mind you, just stressful for him. They extubated him (took the breathing tube out) around 10:30 this morning, and he is now on a SNIP. This looks just like the CPAP but I guess works a little differently. Apparently, while they were extubating him, his eyes just popped open. YAY! I don't have any pictures yet. He is not keeping them open long enough to snap a picture. All in all, he is still doing well. They won't attempt to do any feeds until after his antibiotics are done. They are due to be finished on Saturday. I'm a little nervous about that!

I found out today that our little blog address has gotten around, so hello to all of you! Keep up the prayers, we still have a long way to go.