Christmas Pictures and other things

Hi all. Josh is doing really well. He is totally off oxygen (and it's official). He is still on his diuretics and will be until he outgrows it, she thinks springtime. He will be on meds for GERD (acid reflux) for awhile. He is eating well and still gaining. Last weigh in was 13 lbs 14 oz. He had his flu shots and his first synagis shot and did fine. He will not be a happy camper by April though!



Our friend and personal photographer took some pictures since we can't do things like go to JC Penney or Walmart for pictures. Of course they are amazing. She also did a collage for our Christmas cards. I won't post that one here until after I mail it out for those of you who are personal friends and will get one in the mail! But here is a sneak of the little Santa and our oldest who is starting to look more and more like a man and no longer my little boy. How time flies!

Happy Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for and too many to list, but I will try!

• We are very thankful that Josh is here for his very first Thanksgiving. That of course includes modern medicine and the wonderful staff at both hospitals.
• Josh is now over 13 pounds and still gaining!
• I am thankful that we have not met our lifetime CAP for Josh and that we still have medical insurance.
• We are thankful that he is now off oxygen.
• I am very thankful for my family and awesome friends. I couldn't have made it this far without drugs without you all. There was a time when I really thought that I was going to need something for depression. Michele and wine helps lots!
• I am thankful that I married the man of my dreams and that we went through this together and are stronger for it.
• I am thankful for my son Arran. He is at the age where he drives me completely insane, but I love him with all my heart and he knows it! He also helped me make it through this without even knowing it!

So to you all, have a wonderful and bountiful day. May you stop for a second and appreciate all that you have and should be thankful for. This is not just a day to "engorge yourselves on food" as my son thinks, but a day to count your blessings and be thankful, not just today but every day.

Preemie Article Series

Here is a series that has been written on prematurity. I haven't read it all, so I am not sure if it has anything negative in it.

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

November 12, 2007

Well the respiratory therapist came on Friday and apparently our oximeter can be downloaded. Had we known, we would have had Josh on the darned thing! I guess it can contain lots of stuff (at least this one) so Ben is bringing a different one today so that we can do the overnight study again since we didn't really have Josh on overnight with our other one.

We didn't get weighed on Friday. Mary our nurse wasn't feeling well and didn't want to bring any cold germs with her. Same for OT today. Wendy has a sore throat and it's better that she doesn't come if she is sick.

We are still waiting on our Synagis shot. First the pediatrician faxed the prescription to my Medical Insurance. They weren't sure that they would be the ones covering it, so they contacted my regular Pharmacy Insurance and they said that they would cover it. Peds filled out all of the necessary paperwork and got it back saying that they don't cover this because it's an injectable, and that they need to send it to my Medical Insurance. Go freaking figure. I thought that was probably the case since they were the ones that covered my Lovenox injections both times I was on it, but what do I know. So now we are waiting on my Medical to send the shot to the pediatrician. I will be on them by Wednesday if I haven't heard anything.

There were confirmed cases of RSV already in October, and I would like for Josh to get his shot ASAP. As it is, the end of the month he needs to get his 9 month shots AND his second flu shot, so he will not be a happy camper. Check out this link for information on RSV.Here is another if you really want to know more about it. RSV in preemies can cause hospitalization and/or death. The RSV vaccine will not prevent Josh from getting RSV, however it could prevent him from getting VERY sick. We are doing our best to prevent him from being exposed which is basically keeping him away from places with lots of people. If my friends are sick or their kids are sick, we avoid them too. Sucks, but this is the way it is. We are avoiding the big family gatherings for the holidays for this reason.

Josh does not like the pear nectar but LOVES prune juice! So we are giving that to him to help keep him regular. He still isn't having daily poops! I think that's it for now.

November 6, 2007

Josh has a "garden variety" cold. He has the sniffles and a slight cough. Doctor said his lungs sound fine. We took him in anyway just to make sure.

On a better note, Josh had his follow-up hearing test today and finally passed. We knew that, but had to get tested anyway!

The respiratory therapist drops off his oximeter tomorrow for the overnight oxygen study. Finally we may get the "official" okay to take him off the oxygen since he is already off pretty much 24 hours a day now!

Josh is 5 months adjusted as of yesterday. He is rolling over. Mostly on his side, but he has been getting all the way over to his belly! He is laughing (for certain people). Uncle Boba makes him laugh BIG, and so does Auntie Penny! Occasionally he will laugh for Mama and Daddy! So that's all for now. We have many appointments this month, so we will be updating lots! I'll take some more pictures when the baby wakes up.

Milestone!

We went to the GI doctor on Tuesday and she said that we could start introducing solids. She also suggested pear nectar to make him a bit more "regular". He hasn't been pooping daily (I didn't think that was a big deal) but they would like to see a daily poop. So we tried it straight (she said not to add any water) but it was not getting through even the biggest level 3 crosscut nipple. So I watered it down a bit.



Last night, Josh had his first taste of cereal! He seemed to like it. He ate about a half a teaspoon. Doesn't sound like much does it?!







Right now he has the sniffles. I am not happy about it. We have been so dilligent about handwashing and he still ended up with a cold. We will see what Mary (his nurse) says today. He doesn't sound like anything is in his chest, but we have to watch out for that. Ugh!

There are 3 posts for today so don't miss the other pictures!

Dianna and Dave

Halloween

Josh was a chili pepper for Halloween. He hated the costume and was only in it long enough to snap a few pictures. When I bought it, he was MUCH smaller. The stem (hat) kept sliding over his eyes so he was not a happy camper! We ended up walking around the block with friends(It was a gorgeous night!). He fell asleep after about 15 minutes and slept the rest of the way. have to LOVE the crisp night air! (can we sleep outdoors?? He seemed to love it!)

Promised Pictures

OK here are some pictures that I promised!

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Josh likes his bebe pod!