The adventures of Joshua Alexander Cobb: The diaper that ate the baby

When we arrived this morning we found that Josh had gone up a size in diapers. This would normally be a very satisfying thing for parents, it is a sign that their baby is getting bigger. Except in this case there isn't a intermediate size diaper. There is the very preemie diaper and the preemie diaper. As you will see below, the preemie diaper is at least half the size of Josh and covers up large portions of his body. We are excited that Josh is becoming such a big boy that he can out pee the very preemie diaper...he will however probably go home in the same size diaper he is wearing now, not that we are complaining.

In other news, Josh is now getting 13ml of feeding every 3 hours, which he is tolerating very well. With his feeding being so high, they have stopped his IV nutrition and he will just be receiving IV fluids for the next few days to help him stay fully hydrated while he continues to transition to his full feedings of 19ml every 3 hours. This is a very exciting milestone to reach and we are very proud of our little man.

We had an opportunity to meet his new primary team physician and nurse practitioner today. They will be taking over for our old team starting tomorrow. We discussed Josh's breathing tube and they are thinking that they will make a decisions on Tuesday or Wednesday about whether to remove the breathing tube or give him a bit more time to grow. Josh only had 3 episodes of apnea that required stimulation yesterday, which is much improved from before he was placed on the ventilator. There is a risk that he will need to be reintubated if his brain is not quite mature enough to keep him breathing mostly on his own once the breathing tube is removed. This isn't a set back, but more a common occurrence in preemies. We are hopeful that his breathing tube will be removed this week for the last time.

Josh had a good day overall, although he was a sleepy head most of the time Mom and Dad were there to visit. Mom got to do some Kangaroo Care today and really enjoyed this special time with her little man. Dad stayed close by and got to interact with Josh when he opened his eyes while Mom was holding him. Once Josh was placed back in his bed, both Mom and Dad had a good time talking to Josh and holding his hands. Josh continues to be fascinated with his breathing tube and feeding tube. He would frequently grasp them with a white knuckle grip and attempt to remove them himself. After patiently explaining that he needed these tubes without effect, Mom and Dad reverted to distraction They tried various techniques including showing Josh how much fun it would be to suck his fingers or Mom's fingers instead (Dad's fingers are still a bit big). After a while distraction also proved to be ineffective and we resorted to holding his hands and rubbing his head, which put Josh right to sleep.

Prayer Request:

Josh's brain would continue to develop and that he would be able to get his breathing tube out once and for all this week.
Josh would continue to tolerate his increased feeding and continue to gain weight.
Josh would not develop any infections while he is in the NICU.
Mom and Dad would get some more opportunities to hold Josh
Mom's milk supply would continue to increase so that it can exceed Josh's coming needs

Praises:

Josh now weights 2lbs, 3.5oz today!
Josh is starting to show interest in sucking on things even though it is still weak.
Josh has graduated to great big boy diapers.
Dad got to spend a good amount of time with Josh since it was the weekend.
Mom got to hold Josh today while doing Kangaroo Care
Mom seems to be almost fully recovered from her surgery and will hopefully start driving this week if Dad approves.