The adventures of Joshua Alexander Cobb: Mr. Mom goes to the NICU

This morning Mom and Dad called to see how Josh's night was and were told that he had a rough night. That he had multiple episodes of desaturations and that he had more residuals (undigested food in his tummy) then they had before. Mom and Dad were concerned by this information. When we arrived, we were told by the day shift nurse that the nurse practitioner had ordered a chest xray because they were concerned that Josh might not be tolerating the high flow nasal cannula. The night nurse had recorded multiple episodes of apnea, two of which required stimulation for him to recover as well as the multiple episodes of desaturation and an increased respiratory rate above 100 breaths per minute. Mom and Dad were very concerned to hear this since we were not told this when we checked in this morning. The chest xray looked very good, showing well inflated lungs. The medical team felt that despite what was recorded from last night that Josh was doing well this morning and they would just watch him closely today. By the end of the day, Josh had not had any episodes of apnea or desaturations that required stimulation. Mom and Dad are hoping that Josh will have a better night tonight.

Josh has been tolerating his feedings with only a small amount of residuals, which are tolerable for his level of feeding. His feedings were increased again to 22ml every 3 hours which is almost to full feedings. Josh's abdominal girth also increased some, but the doctors don't feel this is an issue, but something just to watch. This increase in abdominal girth can be related to growth, as well as the increase in the amount of feedings. As long as his belly remains soft and his residuals stay at a decent level there won't be any changes in his treatment. At his 6:00pm "hands on" time, he had a big poop, and then proceeded to poop through the replacement diaper and pee through the blanket underneath him. As a result of this big bowel movement, his tummy girth was almost 1 cm less than it had been 3 hours earlier! So his tummy seems to be doing well, and is still soft.

Since he is so close to full feedings, they have stopped his IV fluids. Josh lost 20 grams overnight so his weight is 1320 grams (2lbs 15oz). He has had several large poops yesterday and today, which have contributed to his weight loss. He may even lose a bit of weight again tonight, which can again be attributed to the big poops as his body gets used to full feeds again. Hopefully after a few days of not IV fluids at all, they will remove his PICC line.

Josh had several good awake times today. Mom was able to see her little man earlier in the day and got to spend a little time him while he was awake. In the afternoon Dad got to spend some good quality time with Josh. They spent some time skyping Mom, and then Dad read to his little guy for a while. Mom wishes she could have spent more time with Josh today, but is very thankful for Dad and that he was able to be with Josh today. Dad is feeling almost perfect. Mom however seems to be sicker today and has almost completely lost her voice. We are hopeful the antibiotics will kick in quickly and Mom will be able to be back with Josh again soon. Both Mom and Dad are looking forward to being able to touch and hold Josh again (we haven't held him in over a week!).

Prayer Request;

Josh would not have any problems with desaturation or apnea or increased respiratory rate tonight.
Josh would continue to tolerate his high flow nasal cannula and his little nose would heal quickly from all the suctioning.
Josh would continue to tolerate his feedings well and have no residuals
Josh stay healthy and not develop any infections or get sick
Mom would get rest and get healthy quickly from her cold that she got from Dad

Praises:

Josh had a very big poop and his belly looked great afterwards
Josh is off of his IV fluids and should be able to get his PICC line out in a few days.
Josh had a very good day after a rough night
Dad is feeling much better and has only lingering effects from his cold