The adventures of Joshua Alexander Cobb: Twas the day before Christmas...

... and all through the NICU, not a bed was a beeping, not even bed 9! Baby Josh was settled all snug in his isolette, dreaming that soon his Mommy and Daddy would be there. The nurses went about all quiet and calm, with visions of healthy babies filling their heads. Then into the parking garage drove a sedan, with two tired buy happy parents sitting inside. Out come Mommy and Daddy all loaded down, with the camera, the netbook, the water bottle, and lunchbox! Into the hospital they swept with a flourish, pushed the up button on the elevator, and waited for the ride. Up one floor, then two floors, and finally three, and out into the hallway they exited with glee. Down the hall, through the door, and stop at the clerks desk... these parents are on a mission, so don't block their way. After the clerk had cleared that they could enter, it was just wash one hand, then two hands, and then into the ward. And who did they greet with much joy and laughter, than a small baby Josh, all squirming and grabby. And all that was heard by the parents that day, was "It's Christmas eve, and Josh had a great day!"

So Josh had a great night, with only one episode of apnea/bradicardia (A's and B's), but this did not even count because he had pulled his CPAP out of his nose (a recurring theme). Josh is doing very well today as well... so well in fact, that he has only had a single episode of A's and B's since 2am YESTERDAY morning (more than 36 hours ago). This is good, since up until now, he has been having at least three or four a day, with multiple in an hour when he wasn't doing very well. We are very thankful for this.

Josh has spent most of the day sleeping, but had a few good awake periods with his Mom and Dad there. When the doctor's rounded on him, we found out that he grew no less than 4 different types of bacteria in his ET tube! He is on antibiotics that specifically target these bacteria, and will be on them for at least 14 days to make sure that it clears up completely. His chest xrays still look clean, and he is not developing any pneumonia. His blood work is also all clean, and none of his blood cultures grew anything, so whatever infection he had, was contained to just the lungs (and maybe even just the ET tube). We are very glad that this infection was caught early though, as four different bacteria could have caused Josh lots of trouble if left unchecked for too long. We thank God for the watchful eyes of his doctors and nurses, as well as the abundance of prayer from so many sources.

Josh is nice and pink today, a sign that his Uncle Matt's blood is doing its work. He has been constantly getting the prongs of his CPAP out of his nose, which we then kindly insert back into his nose (not that he wants them there). However, the good news about this is that Josh seems to tolerate not being on CPAP well, at least for the short periods before it is discovered that the prongs are out of his nose. He seems to be able to hold his oxygen saturation well (for at least short periods).

The doctors have also restarted Josh on his feeds. The will start him off slowly, with only 2 ml per three hours (he was up to 22 ml per three hours before). They will then slowly increase his feeds, while watching to make sure that his belly is not getting distended (sign of infection). Just like before, they will ween down his IV nutrition as his breast milk intake increases, so that he is getting 150 ml/kg/day of total fluids.

To top the day off, Mommy got to have some Kangaroo time with Josh, which was the first time that we have been able to hold him since he got sick on Sunday (four days ago). Both Mommy and Josh were very happy to be able to enjoy the togetherness of Kangaroo time. The nurse placed Josh in a way that Mommy could actually look and see Josh during the Kangaroo time, and they had a wonderful time looking at and talking to each other. Josh has started making some of the baby cooing noises, now that he is off of the ventilator (and not upset from being sick and being poked and prodded).

Prayer Requests:

Josh's antibiotics work well and quickly, to make sure that if he had these bacteria in his lungs, they disappear quickly
Josh handle his renewed feeds well, and be able to get back to full feedings of breast milk as quickly as possible
Josh continue to breath well, with little to no A's and B's
Josh not lose weight while on the IV nutrition, but actually maintain or continue to gain weight (he is still at 2 pounds 10 ounces)
Mom and Dad get some good rest, and be able to sleep well between pumping periods at night
Mom's milk supply increase, so that we can take longer breaks between pumping at night

Praises:

Josh's infection was found quickly, it was speciated quickly, and he now is getting antibiotics that specifically target these bacteria
Josh is breathing really well, and has only had one episode of A's and B's in the last 36+ hours
Mommy got to have some Kangaroo time with Josh today
Josh's breast milk feedings have started again