The adventures of Joshua Alexander Cobb: Double the pleasure, double the fun... double the baby's birth weight!

Josh had great night last night. He had not desaturations and no apnea. When Mom called to check on him last night the night nurse told us that he had bee an angel. He got a nice bath and a new bed last night as well. Josh has only had 2 episodes of desaturation today, both of which were associated with feedings. He also spit up a little bit, but that is just part of being a baby - it is only worth mentioning because it is a first. (And no, we are sure these things won't be as interesting the 700th time) :-)

Josh did well with his continuous gastric feedings yesterday. So today his feeding were changed to be given as boluses every 3 hours and the feeding runs over 2 hours. Since Josh is doing so well with breastfeeding, he is no longer receiving a tube feeding after breastfeeding. So Josh ate 2 feedings himself and did not need to be tube fed twice today. He ate well for both feedings going for 12 minutes and 17 minutes. Josh did seem to do better at his second feeding when he had some time to become hungry between feedings. We are hoping that he is taking in enough at each feeding that he continues to gain weight. Speaking of weight, Josh gained 60 grams over night and is now 4lbs 4 oz (1925 grams) - he has officially doubled his birth weight!!!!! We are very proud of our big guy and how well he is doing with gaining weight.

The nurse practitioner said we were getting to the point where we would need to decide if Josh would receive bottle feedings while in the NICU. Mom and Dad have discussed this issues and decided that they do not want Josh to receive any bottle feedings. This is because there is a strong possibility that once Josh learned to drink from a bottle he would grow to prefer it because in some ways it is an easier way to feed. Josh does such a good job breastfeeding that we don't want to disrupt his progress. So Mom will be at the hospital as much as possible, even staying the night when there is a room available so that she can provide milk for Josh. Then prior to discharge Mom and Dad will "room-in" the NICU for 2 nights to show that they are able to care for Josh prior to discharge and so Mom can breastfeed him 24 hours a day. Josh will have to eat well and gain weight those two days in order to go home. Feel free to begin praying for this already. We are a few weeks away from this final milestone, but it doesn't hurt to start praying now.

Josh continues to be an active boy. The nurse changed out his feeding tube today to give him a small tube, which should decrease reflux caused by the tube. While she was working to get the tape off of his face, Josh grabbed the tube an pulled it right out. He is a very helpful boy. Josh also enjoys stretching and moving around while he is sleeping. Today he kept raising his little butt in the air while sleeping on his tummy. It looked like it would be a good exercise for his abdominal muscles. He is also very talented at getting all wrapped up in his wires while swaddled to eat. It takes Mom and Dad several minutes to untangle him afterward.

Later in the evening, some wonderful friends (Dawn Long, Carrie Roberts, and Priscilla Brown) came over to our home to help finish decorating Josh's bedroom.

Prayer Request:

Josh would do well with his new feeding schedule and would feed better when he breastfeeds because of the time between feedings and that he would get enough when he breastfeeds to keep gaining weight.
Josh would continue to develop stamina and strength so he can tolerate more times breastfeeding
Josh would not develop any more infections while in the hospital or any other complications
Josh's reflux would continue to improve with his medicine and he would eventually outgrow it
Josh would be able to be 100% breastfed baby when he is discharged from the NICU

Praises: