The adventures of Joshua Alexander Cobb: Josh is a growing boy!

Josh had an excellent night last night, with no desaturations or bradycardias. Mom and Dad would know first hand because they roomed in last night! The NICU has two rooms that they allow parents to stay in when they are available and we were able to stay last night. The main room they use has a standard twin bed, a pull out bed, a full bathroom, and a tv. Mom and Dad decided to stay the night to see how Josh did with breastfeeding every 6 hours. The trial went well and Josh did a great job of breastfeeding every 6 hours all night long and sleeping in between feedings. Mom and Dad wish they could say that they did a well with their sleeping as Josh did.

Because Josh did so well with his feedings through the night, Mom has decided to room-in everynight possible between now and when Josh is discharged. This will help us to reach our goal of having Josh 100% breastfed and it will speed up the discharge proccess if we can prove that Josh can still gain weight while nursing. Although we all agree that this is the best thing for Josh, Mom and Dad are sad that they will be seperated occasionally for the next several weeks. Dad can stay with Mom from time to time, but to enusure that Dad gets enough rest to be able to go to work, Dad will also sleep some nights at home. Hospitals are very noisy places at night. Mom is hoping not to go crazy after being at the hospital 24 hours a day.

Josh is doing well with his breastfeeding attempts and was awake enough today to do two feedings in a row this morning. He continues to tolerate his feedings through his tube as well, which are being given over an hour. Josh gained 85grams overnight and now weighs 4lbs 5oz. He also had a growth spurt since last week and is now 17.25 inches long! Mom and Dad are very proud of their little man!

Since Josh is over 8 weeks old and quickly approaching 2 months old per calander days, he received his first round of vaccinations today. The nurse said he tolerated them well, with only a slight squeak with each shot, he recieved a total of 5 shots. Josh will get doses of tylenol every 6 hours for the next 24 hours to help with pain and possible side effects from his shots.

Josh continues to do well on room air and has not needed to go back on his oxygen. He does have occassional desaturations, but they are all associated with reflux related to feedings. The plan right now is to work on getting Josh to take full feedings by mouth so that his feeding tube can be removed. Once the feeding tube is out, the erythromycin will be stopped. This will allow the doctors to see how his reflux is and decide if he will need to go home on medications for reflux. Most preemies outgrow their reflux a few months after birth, so any medciations won't last very long. They are also allowing Josh to outgrow his caffeine dose and will stop it once it is low enough. This will enable them to see if he has any residual apnea once he is no longer recieving caffine.

Josh is definitely making progress towards discharge. Mom and Dad are very excited at the prospect of being able to take little Josh home soon. We are looking forward to having our little guy home with us sometime in the next 3-4 weeks. Many people have asked us about helping out both now and when Josh comes home. Although we are not quite sure of what our needs willl be yet, we will definitely keep you updated via the blog of any possible needs we have. Our church has offered to host a baby shower for Josh on February 6, so if you are interested in learning more, please contact us.

Prayer Request:

Josh would continue to do well with his breathing and not need to go back on the oxygen
Josh would continue to do well with his breastfeeding and be able to eat on a 3 hour schedule and take in enough milk to continue to gain weight well
Josh would do well with his vaccinations and not feel bad over the next few days
Josh would not get an infection or suffer any set backs as we are working towards discharge
Mom woud do ok with rooming in and not become too stir crazy at the hospital and that there will be a room available every night for her to stay
Mom and Dad would deal well with the seperation and the new/different responsibilities they will undertake

Praise:

Josh is tolerating brestfeeding every 6 hours and sometimes more frequently
Josh remains off of oxygen!
Josh gained 85 grams and now weighs 4lbs 5oz
Josh is making good progress and there is an end in sight!!
Mom and Dad were able to room in last night and Mom will be able to continue to be at the hospital to meet Josh's needs.