A poopy day... and not the good kind

Last night and today were hard days for Josh.  The night started off with Josh getting pretty cold, which caused him to have more bradys, as well as to be lethargic.  It turned out that at 6:30 pm, Josh's nurse took his temperature and it was low, but she didn't tell Mommy.  Well after that Josh had two breastfeeding sessions of an hour or so, both of which he was not bundled up, because he has been too warm to stay awake in the past.  We also decided to do Josh's car seat test, which involves him sitting in his car seat for an hour and a half barely bundled up.

So, after discovering that Josh was very cold in the late evening, he was put under a radiant warmer, which brought up his temperature, but he has had problems keeping his body temperature up throughout the day.  Because of this, Josh had to have a whole bunch of labs drawn to test for infections, which can also cause his body temperature to drop.  Josh even had to have a lumbar puncture (spinal tap).  Josh is also going to get a blood transfusion (thanks Uncle Steve!), because his hematocrit is low.  Fortunately, Josh still has some blood in storage for him.  Today was almost the last day that the blood was still good, so we are having a friend go and donate blood for him tomorrow (Thanks Dawn!).  Josh was also started on antibiotics in case he has an infection and will be on them for at least 48 hours.  He has an IV placed in his left hand so that the antibiotics could given.

Another result of the blood tests that they took is that his total white blood cell count is low, which means his little immune system is not working very well at all. The doctors say his white blood cell count is low because his little body is growing quickly and his bone marrow can't produce enough blood cells fast enough yet.  It makes Josh more susceptible to illnesses and infections.  This means that even when Josh comes home, that Mommy and Daddy will have to be very careful with how they take Josh outside of home.  Also, we will have to be very selective in who can have contact with Josh, as the littlest bug could make him very sick.  The nurse practitioner said that he will have to be isolated like this for several months after going home.

Because Josh had so much done to him today, he was very tired out, and so ate very poorly in the afternoon and evening.  This is of course a self worsening cycle, because if he doesn't eat, then he doesn't gain weight and have the energy to eat more.  Josh may have to have his feeding tube put back in so that he can at least be given breast milk, even if he is asleep.  Josh ended up losing 17 grams (4lbs 10oz) last night, which could be directly attributed to being cold and burning excess calories to try to keep his little body warm.  Needless to say, today has been very tiring, frustrating, and scary for both Mommy and Daddy.

Prayer requests:

• Josh's blood cultures come back clean
• Josh get good rest so that he has the energy to eat well
• Josh hold his body temperature
• Mommy and Daddy have peace and get better sleep
• Josh get better so that he can come home soon

Praises:

• Josh passed his car seat test with flying colors!
• Mommy is in the slightly more comfortable room for one more night!
• Josh is able to get some of Uncle Steve's blood to help him feel better
• Josh has had two successful feedings using a modified supplemental nursing system

(Josh trying out his car seat during his car seat test - to make sure he doen't have apnea while in it)

(Josh enjoying his car seat test, he is so little compared to his seat!)

(An alert Josh sucking on his pacey after eating a large lunch and before all his tests)

(Pale baby boy resting after being poked and proded today)