Yippee!!! A weight gain!

Josh had a good night last night. He had no real episodes of bradycardia or desaturation associated with his feedings last evening or today.  He did have one episode of breath holding in the evening associated with medication administration.  He turned a nice color blue that gave Mommy quite the scare, but recovered before the nurse could even make it over to his bedside.  We are now going to give him his medicines mixed in milk - they go down much better that way. 

Josh gained 92 grams last night and is now 2,265 grams (a whooping 4 pounds 15..9 ounces)!  We are very excited for this weight gain.  Because his weight gain was so good, we are not making any changes to his feeding plan for today.  He continues to do well with his breastfeeding/bottle feeding regimen.  He actually seems to be nursing better now that he is getting more to eat and he has even refused his supplemental bottle after nursing a few times.  Mommy and Daddy are very pleased with this turn of events!  We are hoping for more weight gain tonight.

Josh's blood counts looked good this morning. His hematocrit was 34, which is good and his white blood cells are working somewhat better than they were, although he is still considered neutropenic (meaning his is susceptible to infection). They plan on rechecking his blood counts again on Friday. If it continues in the same range then they will stop checking and allow his pediatrician to follow up on it once we are discharged (whenever that happens).

Josh has become quite the burpy baby in the last few days.  This is most likely associated with his use of the bottle.  He has burped so hard he knocked the pacey from his mouth a few times. His burps even attract the attention of passersby who feel the need to comment on his "man" burps.  The one good thing about burping is that is makes room for more food.

Daddy is continuing to not feel his best.  He has not been able to visit with Mommy or Josh for very long for the last several days.  Mommy is feeling pretty run down, mostly from lack of sleep (she hasn't gotten much the last few nights).  We are a little concerned that she might be getting sick, which would not be good for Josh since Mommy needs to be here most of the time to feed him. 

Prayer Request:

• Josh would continue to eat well and gain weight steadily and transition between the nursing and bottle feeding well
• Josh would not have any more bradycardia or desaturations
• Josh's reflux would continue to improve with the new medications he is on and he would outgrow it quickly
• Josh's white blood cells would begin to function normally and not fall so that he would not need a "work up"
• Mommy or Josh would not get sick with Daddy's cold and that Daddy would start to feel better

Praises:

• Josh gained weight and is now 4 pounds 15.9 ounces!
• Josh's reflux seems to be improved with his new medications
• Josh's feeding regimen seems to be working well and he is nursing for longer periods of time

(Sweet boy sleeping  in the hat his Mimi made him)

(Gotta love the monkey suit!)

(Mommy will you please stop taking pictures of me)

(Josh scooting out of his hat again)

(Look at that cute tummy!)