Day 35 - 5 Weeks and a Smile!!!

Today is day 35 of Joshua's life which leaves just 71 days until Christmas and his hopeful homecoming!!

Just a quick update today, it's late already and I still have a ton to get done before bed. Joshua is still hovering in weight right around 9 pounds 10 ounces. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. They're upping his feeds (lower portion) one ml every 8 hours now. When I left this afternoon, it was set at 19ml per hour. The max is about 27 or 28ml per hour, unless he doesn't tolerate it. So far he's doing good with it.

His vomiting has lessened, and is no longer a huge concern. He did have the tube in his nose replaced and put in further into the intestines to give the stomach a break. We had to go down to radiology to have it put in. It was not fun for either of us, though I'm sure much more rough for him. I try hard to hide the tears in these situations because the room is always filled with medical professionals and I don't want to seem silly, but it's so hard for me when he is that upset. It just kills me. So, now he has to wear mittens on his hands all the time, because he's really good at sneaking a finger or two behind the tube and pulling it out of his nose. I know neither of us wants to go back down there and insert it again, so we're taking precautions to prevent it from happening. He doesn't love the mittens, but it's better than the alternative.

He has one small infection on his incision line on his belly. They said it's a suture that's become infected and that it's not a big deal because it's just at the surface and not further down. It's being treated and is already looking better.

Our car should be ready tomorrow. We ended up getting a new alternator, new tires and a belt replaced. That's a big bill!! But we rely on our car so much, so we had to get it all done.

We're all doing ok. Daddy and I are pretty tired. This is such a hard schedule, but we're surviving and that is what's important.

I was snapping some pictures of Joshua today and just happened to catch him with a smile!! He was asleep, so it wasn't a happy smile, but it's cute nonetheless!! He is starting to recognize mine and Steve's voice and stops crying or turns his head when he hears us. It's so cute. He is such a little sweetie, just like Noah and Abby!! I still can't believe I have 3 kids now! It's hard to really get a sense of it when they're separated. I don't have all 3 at the same time. I can't wait until I do!!

Well have a good night. If you have any spare change lying around, buy a Bengals ticket for this Sunday so maybe they'll sell out and we can watch it on t.v.!! It's one of the things we look forward to every week and would be such a bummer if we couldn't watch!!