Your Own Clothes

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello sweet thing! How are you today? You look well! :-)

I came to see you twice today. When I saw you this afternoon, you were sleeping away. I picked you up and just rocked with you for a while. We did a gulp and swallow session and you took 12 ml of milk by breast! Your feedings have gone to 38 ml every three hours, so the rest went into your feeding tube. The nurse this afternoon stated that they will probably try giving you a bottle soon and see how well you do. You're at the gestation age where you'll likely do well.

For the 9pm feeding, daddy came with me. When we got there, you were being weighed and about to have your bath. Good news .... you weigh 4 lbs 6.4 ozs! Wow! You're such a big boy! We tried breast feeding again, and you took 10 ml. You had an active evening with the bath and eye exam, so you seemed a little worn out.

Daddy and I both got to hold you tonight. Your next eye exam will be in another two weeks. Your retinas are still not mature, which is aged related, so they need to keep checking you.

Also, the night nurse stated that your first bottle will be at your 3am feeding later! I hope you do well!

Do you like your penguin outfit? Daddy picked it out from the bag of clothes that we brought in for you. Your gigi (mommy's mom) bought it for you! You're officially in your own clothes! :-)

I thank God everyday for you! Keep up the good work!

I love you very much! :-)

~Mommy

More Milk Please

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello sweet little thing! How are you today?

Today is your Aunt Katie's birthday! Yippie! She can't wait to see you when you leave the hospital. :-)

Daddy and I came to see you three times today for the 9am, 3pm, and 9pm feedings. At 9am, daddy and I both got to hold you. You slept when daddy held you. :-) We did a gulp and swallow session of breast feeding, and you took 16 ml of milk! You're total feed is 36 ml of milk every three hours, so the other 20 ml had to go through your feeding tube. We also took your temperature and changed you.

At 3pm, you did well again with your feedings. You took 12 ml of milk through your mouth! We also got to take your temperature and change you. You've been doing really well with regulating your own temperature.

When we came back at 9pm, I got to hold you again. :-) We tried to feed you again, and you took 16 ml before falling asleep. So, you took 44 ml of milk total today through your mouth! The nipple shield helps you. You're getting better! One nurse stated that we might be able to try a bottle on you tomorrow. We'll see. Once you are able to feed properly, you'll be home free! :-)

You continue to get cuter everyday! I can't wait to take you home and hold you! :-)

I love you so much! :-)

~Mommy

Another Video

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello sweet boy! How's my little angel? :-) Today was a good day for feedings. Overall, you took 4 ml more milk than your total yesterday. Good improvement!

At 9am, your gigi (mommy's mom) came with me. We took your temperature and changed you. Then, we tried to get you to feed. You took 8ml of milk before falling asleep on us! Gigi held you for a while and you slept most of the time. It's almost December, so to get in the holiday spirit, gigi brought a stocking to decorate your bed! :-)


At 3pm, mimi (daddy's mom) came with me. We took your temperature and changed you again. You were a stinky little boy! :-P Then, we did another feeding. This time you showed off and took 18 ml of milk! Woo hoo! If you keep that up we'll be taking you home real soon! Then, mimi got to hold you.

Daddy came with me to the 9pm feeding. You were fussy for us and didn't want to feed right away. But, you eventually calmed down and took 8 ml of milk. So, you took 34 ml total over the day, and yesterday it was only 30 ml. You're showing improvement so lets keep it up!

Afterwards, the nurse had us watch the third video in the preemie series about "taking you home." That's a good sign that they had us go ahead and watch that video. It means you're definitely in the last stages.

The nurse last night weighed you and you're now 4 lbs 2.7 oz! A few more ounces and you'll be double your birth weight! :-) Daddy washed all the preemie size clothes that people have given you and we brought them to the hospital tonight. We labeled them all and put them near your bed. Now, you'll be able to wear your own clothes! A few outfits looked too small, so we donated them to the hospital for smaller babies to use. :-)

You continue to do well.

I love you will all my heart! :-)

~Mommy

Six Weeks

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello little precious! How's my sweet boy today? :-) Guess what .... today you are six weeks old (36 weeks gestation)! How exciting!

I came to see you three times today and brought different people with me. For the 9am feeding, I brought gigi (mommy's mom) along. We changed you and took your temperature. You and I worked on gulps and swallows. We tried it this time by ourselves (with no help from lactation nurses) and we did 12ml of milk via your mouth! Yea! You also had a really loud burp that even the nurses chuckled at. :-)

For the 3pm feeding, we came back and did it all over again. This time we only got 6ml, but it's still something. Plus, we got more practice on me holding you correctly. Then gigi got to hold you!

At 9pm, daddy came along, and good thing he did .... mommy was getting pretty sleepy by then! ;-) We had one of the nurses help us, and we got you to take 12ml again! Then, daddy held you while you got the rest of your feeding through the tube. The nurse said that she was proud of you .... and so am I!

We were there for your nightly weigh in .... you are now 4 lbs 2.4 ozs! Getting on up there!

I went out shopping today with daddy and gigi. I got some things for us for the nursery to prepare for when you come home. Hopefully it won't be long until you're here! Can't wait to take you home with me!

I love you little precious! :-)

~Mommy

Happy Thanksgiving

Dearest Joshua David~

Happy Thanksgiving sweet little thing! I hate that you're still in the hospital during a holiday, but at least you are healthy and continue to do well. That's all I can ask for, and I'm so thankful for you and your daddy today!

We brought some pies in for the nurses to celebrate Thanksgiving. We took them a pumpkin, a sweet potato, and a pecan pie. I labeled them all from you. They loved them! :-)

You had a slew of visitors today. Your two grandfathers and mimi came to see you at different points. Your gigi is coming tomorrow with me.

Daddy and I came to see you for the 9am and 9pm feedings. When we came in the morning to see you, you had gained 38 grams since your last weigh in. You were 3 lbs 15.2 ozs!

We had a lactation nurse help us gain. You had a better seal this time and it appeared as though you didn't swallow as much air as the last feeding. The nurse didn't aspirate the air out, so we just waited to see how well you would do. Also, we weighed you before and after. You took 16 ml by yourself via mouth! Only 18ml had to be given via nose feeding tube. Good job little man! Oh, and another thing that has changed .... when I'm not there, your feedings through the nose tube are now done over 45 minutes (you were fed for an hour prior).

Later, we came back at 9pm. You still don't have the stamina to attempt two feedings back-to-back. The nurse tonight thought that we might be able to try early next week. At 9pm, we got to see the nurse measure you. You're now 41.5 cm (16.34 in) long and your head is 29.5 cm (11.6 in) in diameter. You're still growing! :-)

We did another feeding. Tonight you took in 12 ml. Which means, you took 28 ml of milk via mouth today. That's almost an entire feeding with only two sessions (full feeding is 34 ml)!

The nurse tonight explained more on why we're pushing you to learn breast feeding prior to bottles. When using bottles, the milk just drips out and you don't have to learn how to suck very well. Also, you can't control the rate of the milk, so you could get overwhelmed with too much in your mouth. Once you get better at breast feeding, we can introduce a bottle to you. The nurse was thinking of having you practice more over the weekend (increase the number of feedings you and I try) and maybe introduce a bottle on monday. I'm going to go to three feedings tomorrow and saturday to help you (probably the 9am, 3pm, and 9pm). They'll be long days, but it'll be worth it to see you improve. At each session, you get a tad stronger so the more we try the better you'll get .... and the faster we can get the feeding tube out of your nose. Plus, we get to see each other more often! I can't wait until we're both not living at the hospital! :-P

And, here's the big news .... you were weighed again tonight .... you're now 4 lbs 1 oz!! You broke the 4 pound barrier! I'm so proud of you! What wonderful news on Thanksgiving Day!

I'm so thankful for the blessing of you in my life!

I love you dearly!

~Mommy

Chubby Cheeks

Dearest Joshua David~

Well, we have a lot to discuss little precious!

Last night, daddy and I came back to see you for your 9pm feeding. We had a lactation nurse help with getting you to suck and swallow more. She used a "supplemental nursing system" (SNS) to help you take in more milk. She put 10ml of milk in the container and let it run through a tube going out the nipple shield. With help, you took it all through your mouth, plus extra milk through the shield from me! It took you a little while, but you got it all in. So, you only had to take 24ml of milk through your nose feeding tube. You also swallowed a lot of air, so you gave a few good burps! You get tired during the feeding, so the nurse said you didn't have enough stamina to try two feedings in a row. After, I got to take your temperature, changed you, and held you for about an hour. :-) Oh, and you weigh 3 lbs 13.8 ozs!

Today, I came back for your 3pm feeding. We had a different lactation nurse to help us and we weighed you before and after the feeding. We didn't use the SNS, only the shield. With the nurse's help, you gained 20 grams during the feeding! Wow! Because of that, they took out 20ml from your syringe, and you only had 14ml go through your nose feeding tube!

When I got there, mimi was already holding you .... and before I left, gigi was holding you! Your grandmothers sure love you! :-)

I changed your diaper and outfit before I left. You had a nice poopy diaper and proceeded to poop while I was changing you. Then, you decided that wasn't enough and wanted to pee everywhere as well. Thanks! :-P



Daddy came back with me for your 9pm feeding tonight. We had a nurse help us again and you did well. I can tell you're filling out and even have the beginnings of little chubby cheeks!

Daddy got to kangaroo care you (hold you skin-to-skin) and he burped you during the feeding. You were all cozy sleeping on him. :-)

I can't wait to see and hold you again little miracle!

I love you so much! :-)

~Mommy

Big Changes

Dearest Joshua David~

You had some big changes today when I came to visit you this afternoon. First, you no longer have a pulse oximeter on your foot. The doctors thought you were doing fine without it, so you have one less wire! :-)

Also, you've gained even more weight! You're now 3 lbs 12.1 ozs! Wow! Such a big boy!

Yesterday evening grandpa Mike and mimi came to visit you (daddy's parents). They both got to hold you! And, they gave you a bath. Now, all the grandparents have held you. :-)

The nurses are going to test you this evening. They've moved you into an open crib to see how well you regulate your temperature. I was there when they moved you from your isolette (incubator) bed into the open crib. If you do well, you'll be able to stay in the crib. :-)

We did another feeding lesson to see how well you're sucking and swallowing. The nurse weighed you before and after I tried to feed you. You gained 2 grams, so the nurse decreasesd your feeding by 2ml to compensate. Tonight, I'll go back again to see you for your 9pm feeding. Each day we'll try to do two lessons to get you feeding better.

After our lesson, I just held you for a few hours. You got the hiccups again. Then you slept. :-)

Can't wait to see you again!

I love you so much! :-)

~Mommy