Back on the vent

My poor tired, little boy.  His nurse today had said Joshua "was tired from his adventure yesterday"  and now that we've visited him I can see why she said that.  His ventilator settings are higher than they were before the C-pap trial and the lines on the ventilator screen show red most of the time.  Yellow is a Joshua breath and red is a ventilator breath.  So today he is letting the vent do all the work, my tiny little boy is tired and worn out. 

When we came in this afternoon Joshua was very comfy and cozy laying on his belly all tucked in.  It was good to be able to see Joshua's face again (one plus for being on the ventilator)  Evy, his nurse (and our favorite nurse so far) has taken such good care of him.  She is so gentle, attends quickly to his needs and monitor beeps, and transitions to kangaroo with Joshua are so smooth and tangle free!  Joe is kangarooing Joshua today and Joe is enjoying his nap and snuggle time as I sit and pump and create this blog. 



Nap time for the boys
 

Later today the surgeons still want to start milk feedings.  Finally the sleep interrupted nights, the hour+ pumping sessions, the pain, the frustration of it not being as easy as breast-feeding will all be worth it.  Joshua will get to taste his Mommy's milk.  He will get 1mL of milk through his OG tube in addition to his TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition - ie IV food)  We are anxious to see how that goes with Joshua's drain being out and seeing if his intestines have healed.  We pray that the hole(s) have healed, that his bowel would function as it was created to do, to move milk along and NOT cause another perforation allowing gas to escape into his belly.

We spoke with the doctor after Joshua's heart echo today.  She said his PDA (murmur) is still moderate.  The Neoprofin medication closed it tenths of a millimeter, but nothing significant.  It is still a pretty large hole, so they will continue to monitor it and hope that with time and Lasix  (diuretics) his lungs won't hold any more fluid and that his heart will not enlarge any more in size.

Teeny Tiny boy on Daddy's Chest
 

 

 

First taste of Mommy's Milk