November 12th

Noah continues to make little steps of progress. I suspect that is fitting for such a little man. He was reevaluated today by the pediatric cardiologist because the neonatologist heard a murmur. They repeated an echo and it showed no evidence of the PDA. Also, a portion of the heart that was a bit enlarged as a result of the PDA has returned to normal size. This is great news, though we already knew it over the weekend.

Noah's feeding will be advanced to 10 mL every 3 hours tonight. That's roughly 1/3rd of an ounce. His goal is going to be something on the order of 35 mL every 3 hours I suspect. So, we are a bit under 1/3rd of the way there. How often do we take a drink and it is far greater than Noah's goal volume for 3 hours!? This guy is little...

His CPAP "remains" at 5. The catch with that is that tonight when I went to see him his mask was not fitting very well. He was breathing fairly well and the CPAP was reading 2 or 3. This means that he can get by with less than the 5 that they think they have him set at. With this in mind, I am hopeful that he will be weaned in the next 24 to 48 hours.

All in all, I feel like little Noah is making some strides, small though they may be. It reminds me of my best friend's mantra of "slow and steady wins the race." I can't tell you how many times he recited that when he was first getting to know his wonderful bride Meredith. It applies aptly to Noah. We're not looking to break any hospital discharge records.

Missy had a pretty good day. She got to spend a good amount of time with Noah. Our friend Heidi took her to the hospital again today. Thanks Heidi for being there to shuttle Miss! We both greatly appreciate it and I'm sure that Noah would too if he knew that you were doing it.

Anna's illness is progressing. She began steroids last night for the croup and her cough has improved; however, she is now complaining that her ear is hurting. I hope that she doesn't have an ear infection. Perhaps she has been sniffling to the point that her ear drum has retracted, which is giving her some discomfort. I am presently operating on the "don't look at the ear drum and it won't be infected" sort of premise. She is somewhat cranky and looks a little ill tonight. I pray she gets better soon. It's hard to have Anna ill and Noah still in the hospital.

I spoke with my mom at about 19:30. She was in Detroit. It appears that the plane she was supposed to leave Philadelphia on was delayed coming in and she therefore didn't get out of Philly in a timely manner. She missed her flight in Detroit, but was rescheduled for a flight to get into Knoxville at 10:55. She was in good spirits and even alluded to future trips up to visit. That's exciting. I want to take the opportunity to thank Hobie for driving my mom to the airport. Hobie runs a not-for-profit shuttle service to the Philadelphia airport it seems.

I hope everyone reading Noah's blog is well. Thanks again for caring about our little man. I can't wait until he gets the chance to meet you all.

Please pray for the following:
Noah's neonatologists and nurses
Missy's OB/GYN, Dr. Heinzel
Strength for our family, especially Missy
Opportunities to be salt and light to others
Noah, and his big sister Anna, that they would come to know the Lord at a young age
Anna's speedy recovery from her illness

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."
Psalm 18:2