November 16th

We received some great news today. Noah's feeds have reached a level that allowed his belly button IV to be removed today! That's outstanding. It was great to see his little belly without the catheter sticking out of it. Also, they have been increasing his feeds more aggressively and he will receive his goal volume tomorrow morning. This is great. The next step is to work on oral and swallowing coordination. Once he has that down, he'll be set. This really will be the issue that keeps him in the hospital. The rest seem to be resolving.

His weaning from CPAP continues to go well. He is having minimal difficulty and he is tolerating the periods off of CPAP nicely. Maybe he'll be off that by Monday.

The bilirubin came down to a level of about 2 today and his phototherapy was discontinued. I think we likely won't see the "Close Encounters" lights again. His color looks great today as well.

While standing at Noah's bedside this evening, the father of a new baby in the bed space beside Noah started talking to me. He and his wife are from Sierra Leone on the western coast of Africa. They are Muslims; I found this out when I asked their son's name and was told it is "Hashim." Apparently that was Muhammad's last name or something. He asked what Noah's name was and when I told him he smiled and said, "Oh, he's going to stop the flood." I replied, "No, he's going to ride it out." May God continue to give us the strength to ride out this storm/flood in our family's life. It's been tough, but it's also been a wonderful growing experience. God has a great plan for all of this that He is working out. I am thankful that He is working in and through us. That's exciting.

Missy has been fairly tired today. I suspect that she is being a bit overzealous with her driving herself to the hospital. She also spent some time cleaning the house today. I think these things culminated to wipe her out. From a medical standpoint, I want her to be up and doing things as much as she is able to without significant discomfort. From a husband and father standpoint, I want her to do little to nothing. I hope that I am striking a balance, though I always feel as though the medical side wins out.

Anna is improving and really had a great day. She cleaned up her room all by herself today. She doesn't realize that she has proven that she is henceforth capable of doing this chore. She was preparing for "Poppa" (Missy's dad) to arrive tomorrow.

Tonight as I was driving from CHOP to the hospital where Noah is, I talked with my friend Jeff Williamson. Jeff is a great friend in many ways. He is faithful to always ask me how I am doing in the midst of these sorts of situations. He has noticed that since the first entry into Noah's blog I haven't really mentioned myself too much. Ultimately, that's because I don't think that people are tuning in to check on me. If I write a bunch of stuff about me, it's being whiny in my mind. As a father, I feel like I am supposed to support my family and sit back in the wings a bit. I should make sure they have what they need and I should sacrifice because that's what I think dads should do; we're supposed to be the ones with old, worn out shoes or old Hondas that still run but aren't hip. It's sort of a badge of honor of being a dad. Perhaps that's silly or something, but that's how I've romanticized part of being a dad. I guess if there is an overwhelming outcry from people wanting to know how I'm holding up, I'll respond, but otherwise I'll just keep plugging away.

Thanks for checking on Noah and Missy today.

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
Our working with Anna during this difficult transition time for her

"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?"
Hebrews 12:7