November 18th

Noah's weight sagged a little last night to 3 lbs 8.9 oz. They are going to increase the amount of calories by adding milk fortifier to his feeds. This should help him put on some weight. Missy is planning to try to work with him on nursing when she goes back to the hospital to visit tonight. I think that he's ready to get going on that.

Noah's breathing is still looking pretty good. He had some short episodes while we were there earlier where his oxygen level decreased a little bit. I think that this is due to reflux; he was receiving a feeding at the same time. Hopefully he won't start going back on longer CPAP periods.

Missy is continuing to improve. This morning she discovered that she could lie on her side when she sleeps. She was quite excited about that. She's not a back sleeper and that has contributed to her being extraordinarily tired (as has her anemia). Her soreness is slowly improving as well.

Missy's dad was able to go to church with us this morning. It was a great service. We (the praise team) had a really good time with the song set and it was wonderful. In practice this morning everything seemed to be completely wrong, but it worked out great for the service. I think that's because we gave it to God.

Jay arrived safely this morning. I picked him up and took him by Merion. He was delighted to see it. Missy had been afraid he would want to stop, jump out, run onto the course and try to hit a ball or something. She had visions of either his arrest or his being shot by armed guards of the grounds. Thankfully, neither scenario occurred and we were able to go get everyone else for lunch at the Llanerch Diner.

From the "It's a small world" file, there is a nurse named Ellen in the NICU who took care of Noah from Wednesday until Friday. It turns out that her daughter works at a mission facility named SOS in Memphis. Ellen's daughter is close friends with a girl who was three years behind me in my med/peds residency program. Her name is Shelly Basye. That's amazing to me...

Thanks for checking on Noah and Missy today.

Please pray for the following:
Noah's neonatologists and nurses
God's continued working in the lives of our friends and family
Strength for our family
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

Please thank God for (at least) the following:
His love, grace, and faithfulness as exhibited in our lives
His working in the lives of all those who have played such an important part in Noah's life already: those who have and continue to pray for him

" By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see."
Acts 3:16