November 7th

Missy is beginning to get around more readily now. She is having less pain and has only been taking ibuprofen. She was able to get a shower on her own this evening as well.

Today, Miss went to the hospital to visit the little guy and was able to hold him for about an hour. She was able to hold him "skin-to-skin," which greatly improved her spirits. It has been extraordinarily tough for her to leave Noah at the hospital. Today was very good for her. I think that she was longing for bonding with him and it seems that she got that to some extent. Apparently they let dads do the "skin-to-skin" thing also, but I don't know if the little guy wants to be rooting around in chest hair; the poor chap would likely be scarred for life. I think I might stick with the more traditional form of holding for now.

From the reports that I have received via Miss & hospital email, Noah seems to be doing okay. He is up to 3 lb 2.9 oz (1443 grams) today. His feeds have been decreased to a very minimal amount. I am planning to interrogate the staff tonight when I visit to find out if this is due to Noah's poor tolerance of the feedings, or if it is due to reservations as a result of his receiving the ibuprofen.

The nurse at the hospital reported to Missy that Noah has less of a murmur and the neonatologist feels that the blood pressure is better now; that is to say that they feel the PDA is closing. I am inclined to evaluate the squirt when I get there for myself. I certainly am hopeful that the PDA is closing, though. That will be one less thing to check off of the list.

Noah's bilirubin has remained at 3.6 under the lights, but the staff apparently want to keep the lights on while he isn't taking much feeds. Their concern is that the bilirubin may build up if he doesn't have a lot of feed going through his gut. Bilirubin is broken down and excreted in stool. I think they are just trying to give the guy a sun tan so he won't be a pasty little white kid...

From a respiratory standpoint, Noah remains on CPAP. He only had one episode of apnea (forgot to breathe) with bradycardia (slow heart rate) yesterday, which is great. I suspect that they will keep him on CPAP for a couple of more days, depending on how his respiratory effort is. With the closure of the PDA, his respiratory status may improve and that would enable him to come off of CPAP more readily.

My mom (a.k.a. Nana) is en route from her connection in Detroit right now. Her first leg from Knoxville went quite well. She had a visit from Mr. Benzo prior to boarding and then was blessed with the company of a man who talked with her the whole time to keep her mind off of the flying. She sounded great when I spoke with her in Detroit and I'm sure that she's quite excited to get to visit with Anna and Noah.

Thanks for checking on Noah and Missy today.

Please pray for the following:
Noah's neonatologists
Missy's OB/GYNs, Drs. Laveren and Heinzel
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

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philipians 4:6&7