Friday Update

Since we just started this blog, so much has happened this week. Noah no longer needs an IV and is eating almost a ‘full’ feeding for his size. He is receiving only breast milk, to which they add fortifiers to fatten him up faster. He’s fed through a tube that runs through his nose and directly into his stomach and the food slowly drains in from a syringe. He is experiencing some breathing apnea, where he’ll stop breathing for a bit. It is completely normal for a premie’s immature central nervous system to do this. They just literally forget to breath. He now has a tiny oxygen tube in his nose, which should help lessen the number of instances until he grows out of it in a few days or so.

He did have jaundice earlier in the week and required photo-light therapy for two days. That was hard because we could only hold him for 30 min. twice a day. Since that stopped on Wednesday, I’ve been able to hold my baby boy for 2 hours at a time twice a day! Of course, I have to share him with Phil, who is at the hospital now getting his Noah time. It’s an exhaustive schedule, being torn between wanting to love on Noah but wanting to love equally on Ethan.

My mom has been here most of the week caring for Ethan. He absolutely loves his Mimi, and she does a wonderful job of taking care of me at the same time. She heads home tomorrow, and we will greatly feel her absence.

I’m ready to start a routine for our new normal while Noah is in the NICU. I want to play with Ethan. I want to love on at least one of my boys any time I want. I love his laughter and silliness. He makes my days more joyful and keeps me from feeling the full ache of missing Noah. For all of our great friends who have offered to help with Ethan, we might be calling you this weekend as we seek to develop a schedule for our visitations in the upcoming week. We praise God for each of you. We feel you walking alongside us through this. Your selflessness to serve us gives us strength.

Noah has at least 3 more weeks in the NICU. Please pray he gains weight, continues to be a good eater, and that God gives us the strength to endure. My motherly instincts to hold him and have him home grow stronger every day.