Video of Joshua

Great day today for Joshua.  His bilirubin level went back down, so he was able to get off of the lights at about noon.  His GI system is looking improved with several big BM's and less residual left in his stomach after each feed, so things are starting to move a little.  Yes!  They are continuing his nutrition through his PICC line, which was put in uneventfully 2 nights ago through his saphenous vein in his ankle.  His breastmilk feedings through the orogastric tube have now increased to 2 mL every 4 hours. 

For me, the best part of the day was the hour and 15 minutes I got to hold Joshua.  He just snuggled right up to me, skin on skin, and he fell asleep right away.  Based on his heart rate and respiratory rate and my mama intuition, he loved it almost as much as I did. 

He's getting bigger!  Last night he grew another 20 grams (almost an ounce), now up to 2 lbs 3 oz.

Here's a video of Joshua from last night's hands on care time. Check it out!

Now it's time to brag about my other son for a second. Guess what Jeremiah did today! He went for a little walk with cousin Ryan and Grandma Gus. They were going to just walk to the end of the street and turn around and come back, but he had other ideas. He wanted to walk to the library to feed the ducks. Keep in mind, this is actually walking, no stroller. Oh, and the library is 1.7 - yes, ONE POINT SEVEN - miles away. My mom kept saying, "ok, let's turn around now," and Jeremiah just said, "No, walk! Feed ducks!" Over and over, she tried to get him to turn around, and he had the exact same response, moving those little legs, focused on getting to those ducks. She kept asking him if she could carry him, and he said, "No, WALK!" Eventually, they walked the whole way to the library, and he led the way since he knows exactly how to get there.   Grandma was thankful Grandpa was on stand-by to come pick them up to get back home.  Not too shabby for a little guy who just turned two, huh. I'd say he has a little of his dad's focus and his mom's persistence in him.