Guess what I did today! I went on my first "run" in several months. It felt so exhilarating getting my blood pumping again and just being outside on such a beautiful day. Ok, it wasn't so much of a "run" as it was a three minute walk followed by a two minute shuffle, repeated over and over until I reached 30 minutes. I know it's nothing to brag about, but here I am shamelessly bragging because I see how far I've come since being laid up and sedentary for so long. It's kind of like a person who's 100 lbs overweight losing their first 5 lbs. It's a step in the right direction, and that's all that matters. I chuckled to myself while I was out there because even though I should just be happy to be upright again, I can't shake my competitiveness. Every time I saw someone, I wanted to shout out excuses for my poor form and spurts of walking, explaining how I just had a baby or that I was on bedrest for almost two months before that. Then, when I was passing the neighbors that I like, I'd stop walking and run past their houses, just in case they were looking out their window. Ha ha. That behavior goes back as long as I can remember, performing my fanciest tricks on the trampoline whenever a car drove by house. Hey, I say whatever it takes to motivate yourself, go for it. That's my opinion.
If you are a sedentary person, I now understand how you feel. I challenge you to get out and go for a walk/run. Even if you just start with walking alone or walking 5 minutes/run 30 seconds, get out there and DO something! You won't regret it (unless you pull a hamstring or something).
I got to spend a lot of quality time with Joshua before church this morning. In case I haven't mentioned it before, he is one of the two cutest babies I have ever seen! :) No bias whatsoever here.
Last night he gained 30 grams, up to 2060 g or 4 lbs 8.7 oz. I'll take it!
I felt so bad for Joshua. His poor little tummy is just so overstuffed. He's up to 41 mL of breastmilk every 3 hours with 28 calories/ounce extra added, and he gets beneprotein and MCT oil twice a day. Understandably, he is having some reflux issues. I know how I feel after eating french fries, and it isn't comfortable. Yesterday and today, he has been really fussy, crying, arching his back, and acting like he is gagging during the NG feedings. It helped a little bit to hold him upright during and after the feeds and put a warm pack on his abdomen. He was breathing too fast to breastfeed today. I was wondering why he wasn't drinking when I put him on my breast, and then I saw his respiratory rate was 100, rather than <60, making it impossible to suck and swallow in between those breaths. That's a little concerning because it can be a sign of infection, or basically any sort of badness, in a preemie. They're chalking it up to his full tummy pushing up on his diaphragm which puts more stress on his lungs, so they aren't worried. If it continues or worsens, he'll need a full work up with labs, chest x-ray, etc.
I just called the nurse. When we aren't there, we're always harassing the nurses over the phone. They are all so nice. Not only do that act like they don't mind, but they encourage us to call anytime. She said Joshua had a large stool, and he seems to feel better after that. She also said he is stinking up the whole pod with his gas. I thought it was funny the other day, but now I just feel bad for him. How embarrassing, and he can't help it. The worst part is, with all of those added supplements (like that stinky vitamin), he no longer has that sweet poop smell like his mom's. Just kidding on that last part.
But seriously, I don't think purely breastfed baby poop is too bad. Now, with medical intervention, it's disgusting. This topic of conversation is a slippery slope, so I better wrap it up before I embarrass my sisters. :)
Our prayer requests are evolving to less life threatening issues, thank goodness, but if you are still willing, we are so very grateful for your prayers. Specifically, that he'll grow, and that we'll be able to find the right balance of extra nutrition vs. reflux/discomfort. We also pray his tachypnea isn't indicative of anything more serious than abdominal pressure on his diaphragm.
Thank you so much!
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