Our amazing little champ!

It has been a whirlwind the last few days.  I really thought I would have more downtime to post updates, but I seem to stay busy from morning until night.  That's not a bad thing since I prefer for the time to go by fast.

The big reason I have had such little downtime is we were able to move from the intensive side of the NICU to the step down unit on Sunday.  This is excellent news because it means Joshua is making rapid progress (he completely skipped the "swing unit" which is the area most babies go to in between NICU A and B).  It also means we were able to get a private room so I am able to be with him 24/7.  While this has been a most welcome event, it has also taken some getting used to because sleeping is incredibly difficult.  There are bells and alarms going off most of the night and the nurse comes in multiple times a night to check Joshua's vitals, add fluids, and just generally disrupt our rest.  I had a minor meltdown after the first night due to the exhaustion and continued pain from the c section which was made worse because of the uncomfortable chairs we have to sleep in.  The next morning I was pumping, rocking back and forth, and crying uncontrollably as I blabbered about how I didn't think I could hack it.  I feel pretty silly about it now!  As he always does, David comforted me and then had me laughing about it a few hours later.  We have made friends with the parents that were next to us in NICU A.  When I discussed the incident with the mom, Cari, she replied "That's the only meltdown you've had?  You're doing a lot better than me, I have one every day!".  I realize I need to cut myself some slack and understand my raging hormones are contributing to how I feel.  I was much more prepared last night and was able to get 5-6 hours of sleep in hour increments.  Joshua also had a much better night - I think because we gave him his first bath right before bed and he really liked it.

We are still waiting on the signs we need to see before Joshua is able to start on feeds.  I am anxious to get there because I can tell Joshua is hungry.  He started taking a pacifier two days ago so he will have the sucking instinct down by the time we can start bottle feeding.  The closure site on Joshua's tummy is looking great and is no longer infected.  We found out yesterday that Joshua may need a blood transfusion tomorrow which is disappointing news.  He will have a blood test in the middle of the night (4 am is a favorite time for tests around here for reasons I have yet to understand) and we will know by tomorrow morning if he needs the transfusion.  Even if he does need it, it should not be that big of a deal considering all the other things he has already been through.  So for now we just watch and wait for him to be ready to eat which will be an incredibly exciting event!!

Our little bulldog!

David holding Joshua for the first time.  Does he look a little scared?