Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

One of the nurses found this hat and gave it to her favorite little guy!

The holidays put me a little behind on my blog, so sorry this is a bit overdue. Merry Christmas from Team Altman. Joshua enjoyed his first Christmas.  He didn't stay up for Santa, so he was wide awake on Christmas day to see family. We took Joshua to the window of the NICU and he got to see a lot of new faces, it was perfect. He sported his little Christmas outfit all day...thanks Deb!

Relaxing on Christmas Day

Joshua is now weighing in at 5 pounds and 4 ounces which is more than double what he weighed when he arrived! He fits perfectly and even a little snug in most of his preemie outfits. As you can see in the pictures, his little hands have some rolls and his little face is filling out with some chubby rosy cheeks and even a cute little double chin!

Team Altman's First Christmas

We were hoping to bring Joshua home before the new year, but it looks like our stay will be a bit longer than what we wanted. The doctors initially told us that we could expect him to be home by my due date which was January 10th, so that is the new goal. Right now, Joshua is still having several Bradycardias every day. It seems to be the reflux causing these episodes, so they have raised his bed permanently and he will be coming home to a crib that is elevated as well. The orange tube going through his nose is providing his feeds when he is not bottle feeding, and unfortunately this is probably causing the reflux. This tube prevents the gastric sphincter leading from the esophagus into the stomach from closing, so stomach acid can easily pass back up through the esophagus and into the mouth. Joshua doesn't know what to do when this happens, so it basically causes him to pause his breathing and drop his heart rate. We are praying that Joshua will get to 8 bottles soon so that darn tube can come out. He is still at 5-6 bottles a day, so please continue to pray for his healthy development and strong sucking muscles so he can get to 8 and be off the tube!

Excited to see Daddy!

Mommy and Joshua

All the grandparents have had the chance to hold baby Joshua in the last couple weeks, so that has been a blessing.

Joshua and Grandma

Nana and Joshua

Dinner

Taking Joshua's Temperature

Joshua is doing great at regulating his temperature, the extra pounds have definitely helped him with that! By the time he comes home, we are expecting him to be around 6 pounds or more.

Stretch

Grandma and sleepy baby

Dad's Shirt: "This is what a really cool Grandpa looks like"

Joshua had another eye exam today, and all looks good. Often preemies have problems with their eyes because they are so underdeveloped, but fortunately Joshua has not had any problems. He has some abnormalities, but they are all normal for a preemie. Its weird how abnormalities can somehow be normal.  I will be posting some more updates soon, so check back. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with friends and family and wish you a safe new year.

Pops and Joshua

Patiently waiting for Santa