The Johnson Family Ramblings: 6 weeks in and counting!

I can't hardly believe that it was 6 weeks ago yesterday that James David Johnson made his big appearance! Truth be told there are some days I can't believe I have a son at all. Until he comes home the reality of his birth somehow feels surreal. Like a very vivid dream. And then I look down and I see my c-section scar and I remember. That may seem rather odd to some people. Maybe even outrageous.

My mother-in-law joked with us one night as she and Robert watched Ellie that they don't think JD is really real, Matt and I are actually just going out each night taking advantage of free baby sitting! I totally understood what she was saying and agreed. Because he's always been at Baptist Health we haven't gotten to celebrate and share our little boy with others as we long to do. However, as Matt always says, we're closer than we've ever been before to bringing him home! Soon, it'll all be over and he'll be home...right where he belongs, with his daddy, momma and big sister :)

With all that in mind, here's an update on our little man. About 2 weeks ago James developed an urinary tract infection, which is unusual in boys. Our doctor said that it was just a random thing that happened. To be safe they did do several tests including a renal ultrasound just to be sure that everything was working properly. Thankfully, everything was perfect and it truly was just a random chance happening.

While the infection was not severe or life-endangering it did set us back just a little bit. Keep in mind though, this is the first thing that has gone "wrong". We have been so blessed! The infection required a few rounds of antibiotics through an IV. Naturally all of this wore our little man out so we had to backtrack a bit on his feedings and apnea episodes. Just for about a week.

Thankfully, the infection is completely taken care of now and he has made great progress! He now eats wonderfully, taking between 45-60 mls at each feeding! We are going to begin to try nursing tonight vs. taking the breastmilk from a bottle. It will be a transition for him and while I hope that it goes well and we'll be able to move in that direction I also understand that he may not make the transition smoothly and we may have to bottle feed. Either way he's getting the wonderful nutrition he needs so you won't hear me complain!

His apnea episodes have slowed down but are still occurring. As you may remember he has met 2 of his 3 milestones required to go home. The one milestone he's missing is going 5 consecutive days without any apnea episodes. Thus far he's not gone longer than a day and a half. Again, this is just a developmental thing and one we want completely figured out before he comes home so we are not upset at all that he has to stay a bit longer. On the other side, because this is the last milestone there is always a chance he'll be coming home in 5 days. Everyday could be day 1 of the 5, so you just never know!

That probably answers your biggest question, when is he coming home?! Unfortunately, there's just no way to really know. It could be 5 days from now it could be 2 weeks from now or it could be closer to his due date, August 17th! In the meantime we just keep pushing forward, enjoying the time that we have each day with him. He did cross the 5lb. mark this past Friday so he's really starting to look like a term baby. He's making fun faces and "talking" to us...it's so fun to watch him grow!

Here are a few pictures to close...