Day 19

Joshua slept too long last night. I think so anyways. But he's been a chow-hound all morning. So I guess he's okay. He slept from 11 to 8:30 without getting up to east. Again, I set my alarm and woke up this morning having never heard it. I don't know if the clock is broken and the alarm's not going off or if I'm soooo tired I'm either not hearing it and Matt's turning it off or I'm hearing it, turning it off, and not remembering in the morning.
It scares me that he goes that long. But he doesn't seem to be upset by it.

Oceana and I took our first big walk today. It was great to get out. That last little hill by the shops though... ugh... makes me wanna get home and put my feet up. But it's great to get out. It's great to make an effort at getting back in shape. I never got back in shape after Oceana. I lost the weight, but made absolutely no effort at getting in shape. So this time around, I'm making an effort. Death to the Muffin Top. If you've had a baby, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't had a baby or you're a man, I refuse to explain Muffin Top because all us Mommies will deny that it exists. :) I don't have a MT - what are you talking about????

I'm working on a sweater for Joshua because I'm running out of fingernails to bite.

Just to update: The doctor's visit the other day wasn't a "let's-assess-the-situation-and-make-a-different-decisions" appointment. It was simply to check on us and see if we needed any help. They've offered us help from Pediatric Homecare and from the local hospice. But because he's fine, we're okay with him being home. And honestly, I have more experience with caring for an encephalocele than just about every doctor, nurse, or specialist in the country. I've cared for a 'cele baby for 19 days - more than anyone else can say. The doctor said as much to me - in that I've had the experience, I know how to hold him, where to place him, how to roll him, how to pick him up, how to bathe him - better than anyone else.

He's gained 2 ounces. Okay, so I was a bit optimistic thinking he was over 7 lbs. But if we consider that he may have been as low as 6 lbs after birth (from 6lbs8oz) because babies lose weight after birth - he's doing really good. I think the rule of thumb is to try and get baby over their birthweight by 2 weeks. So he's on target. :) Hopefully we can start filling in those chicken legs soon.

The cold's gone. The cele's not leaking. It's a good day today. Closing in on 3 whole --- beautiful --- weeks.