Day 36

A few unrelated thoughts.

I baked today. Because we're going away for 5 days this weekend. And I need snacks that don't look like big wads of sugar. Those are buttermilk biscuits and peach yogurt muffins. Don't worry... I'll still make lil' wads of sugar to go along with them... (coz if all else fails, Mummy needs snacks too... even though the scale numbers are not in agreement with Mummy's desires...)


This is a Joshua smile. It's the closest we get to a smile.


Joshua's having a nap behind me. It was a long day. Heather came this morning to check his cele and change the dressings. We're going back to changing them every two days (that means the padding's not getting soaked!). We've had some issues over the past few days about the payment for Heather's services. We had it covered with by a service called ACC, but they were trying to deny us coverage. So after calls from me, his doctor, and Heather, it looks more positive. We got proactive about it - even sent them pictures of the wound so they'd see what was really going on. They said because it's a pre-existing condition it's not something they'll cover. Hopefully that will be figured out soon. However, Heather's said that if it's denied again she'll still come and offer her services free-of-charge. She's such a blessing. I can't begin to tell you what a blessing she is!

Another nurse today - Rosemary - came from Plunket to see Joshua. Plunket does well-child checkups here in New Zealand - free of charge for children under 5 years of age. It's really awesome! Rosemary knows Oceana from all her baby visits and came to see Joshua today, right here at the house. I was hoping Joshua had gained weight - but he hasn't... Not since 2 1/2 weeks ago. So he's still 3010 grams - or 6lbs 10oz. There's a few possibilities for this: either the scale we used 2 1/2 weeks ago wasn't correct, or he's not gaining weight. It's possible that since he's not moving a lot, not exerting much energy, he doesn't need to eat as much. That would have a big effect on his weight gain. So, like a good mummy, what did I do today? Fed him more... and I'm gonna feed him twice more before bed. I was convinced he'd gained weight... so I'm a bit frustrated with that. I'm really hoping he'll have gained weight by his appointment next Wednesday. For you medical personnel who want to know: His hips are fine, his spine is good, his man-bits haven't decended, his baby acne's right on schedule, and his arm/hand reflexes aren't up to par. It appears that he's got some sort of defect - like cerebral palsy-ish. It's hard to put it in medical terms, but his hands and arms flex and clench like that... and he doesn't grasp fingers like he should at 5 weeks.



Another thought: Jacob Ryan Fahmer's parents - on the side bar - had some amazing things to say today. I hope you'll go take a look. It's called Choose Life.