day 3 in the band...

Josiah did his first 23 hours in the band and did well. Outside of his 1 free hour with the band off, we also get to remove it when we have to do his stretches. So that's for 15 minutes every 4 hours, about 4 times a day. If his skin is especially red, I'll leave it off for longer until it starts to subside.

So I use part of the free hour in the morning to give his head a break after sleeping in the band all night. Then he gets it off for 15 every 4 hours. And then in the evening, he gets it off for 45 minutes for a bath. We have to bathe him every day b/c it's important to keep his head clean since he sweats in the band a lot. We just have him in his diaper and sleeper/sleep sac (for his naps). Normally, he would have a onesie on, but we were told it was important to keep him cool since he can overheat easily with the band on. I always worry that he's getting cold, but he's always been warm so far.

Anyway, Smiles did great last night, although he did wake up a few times in the middle of the night. Fortunately, he just fussed a little and went back to sleep. He woke up with a lot of redness on his forehead, so I left his band off for a while until it started to go away. Other than that, he did well with having it on for the majority of the day.

Unfortunately, he has some other issues going on... he has a nasty diaper rash, and I found out the hard way that putting Desitin on really hurts him. So I haven't been using anything and have just been trying to let him air out as much as possible... but then he pees all the time. (I quickly learned to just try and keep him on a towel when he's airing out.) =) Part of the problem is that he's pooping all the time now... and I'm not sure why. It's just little flyby poops, so his bottom is raw b/c sometimes I don't know he's pooped b/c there's so little of it, but it sits there for a while b/c I don't have the best nose. He may be a bit constipated from all the vegetable solid foods he's been eating.

Josiah also has this weird rash on his torso, and we have no idea what's causing it. We've been putting hydrocortisone on it, but will call the doc if it gets any worse. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it though.

He's also been majorly resisting his stretches. We literally have a little wrestling match so I can stretch his neck the way I'm supposed to. It's so sad b/c he looks really angry with me afterwards. I really wish I didn't have to do them... He shakes his head back and forth vigorously to try to prevent me from doing the stretches. Then he'll wriggle and squirm in any position imaginable to try and get out of the stretch. I feel so bad having to pin him down most times now. But I keep reminding myself that I'm doing the stretches now for him so that one day, he won't need to have them done. Don't know if that makes any sense...

Please pray that the Lord would continue to sustain me through all that is going on with Josiah. They're all little things, but they are weighing on me, especially how little time I have with William. But I know that God's grace is available to William during this special season we're walking through with Josiah. I have to trust that the Lord is with me during my days. He has not given me more than I can bear and will be faithful to strengthen me in my weakness.