July 29, 2008

I'm sorry it's been over a week since the last update, but we've been really busy. This post was actually started last Wednesday evening and I am just now getting around to finishing it up.

Praise God, everybody!
Applaud God, all people!
His love has taken over our lives;
God’s faithful ways are eternal.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 117 (The Message)

My folks are planning a lot of changes for our future and they've been really busy. Plus it takes a fair amount of time to make sure I'm well cared for, which they do faithfully. The last two Mondays I've been to the hospital to have some blood drawn for testing. There's nothing wrong and I'm doing well. Dr. Lozano needed to get a fix on how my blood work looked over a week's time to see if I could dump one of my meds. He called Mommy on Tuesday and told her my labs were good and I might come off some more of my meds at our next visit, PRAISE!! The quicker I can get off each medicine the better. I'm sleeping a little more at night and my appetite is gaining more consistency. I still have room for improvement in both areas, but I'm heading in the right direction, PRAISE!!

This week has been full of meeting some new and some old friends. My adopted uncle Darren, from Cali, flew in for a conference and we got to hang a couple of evenings. One of those nights a friend of his and my folks, Mr. Eddie, came with him. It was cool to meet him even if he wouldn't hold me until I get a little older. Mr. Eddie was really sick some years ago and he knows what it's like to be on a vent and to have to "learn" to breath. So we share a special bond. Another person I met is a really sweet lady named Cokeisha, I call her aunt Co-Co. She and her hubby, Tim, are ministers in New York. They too were in town for the conference and I got to hang with her one night while Mr. Tim was caring for his folks in Tuscaloosa. I look forward to meeting him in the future, like when we go for a visit to the BIG Apple (hint, hint).

Last Thursday I had a play date at my house. It seems we Presbyterians have a lot of babies and another new baby and Mommy from church spent the afternoon with Mommy and me. Sarah Kate and I stared at each other a lot, had a bottle drinking contest, played the role of baby models, and hung out with our Moms. It was COOL!! On Friday Mrs. Shari came by for an afternoon visit. It was good to see her again. She has four children and has had the sniffles for what seems like forever so she hasn't been able to visit until now. She's a nurse and has been really helpful to us. Plus she and her hubby, Sgt. Brian, have really helped us out with clothes and good advice on what you need and don't need.

So, as you can see, I've been busy! Below are some video clips Mommy and Daddy took of me being me. I hope you enjoy and I'll try to post sometime in the near future, LOL! Blessings, JSR.

This clip is of me passing the time in my bouncy seat. It's a little long (6:01), but it has some good close up shots.

This one is a little shorter (3:10). BTW, the sweet voice you hear in the clips is my Mommy, just in case you were wondering.

Day Sleeper

I hope everyone had a great weekend and is having a great week. Our weekend was pretty tame, uneventful, and sleepless. Basically, Mom and Dad took care of me in shifts. Mommy took days because she's not much of a night person while Daddy took the night watch. He requires less sleep than Mom and can function normally in the late night/early morning hours. He credits genes, years of working nights, and a big dose of GRACE for this "gift." My folks had been real concerned about my sleep pattern and the fact that nothing seems to help much. Friday night... or was it Saturday morning... Daddy and I got on the computer and read a lot about preemies and sleep disorders. We found out that the overwhelming majority of preemies struggle with sleep issues for their first year. We looked at a lot of message boards, chats, and blogs where the parents of premature babies gave advice, "tricks," and encouragement. It was very helpful, but when Daddy related this info to Mom she was relieved that everything was "normal," but not exactly jumping for joy, LOL! Please pray that I get over my sleep issues asap.

One cool thing that happened this weekend was my folks got to attend worship together on Sunday. A friend volunteered to watch me so they could go to church and lunch together. I could tell they had a good time and felt re-energized. Thanks Mrs. Corn!

The plan for this week is pretty much the same as every other week. Mommy and I will hang at the house unless we need to run the occasional errand. BTW, we only go to places with a drive thru where we don't get out of the van. I don't have anything scheduled so it looks like a lazy week is ahead of us, which is a good thing. I hope y'all have a great hump day and I'll check back in a couple of days. Later, JSR.

Busy Week

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Psalm 138:8 (ESV)

It's been a busy week and I just haven't been able to squeeze in an update. Hopefully, at the end of this month our schedule will undergo a drastic make-over and the "routine" will be more manageable. Well, that's the plan, LOL.

On Monday I went for my first visit with my pulmonologist, Dr. Lozano. He's going to be a very important person for me and my development. My biggest hurdle over the next year or so is going to be lung development. My lungs are plenty strong and I breath pretty effectively. I was breathing at a O2 saturation rate of 97% on Monday, which Dr. Lozano said was GREAT! PRAISE!! He wants me to consistently stay in the high 90's and so far I have. So, it's not an issue with the mechanics or act of breathing. The issue is with my ability to fight off any respiratory "gremlins", like a cold. A small cold could put me in the hospital for a couple of weeks because my lungs can't handle the extra load a cold causes. The reason for this is that right now I have a low number of the air sacs that help us breath. These sacs start developing in the womb around the 32nd week. If a baby is out of the womb at that time, which I was, then growth is severely hampered. The good news is that as I grow I'll catch up and in a year or so things should be normal. That may be more info than you wanted, but at least you're informed, LOL. Please pray that everything goes well and that I make HUGE strides in this area. So far I am doing well, PRAISE! The Lord continues to prove himself to be a faithful Companion and a gracious Master. Like that's a surprise!!

Another prayer concern is my eating and weight gain. I am having trouble staying awake during feedings. To say the least this is very frustrating for my folks. Pray that I begin to stay awake and alert long enough to take a full bottle. I need to get as fat as possible to gain strength and stamina. I'll bet you don't hear that one very often, LOL. One last prayer request from my Mom and Dad. Pray that I get my days and nights straightened out. Currently I am a little confused about which is which. I'm cool with it, but Mommy and Daddy aren't thrilled with the status quo.

The rest of the week has been the same ole same ole. I did experience a couple of life's first this week. Last Saturday we ventured out of the house to go somewhere other than the doctor or the drive thru pharmacy. We went to the Phillips' for dinner and TV. My first dinner at a friend's house, it was really fun! I got to meet their dog, Lilly. She's big, but real sweet. The other first happened yesterday. Mommy had to go to the dentist and Daddy was working and I couldn't go with either one of them. It was the first time I was alone with someone other than one of my parents, my first baby sitter. Mrs. Corn stayed with me for a couple of hours or so. She's a nice lady and we had a good time cuddling. Well, that catches you up on the latest. I hope everyone has a great rest of the week. Y'all keep praying and I'll keep growing. Later, JSR.

Computers...a necessary evil!!

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a
cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.
1 Peter 2:16 (ESV)

Happy Fourth to everyone! I'm sorry it's been a week since I last posted. We've had a few computer issues and Dad just hasn't been able to squeeze fixing it in until this AM. I've noticed that computers can be really cool and totally frustrating all at the same time. Health-wise everything has been going pretty good. I'm still keeping one or both of my parentals up at all hours, LOL. One day I'll get this day/night thing down. Mommy and Daddy are praying it happens real soon, like NOW! I'm eating more and seem to be gaining a little weight, which is great, PRAISE! Acid reflux continues to be a nagging problem, but it is gradually getting better. My doc told us it's one of those things I would eventually grow out of, the key word being "eventually." Being a preemie means I am more vulnerable than full term new borns to getting sick. But my folks have been doing a good job of keeping me out of harms way. Their "no germs allowed" policy is rubbing off on some of our friends. The other day the Phillip's came by for dinner and Mrs. Deborah (another of my adopted Aunts) wanted to kiss the top of my head so bad she sanitized her lips. WOW, that's taking sanitation to a whole new level, LOL. She said the soap tasted horrible, but it was worth it. That's gotta make a guy feel good that someone would purposely wash their lips just so they could kiss you.

The above picture was taken last Sunday after lunch. Meme and Pop came up for lunch and to spend the afternoon just hanging out. Well, after we all had our bellies full a nap was the natural consequence, LOL. Mommy and Daddy crashed on their bed, Pop nodded off watching TV in the living room, and Meme and I dozed in the sunroom. Isn't that what Sunday afternoons are for?

As I've blogged over these past few months, occassionally there has been mention of my Mommy's brother, Brian, and his wife, Katie, and their daughter, Marie. They live in Iowa. Well, Aunt Katie's Dad, Ken, made some slideshows of when I was in the NICU. I've included them at the bottom of this post. It's neat to look back at the early pictures of when I was in the NICU. It seems so long ago when it has only been a few months since my arrival. I've changed so much!! He set them to some of my folks favorite hymns. Thanks Mr. Miller!!

Thanks to everyone for their continued prayers and support. It means so much to know that there are people lifting you up to the throne of grace. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their holiday weekend. Y'all keep praying and I'll keep growing! Later, JSR.

Just Hangin'

Hello, I hope everyone had a great day is looking forward to a relaxing weekend. The last couple of days have been pretty good for me. My sleep had been eratic and my appetite is up and down. I have some real issues with being gassy, which is throwing the machinery into a lurch. My Pediatrician, Dr. Harmon, isn't too concerned about it at this point. Everything is just the "normal" baby stuff and not specifically related to me being a preemie. So, in a way, all this is good news. However, I'm quickly learning again that "good news" doesn't necessarily mean smooth sailing. I thought I had learned this lesson in the NICU. Praise the Lord I haven't had to deal with any of the really serious issues some preemies do. My folks are quick to say they're happy to deal with the normal and bypass the serious. DUH, ya think! Been there, done that, and got the shirt to prove it.

Please pray that I get through this gassy "stage" asap. Everybody groans about the parents having to change all those diapers, 24/7. This seems odd to me since the one in a real mess, literally, is the one filling them up. Think about it, when a baby has a dirty diaper we don't laugh, we cry. Why? Because it stinks and is very uncomfortable. There's much more I could say about that, but I'll move on to a more pleasant subject.

As the above picture shows I spend a ton of time just hangin' and cocentrating on growing. My doc says I should be gaining around 3/4 of an ounce each day, which I have so far, PRAISE! I'm gonna run for now. I need to cry so Daddy can give me a fresh diaper, LOL. I've included a short clip of me and Mommy relaxing in our sun room. We like the sun room. Most days you can find us and Annie, our cat, sitting out there taking in all the sights our back yard has to offer. Later, JSR.

I'M BACK!!

After a few days away...well, actually a little over two weeks... I have taken up the keyboard again to write about my life as a preemie adjusting to life in a HUGE world. While I was on my sabbatical from blogging much has happened. In summary, I've been doing really well. Most days are spent hanging around the house with Mommy while Dad works. I deal with all the normal baby issues and a few more particular to preemies. I still don't have the whole day and night thing down, which is a little challenging for my folks, LOL. Also, I have reflux issues so sometimes my feeds upset my tummy and we have the normal spitting and such. I fight sleep sometimes, but there's so much going on I don't want to miss anything new that might happen. And there is the occasional fussing for no apparent reason or maybe it's just because I can, LOL. Because I'm a preemie I have to be careful to stay warm and I have to be careful about when I venture outside. I have the occasional visitor, which is cool. Of course my folks make sure everyone follows the rules, literally. They have a list of rules posted on our front door and if you can't meet their requirements then you can't come in. Absolutely NO EXCEPTIONS! It's kinda funny they're so serious about it, but I'm glad they're looking out for me.

My weight is good, my breathing is fine, and my poops are regular. This afternoon I have a doctor's visit scheduled and we'll get a good fix on how I've progressed over the last month. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

If you're new to this blog and wonder what's the big deal about a baby blogging about being a baby then I invite you to go here and find out the what, when, why, and how of me. I plan on updating at least two to three times a week. Of course there will be video and pictures so hopefully everyone can see and gauge my progress. Later, JSR.

Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Psalm 103:22 (ESV)