Life

*Disclaimer. I'm typing this in my phone while at Abby's cheerleading practice so there's not going to be any pictures for this post. Sorry. I'll put more up soon.

First off a Joshua update. He is doing so well it is truly a testament to how good God is. As of right now ( Sunday night) he is drinking 95ml bottles every 3 hours. He is only hooked up to the iv feed for 8 hours a day, which we do during the night. So he is free during the entire day!!! It's so incredible!!! We are continuing to up the feeds to about 120ml which is our max. We are supposed to reach that by Thursday (by upping 5ml twice a day). If everything goes as well as it has he will be off the iv feeds for good after Thursday!!! Then we should be taking him in for an outpatient surgery next week to remove the central line. Then that would be it. After 5 months it will finally be over. It seems too good to be true!! The only area he's having trouble with right now is actually breastfeeding. We've tried a few times over the past few days and he is not only not interested, but he gets mad. It's really kind of heartbreaking for me. In still pumping after all these weeks (20) and have always hoped I'd be able to actually nurse him at the end of this. Of course there's still hope, but I'm kind of bumming about it right now. I just don't see how I could possibly keep this pumping up for 7 more months. It is so hard to work the 20 minutes it takes several times a day on top if actually feeding him by bottle. Plus our vacation in 4 weeks is going to be really tricky if he's not nursing. I don't pump at his max right now so I supplement with what's already stored and I won't be able to keep milk frozen for the 14 total days that we will be gone. Please, please pray for us in this matter. It is so important that I keep feeding him the breastmilk for his first year, not only for the benefits every nursed baby receives, but also because it's the best for healing his intestinal tract. Thank you!!

Noah and Abby are really getting used to having the baby around now. They are such big helpers and are always asking to hold him. They are so cute with him.

They are moving right along in their lessons. We are trying a new "block" schedule where we only do certain subjects each day. For instance we only do math on mon, wed and fri. But we do 5 days of work in that time. I find we waste so much time in changing subjects that the less subjects we do a day the leas time we waste. We do have 4 things we do daily which is Bible, calculadder ( math drill) , spelling and poetry memorization ( the kids love this!!). Then we divide up math, English, writing, geography, Ohio history, science and handwriting. So far I love it!!! The homeschool convention is in April. I CAN NOT WAIT!!! I love it so much.

Well I need to go now cheerleading is over. More to come soon.

It's So Nice

Today was Noah's birthday party. We had all the family and some friends out to Larosas for pizza, cake and fun! It really worked out well and Noah had a great time. We were all in the party room at the back of the restaurant, so it was nice and private. We had 10 kids and 23 adults! I was so excited that so many could make it out (especially since I was late to let everyone know about the party!). Noah chose to have Bengals decor, so we brought special plates and napkins for the cake, balloons and the cake. We also had goodie bags with a small Lego set, an inflatable football and some candy for everyone. This was the first big family party that I got to bring Joshua to. It was so nice. I''m so glad I get to share him with everyone now.


So, Friday we had our appointment with the surgeon. Of course when we arrived, we had a bit of drama! His IV line got caught in the stroller and as we pushed it, it immediately snapped at one of the filters on the line. Joshua wasn't hurt at all, it never pulled on him or anything, but we needed to get some help to fix the problem. The nurse that's assigned to us in the GI clinic was paged and she came to help us. It ended up not being a problem and we didn't even need to hook him back up for the day, they just let him be off. So after that excitement we finally got to see out doctor.


He told us how the x-ray we took last week looked "normal"!! He was just amazed at how well Joshua is doing. Our GI nurse ended up staying with us during the visit, so she could organize his IV feeds with the bottle feeds. The plan now is to increase his bottle feeds 5ml everyday for the next week and then 5ml twice a day for the week after that and then he will be at max feeds!! After this first week, he should be getting enough food to taper off the IV feeds for good!! Oh I can't wait!! He said if he tolerates this week with increasing 5ml everyday and gets to 75ml bottles, we'll be doing the victory dance!! We increased to 45 this morning and so far so good!! I just can't believe after having such a dismal outlook a few weeks ago, we are now looking so optimistic. Whatever was causing him trouble must've fixed itself and now he's open and doing well. The Lord really is amazing. I knew He could do it, it just didn't seem like it was His plan. Thank goodness it seems like it is now!!


So back after Joshua's first surgery and we were told he wouldn't be coming home until Christmas time, we rescheduled our Disney trip that was for early December to the end of February. Well payment in now due for that trip, so we asked the surgeon, what he thought about whether or not we'd be able to go and he said without even thinking about it, "oh yeah, that would be fine"!! So we have just 34 days until we leave!!


I have a lot to do to get ready for that (of course!!) especially because while we're gone our entire downstairs will be painted!! Walls, trim, doors - all of it!! It's the Christmas present from my parents. So I have to clear off all the walls, put away curtains, move furniture, empty shelves, etc.. to get that ready. But I can't wait to come home to a completely repainted home!!


So I need to get all that ready, do 5 more weeks of lessons with Abby and Noah and now I get to pack for a family of 5!! I can't believe how great things are looking now. It's so nice!! Well here's a couple of pics from the last snow that we had. I put a hat on the baby and took him out on the porch for just a minute, so he could "experience" his first snow, while Noah and Abby played in it. The next day I took them sledding, but I left Joshua with me in the car, it was really cold!!

Some updates!!

Quick update:

Noah: Doing very well. Is playing Upward basketball still and loves it. Is going to be signing up for baseball again this spring (after taking a year off - his choice). He is doing very well in his lessons and says that Spelling is his favorite subject. At his well check this morning he was 83 pounds and 4' 8.5". Wow, he only has 10 and a half inches to reach my height!!! He had a wonderful birthday yesterday and is looking forward to his party Saturday. Noah has become a real sports fan just like his Dad!! During the football season he has perfected shouting at the tv and disagreeing with the refs!! He knows all the penalties and even makes judgements on the play calls of the coaches. Aaahh, the apple really doesn't fall far does it?? It's really cute though to see them sit together and watch a game!! He even chose Bengals tableware for his party.

Abby: Doing great as well. She is still doing her cheerleading. She has decided to undertake perfecting the cartwheel all on her own and this past week at her game, when they announced her name she ran out and did an absolutely perfect cartwheel with pom-poms in hand!! I teared up with love for that girl, I just couldn't help it. She has practiced and practiced the cartwheel and it paid off. Her lessons are going well too. She is learning cursive and multiplication. She delights in "decorating" me with the makeup and nail polish she got for Christmas!! I actually really love the color of nail polish she put on me!! At her well check she was 75 pounds and 4' 2.5". Her eyes and ears checked out perfectly and she's a healthy girl!

Joshua: Could not be doing any better!! He had his clinic visit last Thursday and had an x-ray done. Both the GI doctor and the surgeon agreed that this last x-ray looks much improved and we are now increasing his bottle (breastmilk) feeds more rapidly!! Now instead of moving up 5ml a week, he's moving up 15ml a week. We will meet with the surgeon this Friday, and I'm pretty sure he's going to say "no surgery!!!". Otherwise I know he wouldn't have asked us to increase the feeds so much. I can't wait to hear what he has to say. At his well check today he was 16 pounds 3 ounces and 25 inches long. He got his 4 month immunizations and looks super healthy. In fact the doctor said he couldn't find enough adjectives to describe how well he thought Joshua was doing. We have started getting him to sleep at night in his crib. We've been previously sleeping with him downstairs. He either slept in the pack'n'play or the swing and sometimes just in my arms!! He seems to be doing well in the crib. He still wakes up a lot to eat, but he goes right back to sleep after that. He is right where he's supposed to be developmentally which is such a blessing after how long he was in the hospital. He is getting less IV feeds since he's getting more and more breastmilk. He now has a 6 hour window when he's completely off the line and that is such a blessing. It's from 4pm to 10pm. We can spend that time doing normal family things and not have to worry about the pumps and lines. It is so nice!! The more he feeds by bottle, the longer the window will get until he's eventually completely off it!! I've been accused recently of spoiling him as he now has a definite preference for me. After all we've been through, I couldn't be more thrilled with him showing me "some love!!" Even if the house is a total disaster, I'll happily hold and love on my baby whenever he wants it!!

Daddy and I are doing great. We're figuring out routines and how things are going to work now that we have 3 kids! I'm trying to work out the kids school routines, Joshua's care, meals, pumping milk and cleaning. It's a lot and I'm always busy, but it's a good busy!!

Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis (the ones who run the Creation Museum) came to our church last week for a little convention. They did 5 different talks and all 5 of us attended them all. What a blessing that was. I just can't say enough about this man and his ministry. His unashamed passion for the Word of God is so inspiring. I've been reading a couple of his books since then and we got the kids some of his books and a homeschool curriculum. I just love that they are not about telling Bible "stories" but about talking about the true history that is written in the Bible and how Science continually proves the authenticity of the Word of God. We saw one talk on the the many miracles that occur in the woman's body as a baby is created. Things happen during this time that normally are opposite of what normally occurs in the body. It's just incredible. And we also saw a talk on astronomy. What they do there at Answers in Genesis is so wonderful.

Well I guess that's it for now. We're all together, we're doing well, and we're happy!! Praise God!!!

Happy Birthday Noah!!!

Today my boy turns 10!! Wow, double digits!! Where has the time gone? I just can not believe I've spent an entire decade with this boy as his mom!! He is such a joy in our lives. He is such a deep thinker, super loving, ever creative, and always full of questions. His mind works in ways mine will never. He always keeps God's Word close to his heart and strives to obey both it and his parents. Always helpful, without complaint. Takes the label "big brother" to heart and is always good at it! We love this boy without ceasing and will be eternally grateful for the blessing of having him as ours.

Happy Birthday Noah Lucas, we love you so much!!

4 Months!!!

Happy 4 Month Birthday Joshua!!! We can't believe you've already been with us 4 whole months!! We are so blessed to have you in our lives. You bring such a sweetness to our family and we'll always be grateful for you. We love you so much.

Love,

Daddy, Mommy, Big Brother Noah and Big Sister Abby!

Two weeks home!

Isn't he cute?? We all laughed when he reached up to grab hold of his little bottle!! As of tomorrow (1/7) he will be up to eating 20ml every 3 hours. That means in 24 hours he will have a total of 160ml which is about 5 ounces. A little more than half of a can of Coke. Not much, and boy does he let us know that he's not happy about how little it is!! But, we're going slow to make sure we don't have any more problems. We saw our surgeon and also our new GI doctor last Thursday and the plan is to go up by 5ml every Thursday for the few weeks. We'll see the GI doctor again next week and then our surgeon the week after that. At that appointment, we should be getting the final word on whether he's better or we're having surgery. I can not even imagine going back to the hospital now. While we've only been out for two weeks, it seems like forever ago.

We have also seen our regular pediatrician as well. He has taken over the responsibilities that the neonatologists were doing in the hospital. We'll have to go see him again next week as Joshua will be due for his 4 month immunizations. Wow, 4 months!!! But he's doing really well and hopefully will continue to do so and we'll be just waiting this out and moving on with our lives! Oh, how I hope!

I'm hoping to get him on a more regular sleep schedule in the next few weeks. He's not getting enough milk in his bottles allow him to sleep for too long during the night. About 4 hours is the longest. He wakes up about 3 times during the night, gets a diaper change, has a bottle and then goes back to sleep. Sometimes he's restless though and we have to try different sleeping arrangements such as the swing or being held by us in the recliner!! Whatever works! But I'd really like to get him sleeping in his bed the whole night!! Maybe someday!!

Well here's a few more pics. This is Noah and Abby at the Globetrotters game last week. It was fun although I think Abby was a bit bored with the actual "basketball" portion! She liked all the tricks and stunts though! And of course Noah really enjoyed it. He loves basketball. This is Scooter with them. He was Noah's favorite!!

We had to get Joshua a new swing because the other one just wouldn't swing! I don't know if hew as too big for it or what, but he only weighs 14 pounds, so it should've worked. Oh well, the new one is very similar to the one he had in the hospital and he likes it. So it all worked out!

I got the kids gingerbread house kits for 75% off after Christmas. Who says you can't make a gingerbread house after Christmas? And for only 2.50 each, not bad!!!

Jasmine loves her new puppy!! Joshua started screaming like 2 seconds after this picture! At least I got it!!

This was taken today. He scratched himself on the face, but still looks so cute!! Look at those cheeks! He looks so healthy and happy!!

Daddy and I are doing well. It's been a rough 2 weeks as far as getting anything done around here! I pretty much just take care of the baby, help the kids with school work, do the dishes, pump breastmilk (yes I'm still pumping, it'll be 17 weeks tomorrow!) and make meals. No time for anything else!! I really need to do some laundry tomorrow!! I did get some help from the kids. Today Noah cleaned a bathroom and Abby swept the floor. They are such good kids, I'm so blessed!! They are both very enamored with their new brother too. They are asking to hold him all the time and even when they're not holding him, they're playing with him and talking to him. It's so cute!!

Well that's it for now. Have a great day!!