Updates

14.5 lbs!!! That's right folks--at 5 months, Jack is 14.5 lbs, almost catching up to his peers! It seems as though Jack has exploded with new things lately! It's amazing to watch him come alive and discover the world. Definitely a lesson in seeing things through virgin eyes...

Last Sunday, after much effort on his part, Jack finally rolled from his back to his tummy! He had been able to roll from his tummy to his back for a couple of weeks and had recently been stuck on his side trying to get from back to front. Once he did it, he practiced all week long and has now mastered the art of rolling as a mode of transportation! He's already trying to pull his legs up under him, ostensibly in preparation for crawling. I can wait on that for a while, though! With the rolling, he has discovered his toes, which are now spending quite a lot of time in his mouth. He's also become SO verbal! Loves hearing his voice, squeals constantly and babbles away. It's so cute and I am loving this new stage. His Auntie and Uncle recently bought him an exersaucer, which he is spending a lot of time in. It fun to watch him discover all of the different toys.

Since he's been so into moving and sitting in his Bumbo seat and basically being up with the big people, I thought it might be time to break out the highchair and let him sit in it while we eat. Well, I think I forget sometimes how bitty my baby still is...he practically disappeared in it and looked SO little. I think it will be a little while before we try it again.

The Wide, Wide Web World

One of the best things about this new world of "blogging" and internet bulletin boards are the friends you make along the way and the exposure to people's lives, stories, etc. that you wouldn't otherwise have.

I really didn't know much about blogs (I thought they were all political animals or things like Myspace) until my sister started hers a little less than a year ago. I also really didn't know much or care much about the bulletin boards until I got pregnant and was diagnosed with a pretty rare uterine anomaly that can have some negative effects on pregnancy. Being a paranoid pregnant person to begin with, I promptly googled my condition and came across this bulletin board of women with my same problem. The ladies on that board were all in the same boat as I was and I was able to draw on their experiences. For the most worrisome part of my pregnancy, they kept me afloat. A couple of those ladies have become near and dear friends, even if we've never met in person.

My sister's blog opened my eyes to the wide world of blogs. I found Tricia and Nathan's story on Blogger, which opened my eyes to Cystic Fibrosis and Nate's blogs about their NICU experience helped prepare me for some of what to expect when Jack was born early, even though our experiences were very different. Through commenters on some of these blogs, I've been turned on to others and now have a whole list of those I read and have been fortunate enough to actually email back and forth with some of the writers. I just think all of these new resources and experiences are so cool.

Please Pray...

I posted earlier about Tricia and Nate Lawrenson's journey through cystic fibrosis, lung transplant, and the very premature birth of their daughter, Gwyneth. They've been blessed with a lot of miracles in the past year and they need another one. Tricia developed a type of post-transplant cancer, which did not respond well to the first round of chemo. She is facing a much harder road of treatment. Please pray for her health, her ability to face the treatment with the same resolve she has approached everything else in her life, and for a good response to the treatment.

New Life, New Love

Jack was baptized on Saturday. It was a beautiful ceremony--and so meaningful for us after Jack's rocky start in life. The best part: as the priest poured the water over his head, he broke out in a huge smile, as if he knew what was happening.

The ceremony was followed by a reception at my parents' house and, as usual, my mother put on a beautiful party with lots and lots of yummy food. Jared's brother and sister-in-law came in from Arizona as Jack's godparents, and we all had a lot of fun with their three girls who are getting SO big, SO fast. My little sister was also in town from D.C., which was a special treat.

On Sunday, we celebrated some more at my future sister-in-law's bridal shower. It is amazing to see how quickly our family is growing. I feel so grateful that Jack is surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Confessions of a CF Husband

I wanted to take a moment today to share a blog that I've been following for a while now--we have a link to it on the side of this blog. It's an AMAZING story about a man, Nate, and his wife Tricia and the journey they've been on for the past year (well, they've been on the journey for longer than that but the past year is the part I've been reading).

A brief synopsis of their story: Tricia was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis as a child. For anyone reading this who doesn't know anything about Cystic Fibrosis, it is a genetic disease that causes mucus to build up in organs (especially the lungs), inhibiting the ability to breathe and resulting in deadly infections. There is no cure for CF and many people die young from the disease. Tricia and Nate married and she harbored a secret wish to have a baby. However, her health was declining and they were beginning to prepare for a double-lung transplant when she found out she was pregnant. Because her lung functions were so compromised, carrying the baby was extremely risky. In January, Gwyneth Rose was born at 24+4 weeks gestation--weighing just 1 lb 6 ozs! In the months that followed, miraculously, Tricia received her lung transplant and baby Gwyneth beat the odds and was discharged from the NICU and is now growing at home with her daddy, mommy and mommy's new lungs.

This story is one of courage, amazing faith, and hope. Through all of the ups and downs, Nate has faithfully shared his story with the world and their attitudes toward their journey has been humbling, to say the least. These are people who, instead of bemoaning their circumstances are on a mission to educate people about CF, premature birth, and their faith in God.

I started following this story when I was pregnant with Jack and during times when I was scared and unsure of how things were going to turn out, when it seemed like we got a lot of bad news at our prenatal visits, their story refocused my faith and reminded me that the greatest miracles happen with you relinquish control and turn it over to God. When Jack was born early, as we had anticipated, I knew some of the things to expect from the NICU stay from their experiences.

Since I've been reading this for so long, and have benefitted from the story, we felt led to help the CF cause and donate to Nate and Tricia's team for the Great Strides (CF) Walk. I encourage anyone reading this to read their story and try to help them meet their goal.

Thanks for sharing your story with the world, Nate!

Little Grads

We had a great weekend this past weekend. On Saturday, Grammy and Grampy came for a visit and to go to the Little Grads Picnic (NICU Reunion). It was wonderful to see all of Jack's nurses and doctors and some of our friends from the NICU. There were over 1,000 people there! It was so heartwarming to see how well these babies have done! The picnic reminded both me and Jared how lucky we were to have kept Jack in for as long as we did--but it also a lot of fun to see how far he's come since his days in the hospital. We have a lot to be thankful for!
Here are some of the highlights from the day:

Jack and C.P, his very first nurse!:


Jack and J., one of his primary nurses:


This is V., who was Jack's "neighbor" for most of her stay. She was a 24-weeker who went home about 3 weeks after Jack and She's doing great. Her mom and I got to be friendly during our stay.



Here's me and Jack with Grammy!


Finally, just Jack, being cute:

Angels

Yesterday, we received two of the cutest little Padres outfits for Jack, a gift from one of his primary nurses during his NICU stay. Today, I had a chance to catch up with her, the first time since we brought Jack home. It's hard to believe it's been over 3 months since Jack came home and we left our life in the NICU behind. During our conversation today, I was reminded of how very lucky we were to have the care we did when Jack was in the hospital.

C. was one of our primary nurses, which refers to a team of nurses you establish during a prolonged NICU stay in order to achieve continuity of care. Your primary nurses will be assigned to your baby whenever possible when they are on during a shift. We were really lucky to have a wonderful team of primary nurses, and C. and J. were two of our favorites. They loved our baby when we couldn't be there, cared about our well-being, helped us navigate through the sometimes very confusing world of doctors and treatments and prepared us to bring him home. They were truly our lifelines during that month. I am forever grateful for the care we received.

Here is one of my favorite pics from our NICU days--of C. with Jack just days before he came home. Thanks, C. for everything you did for us--you are in our thoughts frequently. Thanks, also, to all NICU nurses for the kind of work you do.

I Love My Bottle

Jack has been having a love affair with his bottle ever since he came home after learning how to eat without subsequently turning blue, an unfortunate by-product of being a preemie. Once he got the hang of it, though...well, just try taking the bottle away until he has had every last bit left in it.

His newest first...helping hold the bottle. He'll hold it for a few seconds before his arms get too tired but today, he held it for a couple of minutes. I think he's pretty darn cute!