August 31, 2007

"Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;" Psalm 95:6

Kyle is doing great after his surgery! At times you can tell he is sore; but after periodic doses of Tylenol he is his normal self. The surgeon made 2 horizontal incisions about an inch long on Kyle's lower abdomen. He has internal stitches that will dissolve and stery strips covering the wounds. The surgery was supposed to be Wednesday morning at 7:30 am, but was delayed almost 2 hours. Actually the hospital told us the wrong time, meaning Mommy had less sleep and Kyle was famished longer. Feedings were resumed later in the day after Kyle was able to keep some Pedialyte down. At first Kyle was not fond of the 'sugar water'....but gobbled it down anyway.

Mommy spent the night with Kyle at the hospital and Daddy and Big Sister was able to visit with them in the evening. It was difficult seeing Kyle hooked up to all the monitors again....it brought back a lot of memories. Kyle returned home Thursday morning and was elated to be back in his own comfortable environment!

Thank you all for your continued prayers!!

Much Love,

Joe, Jennifer, Madison and Kyle

August 29, 2007

"Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name." 1 Chronicles 29:13

Just a quick note to let everyone know that Kyle is out of surgery and resting comfortably in the recovery room. The Doctor said everything went well with the surgery.....they will keep Kyle hooked up to the monitors overnight for precautionary purposes.

In Christ Alone,

Joe, Jennifer, Madison and Kyle.

August 27, 2007

"Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands." Psalm 78:7

Kyle turned six months old last week!!! We are so blessed (and amazed!) at how far Kyle has come since then. It has been quite the ride!

Something to make you aware of... On Wednesday Kyle is scheduled for surgery to repair his hernias. Hernias are very common in preemies because their stomach muscles are not fully developed at birth...as a result, the babies intestines/bowel can easily "pop" through the muscles. The surgeon will push Kyle's intestines back into place and then stitch the muscles up. Rylee just had the same surgery a couple of weeks ago and other than some soreness afterwards, did very well.The surgery itself will take place at Cleveland Clinics Children's Hospital. Typically this type of surgery is done on an outpatient basis, but with Kyle's history, they would like to keep him overnight. There is a 30-50% incidence of apnea and bradycardia post-op in ex-preemies undergoing general anesthesia. While once a daily struggle, I have not had to worry or think about A's and B's in so long! If you remember, the A's (Apnea) is where the baby "forgets" to breath while the B's (Bradycardias) are when the babies heart temporarily stops beating. Kyle is quite the little fighter and I am sure he will be fine, but please keep him in your prayers none the less.

School starts tomorrow and Madison is so excited to begin Second Grade. Making it even more special, Madison has the same teacher this year, whom she (as well I!) absolutely loves. I guess today is the unofficial end of summer, which is always bittersweet.

We will update you on on Kyle's surgery as soon as possible. I am doubtful that we will have Internet access from the hospital, so it most likely will not be until we return home on Thursday.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

Much Love,

Jennifer, Joe, Madison and Kyle

August 18, 2007

"The LORD bless you and keep you;The LORD make His face shine upon you And be gracious to you; The LORD turn His face toward you And give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26

Kyle went to the doctors on Thursday and he is now a proud member of the 9 pound club! The doctor mentioned, in a good way, that Kyle is now in the 6th percentile on the Preemie Growth Chart! I was taken aback, as I thought he was in the 30th percentile last time, but it seems I misunderstood. Dr. Marshall had said Kyle was in the bottom 1/3 percentile. What this meant is that Kyle was literally in the bottom 1/3 of a percent, meaning that 99.7% of preemie babies Kyle's age are larger than he is according to the Preemie Growth Chart. Anyways, she said that it is great news that he is now actually "on the chart" as it is a testament to his improving health. The sicker a preemie is/was, the slower they typically gain weight. With his lungs as damaged as they were, Kyle expends more energy than most to complete simple tasks, such as breathing. Despite what the charts may say, Kyle looks like such a big guy to us! The last picture in the group above was taken on May 26th when Kyle weighed close to five pounds, and was used to show his comparison to at the time to that of a full-term newborn. Anyways, Kyle is now big enough to actually wear the sleeper!

Kyle also met with his pulmonologist (lung doctor) this past week and he is doing so well that we do not have to go back unless a problem arises, plus...Kyle was taken off of the heart and breathing monitor that he has been wearing while he sleeps. Praise God!!! Everything is falling into place and we are truly blessed and amazed by how far God has brought Kyle over the past six months.

God Bless you all.

Much Love,

Jennifer, Joe, Madison and Kyle

August 12, 2007

"Teach me to do your will, for You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness. " (Psalm 143:10)

Last Sunday was one of my favorite mommy moments with Kyle so far. When he woke up in the morning he was laying in his crib making baby noises, but not crying, to let me know he was awake. When I went in his room, as soon as he saw me he gave me a HUGE smile! It made my day to know he was as happy to see me as I was him. This was Kyle's first smile of the kind...before that we would have to really "work" to coax a smile from him. Lately though, he has begun smiling more and more each day.

Kyle is becoming much more alert and spends more and more time awake each day. Actually, last Saturday, he woke up at 8:30 am, and did not take a nap the entire day! We tried everything to get him to sleep, but as soon as he would start to nod off, he'd catch himself and wake back up. He follows us with his eyes wherever we go and does not want to miss a thing!

I am off to church right now, but I promise to post more in the next couple days. As always, thank you so much for the care concern you all have shown our family.

God Bless,

Jennifer, Joe, Madison and Kyle