Surrounded

It seems unbelievable that Will has been home for over a month already! Without sounding corny, it's been the happiest six weeks of my life. I know they won't all be like this but it's nice to experience one or two like it in a lifetime! Life will settle in, other challenges will arise... the winter will come. But we have had a great August and I am so thankful I've had the privilege of being a stay-at-home mom (even on those days when I don't act like it!).
Grandparents are the best! My two sets of grandparents were great examples to my parents about how to love and spoil grandchildren. As a result, my parents do that to my children! Andrew's grandparents were also this type of doting people and his parents know how to show our children the love and attention only grandparents are capable of.

I've just had the privilege of having my dad's parents with us for two weeks. It was very special to not only spend time with them, but to see them with my children. Libby and Grandpa are good friends as she loves to play in her broom, broom (car) and grandpa, or JimPa as we were calling him, loves to push her! Grandma and Will were fast friends since she was great at snuggling him and he loves to be snuggled. She fed him a million bottles, napped with him and freed up my hands to do things I would never have accomplished had she not been here.

On top of all the attention they showed the kiddies, they also treated us to amazing dinners, homemade cobblers, baskets and baskets of folded laundry, an empty kitchen sink every night, and freshly planted mums in the garden. For a new mom of two, these gifts can never be repaid! Grandpa and Grandma also accompanied me to the doctor for Will's second weight check. He was 10 pounds, 1 ounce gaining a steady 1 ounce a day. Although I know he's been eating well, it is a relief to see proof of his success. Dr. McRaven also looked at his legs and arms and was pleased that they still appear normal. We are celebrating every day that he kicks and stretches using those precious little limbs and building his musclesWill is really working on keeping his head up. He does not like to be laying down when he's awake. He wants to be up on someone's shoulder so he can crane his neck to see what's going on . Most of the time he can keep it up but then he has the occasional smack on a collarbone when he had to rest. I made his first appointment for the Developmental Clinic at Children's Hospital which will be in November. It will be here before we know it!
Libby is a very good big sister. She sweet to "bay-bee" (very drawn out) but she is expressing her frustration with the change by testing every boundary possible with mommy. It makes for a very busy day and we've had to start time out. She'll sit on the bottom stair for one minute and then hug mommy when she's done. She really does not like to be isolated on the stair for a WHOLE minute even though I am standing right there. I am hoping that this phase will pass because it is hard to be constantly disciplining when I know she's just trying to work out all of the newness. I just keep praying for strength for today and wisdom as a mom. I think it's been very helpful to have grandparents living so close. My parents come by to help with bathtime and bedtime and Grandma Lyn and Libby have a standing date every Thursday for one-on-one time that is priceless! Andrew has been working a lot which is exactly what an attorney wants-- billable hours! We were very thankful that this summer his schedule was flexible so that during the craziness of traveling back and forth to the hospital he was able to be with Libby if I needed to spend the night. Now to find a balance between the two extremes... We have been able to see more friends and family-- Andrew's sister and youngest son, Andrew's aunt and uncle, an honorary auntie our longtime friends from Parkside-- their son was born on the same day as Will and is almost 17 pounds now, friends from church, Andrew's godparents, and even one of Will's NICU nurses stopped by. Although we try to stay home a lot, we've also ventured to outdoor concerts in Hudson and eaten at restaurants with outdoor seating. Once winter comes, the gallivanting stops! Normal is settling in, but I am honestly fearful sometimes of how wonderful life is right now. In the back of my mind, I am reserving strength for the time when we're back in the midst of a crisis: we miss a milestone or see changes that are indications of Will's PVL or something else unrelated to Will challenges us again. That is the cycle of life, though. If you're not in the middle of the crisis, then you're enjoying the peace before the next one comes. My prayer is for continued trust in the Lord. His plan for Will is perfect as is His plan for my family. He has been so faithful to us every day for the last three and a half months and I do reflect on that when fear settles in. I am reminded of His faithfulness even re-reading portions of the blog. He continues to be an ever-present strength to me but I am still learning what it means to trust Him with the future. He promises strength for today, He promises that He knows the future, and He promises to never leave us.Thank you for the encouraging and hopeful stories many of you have related. We're thankful to be surrounded by that love and encouragement as we keep putting one foot in front of the other.

"Normal"

Despite my fear of being alone with the kids last week, things went surprisingly well. It is amazing how quickly a day goes by when you're constantly changing diapers, feeding, pumping, changing diapers, washing bottles and dishes, picking up toys, changing diapers, and reading books. I can honestly say that I have enjoyed this week as a mother more than any other week since Libby was born. To have both of my children at home with me is an amazing privilege. Grandma Lyn and Cousin Reese came over on Thursday and took Libby for a couple of hours. She had been asking me all week to go bye-bye because she's gotten used to being out and about every day! She was happy for the excursion and I was happy to accomplish some things around the house while Will slept! Will went back to the doctor on Tuesday when Libby had her 18-month Well visit. She is 26 pounds and 33 inches tall. She showed off many of her skills for Dr. McRaven and he thought she was doing well. Will gained 11 ounces since last Tuesday and is now a whopping NINE pounds! We are so thankful for his weight gain and it feels like further confirmation that we made the right choice as far as his feeding goes. Andrew's cousin Emily came with me and I am so glad she did since we were there for an hour and a half. She entertained Libby, fed Will and, most importantly, quickly figured out how much he weighed since the nurse didn't have the conversion chart with her!

On Friday, we had a slew of visitors. The case worker for Help Me Grow (a state-funded program for kids who qualify for various reasons) came to do an assessment of him. She brought a speech therapist and an early intervention specialist as well. After his assessment, they told me he was not showing any delays right now so he didn't need any further visits until 3 months corrected age. He is able to have an early intervention specialist visit him on a weekly basis to do exercises if we chose to and we did. She'll start coming in two or three weeks to the house to play with him and watch his progress. All in all, it was a very helpful visit.
His Uncle James and Aunt Merideth came to visit him on Friday, too. Uncle James held him for the first time and couldn't believe how big he was. Last time Will and James met, Will was a little over three pounds! Libby was happy to see Aunt Meri. Since Will's been home, she's missed her weekly field trip with her Auntie.Then his Great Grandpa and Grandma came to see him. They were so happy when we told them to come to Ohio-- they changed lots of plans, packed the car and are staying with us for two weeks! Will was very comfortable on Great Grandma's lap and in Great Grandpa's arms.

Despite Will's homecoming, Libby has kept up her social schedule. She and Andrew went to her cousin Deacon's 2nd birthday party on Saturday. Then Grandpa and Grandma Thomas came over to visit on Sunday. They are both leaving to see Will and Libby's newest cousin Dylan Thomas who lives in Atlanta and was born on July 20th. They wanted to get a Will and Libby fix before leaving for the week! He's had lots of other visitors as well. Everyone has been so kind and excited about his homecoming and we couldn't be happier. Libby is more than happy to show off her baby to anyone who comes over. Then she promptly brings a book over and asks that the visitor read to her!

Thanks for your prayers for Will's continued weight gain.

And it's Quiet...

Monday was a successful day. There were only a few tears (from Libby) and everyone survived! Right now, both kids are sleeping, the house is clean, dinner is arranged and I am not sure what to do. Maybe I'll finally get a shower... or maybe I'll just sit here.

Two is More Than One

It seems impossible that Will has only been home with us for a week! We've been very busy as two children more than doubles the work that needs to be done. Andrew has been home all week and I think I might be clinging to his leg tomorrow when he leaves for work since Monday will be my first day alone... all day... with two babies. How do mothers all over the world do it? I'll tell you on Monday night if I am not too exhausted to type! Will is doing a great job as the newest member of our family. It is as if he's always been here! He's a great sleeper at night waking up every threeish hours with some little squeaks to let us know he's ready to eat. We go back to the doctor for a weight check on Tuesday when Libby has her 18-month well visit but last Tuesday he'd gained two ounces since Sunday which is right on track.

Because he was born so early, Will is at increased risk for Retinopathy of Prematurity which is the leading cause of blindness is preemies. Even though he was in the hospital for 10 weeks, they forgot to do his eye exam. On Thursday, we had to go back to the NICU eye clinic so they could examine his eyes for ROP. Thank you, Lord, there was no ROP. In fact, his eyes are perfect and mature.

Libby is adjusting fairly well to the "bee-bee". As soon as she wakes up from a nap or in the morning, she says, "Bee-bee?" I don't know if she hopes he is still here or if she hopes he's gone back to the hospital but she's very sweet to him. She likes to give him hugs and kisses and tickle his feet. She also likes to point out his eyes, nose and head but we've had to tell her not to stick her finger in his eye when she's naming that body part.

A part of me feels like the time in the hospital was all a dream and although we've only been out a week, it feels like we were never there. I am thankful for the last month we spent in the hospital because we were able to work through a lot of the fears we initially had when we received Will's diagnosis. I think if he would have come home earlier, we would have been more consumed with worry than with the joy of having him in our arms at home. When people who don't know our story ask how old Will is, I feel the need to explain that he's 11 weeks old but was born 10 weeks early so really he's only a week old. I am sure I'll get over that eventually.

Now we look forward to the next couple years as we watch him develop and we learn how to ride the roller coaster we'll be on.During the last few weeks, I've learned a lot about who Jesus is. Maybe some of it I never would have understood had I not had to rely so heavily on Him for every breath some days. How is it possible that I am thankful for that time of deep darkness? I look back on it and see how the Lord was using it to draw me closer to Him, teaching me how to surrender fear on a daily basis and experience His strength and courage while walking through a valley. I could have chosen to be bitter and resentful but my mom's advice was to remember what I know is true about God and remind myself of that when overwhelmed. What do I know is true about God? He is always good, He is sovereign, He gives me strength for today. He blessed me with a wonderful husband, a beautiful, hilarious daughter and a son whose very breath is evidence of God’s faithfulness to us.

We are amazingly blessed to be surrounded physically and in prayer by a host of people who love us and are so encouraging as we continue on in this phase of life. If we haven’t said so personally, thank you for your support, interest, prayers, meals, cards, gifts, and stories of hope you’ve sent our way.

Our continued prayer is for Will to keep eating and gaining weight. As always, we pray for wisdom in raising our children and for strength for today. “From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:2