MRI

Wesley had an MRI this evening. His bleed in his brain has been doing well and the doctors wanted to do and MRI before we went home. The nurse came in this afternoon and said that the doctor had ordered it for today. Wesley needed to be still for 30 minutes for the MRI so they had to give him some medicine to make him tired and calm. Boy did it work. We paraded down to radiology on the 2nd floor with Wesley, a monitor, and a tank of oxygen. It was his first time leaving the NICU. (which is awesome, that means he has not had any surgeries yet. He did great for the MRI, but when we got him back in his bed he was so out of it he wouldn't breathe. This is scariest thing. We are praying that this medicine will wear off soon and he will be back to his wiggly coherent self. He weighed in tonight at 7 pounds 12.8 ounces. He is getting to be such a big boy. What a joy he has been. It has been so fun to be in transition with him and get to bond with him in a whole new way. Hoping to get some sleep tonight, that is if he keeps breathing! Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers.

• Please pray for the results of the MRI that we will probably get tomorrow. Pray for a healthy brain with no signs of a bleed or any kind of damage.

Sleepless in Asheville

We are in Transition as of Tuesday night are loving being with our little boy. We feel like we have a new found freedom. It kind of feels like hanging out in our dorm room, just with a baby and a lot less sleep, but same amount of naps. We couldn't be more thrilled to be in the transition part of the NICU and to be rooming in with Wesley. Our nurse hooked us up with the big corner room that is usually for twins & triplets so we have room if you want to come and visit. As we were unpacking into our room Wesley sneezed and I jumped. I totally forgot that he was in there. We have never been anywhere alone with him and he is almost 3 months old. The first night I was nervous and excited at the same time. I laid down to go to sleep and awoke at every noise not knowing what I should do. We sleep a little. A nurse comes in every three hours to check him and he eats. He is either breast-feeding, eating from a bottle, or a tube every feeding and doing great. He is up to 2 ounces every 3 hours. One nice thing about transition is that we can sleep through a feeding if we want to and let the nurse do it. I am excited to have this time to learn his sounds and needs before we take him home so I will be a little less of a nervous wreck if that is possible. I will post some pictures later, I don;t have my camera with me. We are doing great a Wesley is awesome. Please continue to pray for:

• His breathing and respiratory care
• His reflux
• His eating, that he would continue to do well and have his tubed removed

If you are up by our way come and visit!

And oh yeah, he is 7 pounds 3 ounces

Update

It looks like we will not be moving to transition today because a baby they thought was going to get discharged did not go home. We are hoping to go tomorrow, we are just waiting for a room to open up. Other news... Wesley had a big weight gain last night. They didn't believe the scales so they weighed him a couple of times and kept coming up with the same thing. Wesley weighs 7 pounds! We are excited for our big boy and are awaiting transition!

An Awesome Father's Day for an Awesome Father and TRANSITION AHEAD!!

Today we celebrated Greg being a new Daddy! What a blessing it has been to walk beside Greg so far in this awesome but crazy adventure of parenthood. Greg has been awesome. It is so fun to see him care for Wesley so well. He loves to hold him, change diapers, and feed him! I couldn't ask for more! I can't wait for the years to come. Here is a picture of Greg and Wesley snuggling together today.

We spent the morning with Wesley at the hospital and then we went with the Dean's to their beautiful lake house on lake Keowee to spend the evening and night. Thanks Bob & Ann for letting us join you for a relaxing getaway!

It was such a blessing for us to leave the hospital for a while and getaway for some much need relaxation time. Tomorrow is a big day for us. Wesley is moving to transition!! This is one step closer to the door. He will still be in the NICU but he will have his own room and we will be rooming in with him. We will be his primary caregivers and the nurses will be there with us too of course. We are excited to finally get to do the parent role and not just visitation. We will be in transition for a couple of weeks until he is ready to go home. This will be a time to help us transition into taking care of him. We are so excited. We know that the days of sleeping are behind us, but we couldn't be more excited and more ready for this new adventure. Andf for those of you who are keeping track Wesley weighs 6 pounds 11 ounces.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

We had so much fun going and visiting Wesley tonight and playing dress up with him. We took this outfit for Wesley tonight b/c the tag says up to 7 pounds and he is 6 pounds already and we really like the outfit so we took it and played dress up with him. Thanks Aunt Joyce for the outfit. We love it! Enjoy the pictures.

Wesley's Weigh In

You will not believe who is 6 pounds 2.2 ounces. You guessed it Wesley! He is such a big boy. He is 19 inches long. Yesterday we celebrated his 10 week birthday and this Thursday he will be 36 weeks. How exciting. I am in love. He is the cutest thing. I could sit and look at him all day. Here is a video of his weigh in. We are sorry for the lack of Wesley pictures and posts. We are so greatful for all of you and your support. We are amazed at God's love and faithfulness. Hope you enjoy!

Our Graduated Friends!

We were so privileged to go home last weekend and celebrate the Graduation of some of our favorite people. We have loved seeing most of these students grow up over the past 4 years of High School. This is the first class that we have seen through all four years. We love you guys and are going to miss you, but are excited about the adventures that wait ahead for you!

Do you know who weighs over 5 pounds?

I am sorry for the lack of updates. We have been so encouraged by the number of people that tell us that they check this blog out and the keep up to date with his progress. We love it and so does he. We have been busy. Last week was a big week with my birthday and our 4th wedding anniversary. My Parents (Lucy) came up on Thursday to spend a couple of days with us and then we went home to Greensboro together. Greg and I went home to Southeast Guilford's graduation, we are so proud of our falcons (more to come on that later) It was good to be home and we loved seeing people and being at our house, but it is hard to be relaxed or settled when we are away from Wesley. It is like a part of you is missing. Wesley made it to 5 pounds on Friday night and has almost breezed through the 5's. WESLEY WEIGHS AS OF LAST NIGHT 5 POUNDS 11 OUNCES. We are so proud of our little guy and all the progress that he is making. He is doing well on his feedings. He is taking a bottle about 2 times a day. He is improving everyday. Greg got to feed him for the first time yesterday and he was a natural. Wesley got his 2 month shots yesterday and has been a little grouchy today.
We are praying for a couple of things and would love for you to join us:

• Please pray that Wesley continues to improve respiratory wise and that he can go home soon without any respiratory support.
• Please pray for his feedings that he will continue to improve and continue to take more feedings from a bottle.
• Please pray for us as we are realizing that we have been sitting in a hospital for over 2 months

We are so thankful for you guys and will post more pictures soon.

My first Birthday as a Mommy

Boy, was I celebrated well today! I woke up to Greg and 2 friends (Betsy & Jenna) making me a pancake breakfast. That was surprise #1. We then went to the hospital and found an awesome parking spot on the first try surprise #2. Went up to the NICU to see Wesley and the picture above was what we saw. The respiratory therapists decorated Wesley's crib (no he did not do it) and got me a sweet card and gift surprise #3 Wesley had made me a card surprise #4. I then changed his diaper and he had a big poop surprise #5. I got to feed Wesley with a bottle surprise #6. My sweet boys (Greg & Wesley) surprised me with Tulips surprise #7. My parents sent me flowers to the NICU also surprise #8. Greg brought me back home where friends of ours were waiting for us to hang out and eat cake surprise #9. What a great day. I couldn't have asked for more. It's funny how the things you care about change when you become a parent. I would have been happy with the big poop today. The thing that was not a surprise was how Greg wanted me to feel so special today and went out of his way to do so. Thanks sweety! Thanks to everyone for all the sweet notes and phone messages. I appreciate them. Here's to year 28!

I couldn't leave this picture out. Here is Wesley last Thursday. He has outgrown preemie clothes. His legs will no longer fit in them.

Feeding Wesley through a Bottle

What a sweet birthday treat it was to feed Wesley from a bottle. He is still eating from a bottle once a day and it has been so fun to get to feed him. He can suck, swallow, and breathe, but does not know how to coordinate them to well right now. We are working on it. Today he took 30cc's of his 42cc's from a bottle. Way to go Wesley!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

It is hard to believe this picture was taken one year ago today. Last year on Lucy's birthday we had the most amazing day goofing around at Disneyworld. Look at those crazy kids, not a care in the world. We had one of the best days of our marriage together. It was just a great day to celebrate how amazing my wife trully is. When I think about that trip I am amazed at how fast the year has flown by. So much crazy fun stuff has gone on. We left from there to have a great month at Southwind, then flew back to Chad's wedding which was awesome, then took Young Life kids to Sharp Top Cove, and that was only the middle of the summer. We have had so much fun over the last year. It has also been a crazy year for us. As the last two monthes have proven, but even before that. Trying to even get pregnant and both of us having to have surgery was quite the adventure. Then we never thought it our wildest dreams a regular weekend at Windy Gap would turn into the adventure of Wesley being born. But through all the craziness of the last year I have had the most amazing women at my side. Lucy is a blessing from God. I never thought much about who I was going to marry. Most of the time I just thought that the right women was out there but had no idea how to find her. Luckly God is the perfect match maker. He knew all a long I was going to meet Lucy and I would fall madly in love with her. Lucy is my constant support in a somewhat crazy life we lead. I know that no matter what I am going through I can turn to her and she will love me and give me good advice. My only hope is that I can share with her in person and in front of others how trully amazing she is. The most amazing part of Lucy is the fact she puts up with my dumbness a lot of the time. I am so grateful for her unconditional love. She loves me and others despite their faults and is a true picture of heavenly love. She is a prime example of the women in Proverbs 31 where it speaks of Lucy, "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." She is out of this world and I am crazy in love with her. More importanly now she is Wesley's mommy and man that kid is so freaking lucky. I cannot wait to watch her become more like a mother to him. We got another great year in store and I cannot wait to spend it with her. You guys keep thinking about how awesome Lucy is and I am going to go celebrate her today. Thanks for all the ways you love her so.

Wittle Wesley or maybe he is not so wittle anymore!

Sorry for the lack of posts. Life has been busy. Our little guy is growing up so fast and even though it is so fun to see, it tugs at your heart at the same time. The days are flying by here and by the time you know it, it will be July and we will be home. Even though this has been the hardest experience, we really are learning to cherish the time that God took us away from home and our "normal everyday lives" to teach us a lot of stuff and make us grow up in a lot of ways. Now to the important stuff, I know you want to hear about Wesley: Wesley weighed in last night at 4 lbs. 15 ounces and was 18 inches long. Yesterday he was 8 weeks old and he is currently 33 weeks gestationally. He is doing great! Last night we got to help give him a bath. It was a lot of fun but scary trying to hold on to a slippery baby that is hooked to machines in a bucket of water. Another milestone is that he has eaten 4 times so far from a bottle! He has taken part of his feeding from a bottle a couple of times. They only try it once a day because it tires him out a lot. He is really growing up! Please continue to pray for him! Pray for his breathing and respiratory issues. Pray that he would continue to wean off of the nasal cannula and that he would come home free of all respiratory support. Please also pray for the fluid on his brain that it would continue to heal itself and that he would not need a shunt. Please join us as we bring these requests to the one that created him! Thanks for all your love, support, and faithfulness in keeping up with how Wesley, Greg, and I are doing, we really appreciate it.