July 8, 2013:

Looks like it's been just over 2 wks since I posted last. There's been no dull moments since last writing either. We had a great rest of our vacation with family. RJ did well with all the traveling. At the grandparents house in Georgia, RJ and I slept a lot. I tell ya, taking vacations is not the most relaxing anymore when you have a child to worry about. There's so much to think about with keeping him fed, pumping, and making sure he gets his rest. Whew.... It's good to be home and get back on our schedule. RJ had a couple rough nights trying to get back on track. Turns out he got spoiled w/ complete darkness in the room at night at Robert's parents house, so I ended up closing our light canceling curtains, and he's slept much better. Silly particular boy. :) Robert make the comment the other day that he now lives w/ two particular people. Watch out! :)

Last week we had doctors appts on Monday and Tuesday. I met w/ the vascular surgeon to f/u on the duplex ultrasound that was taken. It wasn't able to show very much, so he recommended still to f/u w/ CTA in 3-4 months. That's what the stroke doc I've been seeing said also. So, I'm only going to be followed by the stroke doc now so we don't get conflicting instructions or have problems w/ scans being scheduled. RJ saw the Peds Surgeon and they are happy w/ the diameter of his anus. They said to continue doing the dilations for another 3 months and then f/u w/ them. He's actually started to poop on a more regular basis since Friday. Oh mercy, I guess I should be carful what I wish for. I was ok w/ a couple poops a wk. Looks like we are on a start to daily poops. :) RJ saw the eye doc as well. Things are looking great there. The vessels have almost grown to the appropriate place. We f/u w/ him in a month and hopefully that will be our last visit!!

Robert has started his OB anesthesia rotation this month. It's been going well. This past Friday he was post call. In the evening I was making dinner and Robert was playing w/ RJ. He set him down on his activity mat in the kitchen for some tummy time. We were both impressed how high RJ was holding his head. All of the sudden he cocked his left elbow and rolled over to his back!! We were both watching!! It was so amazing!! We put him back on his stomach again to see if he'd repeat and he did!! We got it on video too. :) We did if a few more times before bedtime. I got him to do it a few times on Sabbath, but really haven't been able to get him to do it since then. It takes a lot of energy. :)

I think the lil man has awaken from his nap. I will resume later...

I'm back again. I've fed him twice, ate lunch, and pumped in the past couple hours. So, I think RJ is trying to wean himself off the bottle. This is just one example of what he's been doing over the past week or so. I fed him at 11am and he took most of his bottle. Then around noon he acted hungry again. I tried feeding him the remainder of his bottle and he took maybe half of it, but still acted hungry. I gave him the boob and he was all happy and after feeding fell asleep. This makes things tricky b/c I'm supposed to feed him 4 bottles a day and trying to find time to pump between his feedings and still be able to give him enough milk is a lil tricky. Sometimes he wants to feed every 1-2 hrs. It's funny how he will look up at me after eating part of his bottle and be like "Mom, come on you know I want the boob." We see the Grad clinic on Thursday, so I will be discussing his feeding/nutrition regime.

So with adding breast feedings during the night, He wants to eat q3hrs versus q4hrs. :( Last night I was so tired, I was in bed by 9:30pm and was able to get some good sleep before he woke up around 11:45pm. Now I guess we need to get a new routine in order. Awe the changes....

He's getting so expressive now and full of smiles. He's holding his head up really well also. I just love cuddling w/ him and covering him w/ kisses. :) The past couple bathes after I wash him, I take him out of his chair and hold his head while he floats in the water. I'm trying to get him used to floating and being in water like in a pool. I can't wait to take him in the water next summer. :)

I have a handful of pics I'll post here in a sec. He's turing into such a handsome lil man. We are so blessed. I'm in awe every time I look at him. He's come such a long way. It's incredible how much he's changed. We have pics of his NICU days up in the office and RJ's bedroom to remind us from where he came. What a blur it all seems now. It's hard to believe we were actually in the NICU for 94 days plus the 6 days of being in the hospital before he delivered. Home has never felt so good. :)

Thanks again for all the prayers, support, and love. We continue to need them all as the lil guy grows bigger and bigger. We pray it will be smooth sailing and that he will develop appropriately. I can't help but worry just a lil if something else will happen. I know the Bible tells us not to worry, that it doesn't accomplish anything. We just have to enjoy each moment we have w/ him. Each moment is a miracle in and of itself. It's a moment in time that modern medicine and divine intervention allowed us to have. Thank you Jesus for our miracle baby...