Two Months Old!!

Hi friends,

Rose here! Thank you for being patient for an update from us about Jude. The last few days have been busy and exciting for all of us.

As you can see from the title of this blog post, Jude is now two months old. We can hardly believe that our little man is already hitting this milestone. The last couple of months seemed to creep and fly by at the same time. Jude is growing well and is just over eleven pounds now. He is such a big boy and is already growing out of his 0-3 month clothing!

In other news, Jude and Brian had a boy's weekend! Brian spent all day Saturday and Sunday with Jude all by himself. They had some great "holding" time together and overall Jude stayed steady and content. Jude also got his two month shots!

Annabelle and I went home (for the first time since November 21st) for a quick overnight stay! While at home we enjoyed time with our dear community group friends over dinner, visited with our sweet neighbors and enjoyed a 3 year old birthday party at a fire station, and worshiped at our church surrounded by our church family. It boosted our spirits and reminded both of us that we are not forgotten and that one day the four of us will be together in our little home. It was so hard to leave home and return to Charleston but we also wanted to get back to our guys. They are pretty lovable, you know? :)

And the biggest news since our last post????

Our children met each other for the first time.

Jude and Annabelle holding hands = Brian and Rose with thankful and happy hearts!

For the past two months I have continued to say, "I just want to have my children in the same place" and finally it happened!

This was a day that we were not sure would come. Before Jude was born we were not sure if Annabelle would be able to meet her little brother or if he would even come home with us. I cannot believe that this day has come. Our hearts are full with thanksgiving and joy for the gifts that He has given our family in this journey.

Here are a few things about our visit that I thought you'd all enjoy:
- Annabelle wore her little face mask the whole time during her visit today. She was So well behaved and we were so proud of her.
-Annabelle asked to hold Jude's hand several times. Such a sweet moment for all of us.
- Jude slept through the whole meeting with a few little wiggles and squirms.
- Annabelle charmed all the nurses and we were told that they all thought that Jude and Annabelle look just alike.
- As soon as we left the NNICU Annabelle asked to go back so that she could hold baby Jude's hand again. Sweet, sweet girl.

We are not sure when they will see each other again...it may be quite awhile...but it was such a blessing to have them together today.

So, here is what is happening with Jude right now:
- Jude is at a pressure of 6 and between 25% and 28% on the CPAP for the last couple of days. He is doing well hanging out at these settings and will hopefully continue to gain "lung strength" as the days pass.
- Jude is REALLY struggling with the recent weans from his pain medication. He struggled significantly with withdrawals today and required support from the PRN medications to help "take the edge off". He is quite uncomfortable and even at times mad. It's really hard for us to watch him have such a difficult time. Today he was crying, sweating, shaking, having difficulty sleeping and overall just upset.
- While I was away this weekend they increased his feeds to 6ml. He is continuing to tolerate his milk at this point! Yay!
- Jude has been riding in the Mamaroo (http://www.4moms.com/mamaroo)in the NNICU! He is a big fan of getting out of the crib and checking out the scenery while enjoying ride similar to a mini-ferris wheel. How fun!

What you can pray for:
1. Continued progress with his breathing on the CPAP. Ultimately, we would love to see Jude come off of the CPAP but we want his lungs strong and ready to come off. Please pray that his lungs will continue to grow stronger and ready to work!
2. Please pray for Jude's withdrawal symptoms from the medication weans. Please pray that the Lord will give him comfort and endurance to face these battles. He has a LONG ways to go before he can be weaned off the medication and I know it must be hard (especially since he is a baby) to endure this marathon. Please pray for little to no withdrawal symptoms for Jude with the weans he will face in the future. Pray that Jude will rest and get more sleep too. It's harder to face things physically when you are so tired.
3. Pray for our family as we are realizing that the journey ahead may be long and slow. We are anxious to get home but we also know that Jude's time in the hospital may be much longer than we anticipated.
4. Pray for Jude's breast milk feeds...pray that he will continue to tolerate and digesting the milk. Please pray that he will be able to conquer his oral aversion (babies get this after having so many negative things in their mouths such as ventilator tubes, feeding tubes, etc.) and that he will soon welcome milk entering his body through his mouth. 

Well, I am off to bed and already looking forward to spending the day with my cute kido

There is Joy in the Lord - Cheri Keaggy

There is joy in the Lord
There is love in His spirit
There's hope in the knowledge of Him
There's a fountain that flows
Like a river from heaven
Abounding in love to my soul

All blessing and honor are His
And all glory and power are His
Let all wisdom and strength
Be the Lord's in this place
Let all glory be given to Him