best day...ever

so today was quite a fulfilling day. i was able to be there for conley's 8:oo feeding and he was compliant, quite amazing. he took all of 43cc and, in fact, was still sucking when i pulled the bottle out. he's had much more success since they've been giving him formula mixed with rice cereal to thicken it up. we just hung out and he fell asleep on my shoulder. very special times. part of me wishes i had a picture of it to share with you, part of me is quite okay with just having the image to myself. please pray he continues to take full feedings via the bottle more frequently and continues to wane in his need for oxygen. he was down to only 30% oxygen on the lowest setting of pressure when i left him today. great progress. one day at a time
-love-

slacking

sorry for the egregious delay in posting. here's the news... conley is over five and a half pounds now. he's so beautiful and looking so healthy. working on his "homeward" plan now. he really needs to get in line with this feeding thing. he's made some progress and is learning to like it, but he needs to get his biological clock in a rhythm of waking and eating on a regular schedule as well as wanting to keep the bottle in his mouth. the nurse very helpfully explained tonight that probably because he had a tube stuck down his throat for a while (for breathing and eating) that to have something put in his mouth brings about negative associations for him. so, it will take time. his oxygen help is still very little he just needs to be over and done with it. thanks for your faithfulness in praying. stay in touch.
-love-
pics of conley with mommy and pepe'

inheritance

good news is that conley is chomping for the bottle when it's feeding time. also, he's progressing in his coordination between eating and breathing. unfortunately, once he starts chomping, he gets upset and spits up. they think he might have acid reflux and are giving him medicine (basically Zantac). i told them that condition runs in the family. please pray that he works through that as well as his oxygen requirements. one day at a time
also, please keep the family of my dad's cousin in prayer. her premature son, Jasper, had a rough start and was in the Brooklyn NICU for some time. after some progress in his health, he suffered a stroke and passed away on sunday. words cannot express our sorrow and pain for them. please pray peace, comfort, and strength for their family. thank you so much
-love-

light at the end

conley is doing well. he's 5lbs. 3oz. and growing. still working on the oxygen thing. i'm praying and hoping he just wakes up one day and is done with it. the nurses have said that's how it happens sometimes. kids will just ride the fence for a long period of time and then, suddenly, be like "all right, i'll breathe on my own now, thanks." hoping that day comes soon. he's also been progressing on the bottle-feeding gig. similarly, a process, but he's got the hang of it as far as how. it's just getting him motivated and awake enough to take it. so...
one day at a time
-love-

moved

hey guys. conley was moved to continuing care nursery today. he no longer needs intensive care. so, yeah, that's really great. i'll fill you all in with more when i have a little more time. just working on feeding with the bottle. he took 38 of 45cc from a bottle so he's headed in the right direction. thank you so much. now to just get him home.
-love-

do i hear 5?

conley is 4lbs. 12oz. and this morning, he took 33 of his 43cc of milk from a bottle. what a champ. the nurse said he probably would have taken all of the 43cc but she had started the first 10cc of the feed when the specialists showed up. good stuff. they've asked us to bring in a mobile for his crib because he's alert and awake quite often now. also, he's been steady on 25cc, the lowest setting of pressure for his oxygen. the final step is to wean his oxygen % down, which they're working on. across the aisle, joey has been doing pretty decent himself. please keep praying. one day at a time.
-love-

almost normal life?

at this point in the game, looking at pictures like that bring as much longing and pain as joy. we're beyond ready to have him home. he's closing in on the prize. the feeding team came in today to give him a shot at the bottle again, but he wasn't in that sort of mood, which is pretty common. he's doing well on his oxygen, at the lowest setting of pressure. so we're praying that he continues to progress in that direction and can wean down on the oxygen % and be done with that whole business. he's really digging the crib scene, too. he's done better overall since moving out of the bio-dome. MTV is actually planning on coming and doing an episode of "Cribs" with him and his new place, so that should be cool. one day at a time.
-love-
here's the little man with his auntie hannah. his good friend katrina also visited him this week.

out of the incubator and into the...

we got some really encouraging news today from the NICU. they've moved conley into a crib, meaning he is holding his temp and not needing the heat support from an incubator. we're looking forward to seeing him in that tonight. also, the feeding specialists came in yesterday or this morning and fed him almost half of a feeding through a bottle. such good news to hear that he's acclimating to that. they'll be trying that again on sunday when the specialists are in again. please pray that continues to go well. no pics lately, sorry. we'll take some tonight. on a side note, please pray for friends of ours who have a relative out in wyoming/colorado. she was working on natural gas lines all alone when an explosion occured. over 80% of her body was burned and she had to get back in her truck, drive to where she had cell phone signal and call for help. this was in wyoming and they had to airlift her to a colorado burn unit, the only place nearby with any hope of helping her. her name is shannon and she was initially given a 10% chance to live. every day for her brings new surgeries to endure, infections to fight, and so on. she continues to be in a medically induced coma. please pray for shannon, her husband and child(ren). one day at a time.
-love-

clues

hey guys, real quick. they're trying to figure out the deal with conley. they're thinking it's less of him retaining fluid and more of his lungs just needed to heal up. please just pray that the doctors have wisdom and that God restores his lung tissue. thanks so much. please don't forget to pray for jasper and joey, colleagues in prematurity. one day at a time.
-love-

tripled up

in poker, when you push all in, get called by another person and win, that's called "doubling up." you have twice as many chips at then end of that hand as at the beginning (for those of you who play cards or get sucked into watching it on t.v. when you're clicking through ESPN on the weekends, you understand this). when you push and get two callers and win, that's called "tripling up." even better.
when this all started, conley was all in with 1lb. 8oz. and less than premium pocket cards. in the past 10 weeks (yep, 10 weeks as of today), he's tripled up. last night he weighed in at 4lbs. 8oz. he's actually probably a little less than that since he's been retaining some fluids, but i'd say he's in a winning position as of yet. with regards to that, please pray that when they give him medicine today to help him clear out some fluids, that it does the trick and his lungs can wean down on oxygen. he's not getting a whole lot of help right now but he seems to be stuck on his current setting of pressure. thanks so much for your prayers. one day at a time.
-love-

the marathon continues

we've been away, haven't had a chance to update. conley has surpassed 4lbs. he's 4lbs. 4oz. and continuing to grow. his leg looks a little better and it will probably work itself out as time continues. he's had some solid days with his breathing, which, we found out tonight is his last hurdle before he goes to the level 2 nursery (being off the nasal oxygen). the more his lungs mature and clear up and the more weight he gains the better he'll do with that. he is cuter every time we go which makes it harder and harder to say goodbye. as you pray for conley, please continue to lift up his neighbor joey, his cousin jasper (no updates as of late) and a friend of ours' nephew austin who was born at MMC 5 weeks early and has been having some trouble with a heart murmur as well as with his breathing. thank you so much. we love you all. one day at a time

tubby time

conley took his first bath tonight. he loved it. here's how it looked:

another thing to keep in your prayers, Occupational Therapy came in and noticed that because of his continual tummy-positioning and other factors, his foot has turned outward. this is very common, unfortunately, with NICU babies. please pray it works out and that all the nurses keep his regimen of exercise and correct positioning. they've all been great so far and we know they'll continue to be. also, a very urgent prayer need, a cousin of my dad's just had a 3lb. baby in NYC. his name is jasper and he has had complications with his lungs as well as some bleeding in his brain. please pray for him. our heart goes out to their family and we are asking for many people to lift him up to God. thank you so much. we can't say it enough. one day at a time.
-love-

7th inning stretch

i'm not ashamed or too humble to say that malachi is a cute kid, a really cute kid. he comes by it honestly, just take a peek at his mom. despite the high bar set by big brother, conley is by all means holding his own. he's a fighter, he's defying the odds, he's a rockstar in all of those senses. but not only that, he's one good looking kid. miniature, but just gorgeous. he's also plumping out, and a few ounces away from four pounds. joey his neighbor appears to not be on the bubble CPAP anymore, either. please pray they both get over the final obstacles in their bumpy roads. conley needs to continue to wean on his low-flow nasal cannula oxygen, and we're also praying that as they introduce the bottle soon he'll be able to coordinate the whole suck, swallow, breathe process. thank you for your faithfulness in prayer, please don't let up. one day at a time
-love-