it's going on 2 weeks tomorrow that conley has made his way home. it was a little surreal at first, holding this child in our own home, the child who sometimes seemed like just a character in a long dream of ours. now he is real life. at first he just hung out and slept, now he's starting to act like a real baby and be fussy from time to time. i start to get frustrated with his crying and then remind myself that the alternative of not having him there at all was so close to being a reality. of course, that doesn't take away all my frustration, but it sure puts things into perspective. malachi loves conley and very rarely gets jealous with him or rough. that is a huge blessing. in the midst of our joy, it's still the same adjustment any family has to make going from having one child (a toddler who can communicate quite effectively, sleeps pretty much all night, and doesn't throw up for unknown reasons) to adding a new baby to the mix. he actually sleeps most of the way through the night, however, which is really great. we appreciate your continued prayers for this adjustment and that as conley is monitored by specialists over the next year or so, that he develops as expected and suffers no long term complications. as of this moment, he's a very cute, cuddly little boy who can't get enough of his mom (i wonder why). thanks so much. one day at a time -love-
and so yesterday was the final time that we had to drive to and from the hospital in order to interact with our son. it was a beautiful thing. to see his monitor on standby, with no wires attached to his chunky little torso. he just laid there with his arms wide open so as to say, "here i am, take me home." and so we did, with fear and trepidation. a child who by some stretches shouldn't even be alive today, whose fate we anticipated from day to day, hour to hour. 107 days in one building, he had a half confused, half scared look on his beautiful face as he approached the sunlight and entered the backseat. now we're home and he's such a good natured little boy. he also is blessed with the most loving, gentle, and interested big brother. malachi loves him to pieces. now we learn to adjust with and two bodies, minds, and souls for which to care. conley is an incredibly loud sleeper with continual grunting and noisiness. we'd appreciate any more prayers you could muster up for him to get over the acid reflux he's struggled with and for us to get some good solid rest. we are incredibly thankful to God and indebted both to Him and you as you have ceaselessly prayed for us and our little man. thanks for being part of this miracle. we'll continue to update since this is not an end, but surely, a beginning. we'll continue one day at a time. -immeasurable love-
conley has this one wrapped up. bottom of the ninth, conley is on the mound with a 5-0 lead, 2 outs, 0 and 2 to the #10 batter. time for strike three. he passed his car seat test today, had his circumcision, and is eating like a horse. tuesday morning can't come too soon. thank you to all who have been standing. to the finish. -love-
today will be the first day that we will see our son free from anything in his body. no breathing line lodged in his trachea, no iv protruding from his skin, and no feeding tube stuck up his nose. just a few monitors stuck to his epidermis. thanks be to God. i think we're getting close. one day at a time. -love-
conley continues to make progress as he looks forward to the goal of coming home. he has a checklist written on a whiteboard above his bed and he's already got a few things checked off. he's still off oxygen which is really something to be thankful for and now he's just focusing on the feeding thing. the progress he is making is phenomenal for a kid in his circumstances. he just needs to have the strength and stamina to be feeding completely from the bottle. then that last tube will be removed. we look forward to the day. at home, bethany is re-nesting as we prepare for the homecoming. one day at a time. -love-
conley is now off the oxygen tube. that leaves only one tube left for him to remove... the feeding tube. he's been doing well being off oxygen, however, if he ends up needing a little help again, it's right near him. he's been taking many of his feedings via the bottle although he doesn't always enjoy it, and that's our final hurdle. it was good to have his warm head against my shoulder, to look right into his eyes, to feel his short little breaths on my skin. it's good to have my son alive. one day at a time
