Timothy James

I was admitted to the hospital on Dec. 8th because my amniotic sac was leaking and I had begun to dilate. I was ordered to lie flat on my back until the baby came ( I was due April 2nd!). Well, on Dec. 17th my water broke at 7:15pm and Timothy James decided to come early. He was breech and already on his way out, so the doctor did an emergency C-section and at 10:20 pm he was delivered. He went straight to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and has been there ever since. Timothy was only 25 weeks along in his development (a "normal" pregnancy lasts 40 weeks) so he still has a lot of growing to do.

This is a prayer that I sing often over Timothy. I wanted to share it with you all.
(written by Twila Paris)

I pray the Lord will hold you close and keep you through the night
That you will wake up smiling in the early morning light
That He will always comfort you and make you brave and strong.
I pray that you will follow Him your whole life long.

I pray that you will grow up to be wise and good and true.
I pray that you will please the Lord in everything you do.
I pray that you will hear his voice and learn to sing His song.
I pray that you will follow Him your whole life long.

I pray the Lord will bless you with His presence every day.
And I pray He will protect you every step along the way;
Help you love what's right and lead you far away from wrong.
I pray that you will follow Him your whole life long.

Actual Age: 10 months
Adjusted Age: 6 months
Weight: 12 lbs. 3 oz.
Length: 21 1/2 inches

We have had a week of SHOTS!!!! - his 6 month immunizations as well as his first flu vaccine and a special shot to guard him against RSV, a potentially life-threatening virus to preemies in his condition - for a grand total of 5 shots! He was a real trooper and he recovers very quickly from the trauma of being poked.

He may possibly have a condition called pulmonary hypertension. This is a heart condition related to his breathing difficulties. There is not adequate information to know if it requires further treatment or not so we will be seeing a cardiologist who may want to do some more tests to confirm what is going on in his heart.

Meanwhile, he continues to grow and develop every day. He is very good at entertaining himself, even to the point of keeping himself awake at night!! Thank goodness we have a nurse to sit with him and get him back to sleep.

His nutritionist put him on a bit of a "diet" because he was gaining weight so fast. :) What a great problem to have! Now his length needs to "catch up".

Sorry we haven't been able to post any recent photos. We are experiencing technical difficulties with the program we were using. If you have any suggestions of FREE programs which will let us EASILY post photos to our blog, we welcome the suggestions.

Praise - He is really healthy right now
- God is orchestrating our insurance changes so there will be no lapse in his coverage

Prayer - healing and development of his heart, kidneys, eyes, brain and lungs
- We have an eye appt. tomorrow (Wed.) in LA - please pray for safety as we travel in this weather and that the left eye will continue to look good enough to stop his eye drops - we are all tired of those!