4 months old

I know I sound like every other parent out there, but I have to say that it's hard to believe that Ty is already 4 months old! I thought time flied with Ava Grace!  Time is going even faster with this little guy.  Part of it was the period of hospital stays that makes us feel like we missed his first three months, but part of it is that life as a family of five is full and fast!

 Ty has been busy making up for lost time at home.  He spends equal time asleep as awake during the day and is growing like a weed.  He sleeps 12 hours straight at night, but that doesn't translate to sleep for mommy and daddy because he is still using a feeding pump.  He eats every three hours on the pump, so mommy and daddy have to get up to turn the pump on, and then off again after his feed - so we are up 6 times a night!  All that eating translates to lots of growing.  Ty weighs in at over 13 pounds and is holding steady on the small end of the growth chart around the 15th percentile.

His favorite thing to do is chew on his hands!  He loves his hands and they are forever in his mouth.  His second favorite new trick is getting a hold of his feeding tube and chewing on it!  He pulled it out again yesterday, so we took advantage of it being out and took his "official" 4 month pictures here at home before we dropped a new tube.

Ty has also discovered his tongue and it spends a lot of time sticking out of that silly little mouth!  He loves playing on his play mat and batting at toys.  He is getting better at gripping toys and pulling them to his mouth, but still a work in progress.  Head control has come a long way.  We have been able to remove his head support in his car seat and bouncy seat, but he still has a long way to go.  He does tolerate tummy time a littler better and although I wouldn't say he lifts his head to look around, he does turn it side to side while on his tummy so he can actually breathe - this is a big improvement.  If I hold him in a seated position, he does pretty good holding his head up with minimal bobbing and the same when placed on my shoulder.  He's getting better about not spitting up every time we hold him upright as well, so that helps.  Every time I begin to think about him being behind I remind myself all he has been through and the fact that his chest has been cracked TWICE... if I were him I wouldn't enjoy laying on my tummy/chest or using those muscles to hold them up either!

Overall, we couldn't be happier with his growth and progress at home.  Mostly we are grateful that we have been able to stay home and not be readmitted to the hospital.  That is certainly a first in his little life.

Today we head for our weekly trip to Vandy.  This time it is to meet with his geneticist.  It will be interesting to see what they say.

In closing I would like to request prayers for two things.  One, that Ty will make great strides toward eating by mouth.  He still only takes a tiny amount by mouth before feedings and we'd like to see this improve rapidly.  We start feeding therapy next week.  Ty is the only thing holding him back from getting the tube out - as soon as he'll take his whole bottle we can get rid of that thing!  I also would request prayers for my family as a whole and specifically my brother and sister-in-law.  I will leave the details for them to share, but they are facing some life-changing battles and decisions today and in the coming days, weeks, and months.  Please pray that God will work miracles for them and bring healing.

Thank you Lord for your abundant blessings.  Thank you for using even the most confusing and scary situations to bring glory to your name.