Weight Update

Chase had another weight check on Wednesday and he weighed in at 8 pounds, 14.5 ounces. He gained another 7 ounces in one week! We are praying for this rate of growth to continue for a while!!

We have been doctor appointment free for a couple of weeks (except the weight checks), but that is about to change. We have pulmonologist and cardiologist appointments this week as well as a feeding therapy evaluation. Again, we're praying all goes well.

Chase smiles all the time now and it is super cute. Hopefully I can get a picture soon. Eli still loves, loves his little brother! : )

Enjoying....

...a new book and lunch.

Good News!

Tuesday, Chase went to the doctor for a weight check. To be within the "acceptable range", he needed to be between 8lbs 3oz and 8lbs 6oz. Sweet Baby Chase weighed in at 8lbs 7.5oz!!! Yea, Baby Chase!!!! We are so happy with his weight gain. He gained 8 ounces in 7 days. This is also the first full week that Chase has been on breast milk....I knew he would start gaining better once he was on breast milk....you can't beat breast milk.....it's the best!!!!!

Hopefully he will keep this up. We are going to the doctor once a week for weight checks.

Doctor said everything else looked good. We are so thankful!

Eli's Prayer

Eli has been saying prayers before bed now (usually Daddy says them for us). Here is the prayer from a couple of nights ago.

"Dear Jesus,

Thank you for Maya and Baby Chase and Daniel, Jackson, Collin, Jessie and friends. Thank you for Mommy and Daddy. Thank you for my sins. Amen"

Oops! I think he meant forgive me for my sins! ; )

A New Way to Drink Chocolate Milk

2 Months....and a Couple of Dr Appts

I can't believe it!! Sweet Baby Chase is 2 months old today. The last two months have probably been the hardest ever, but I couldn't ask for a better outcome. God has truly blessed us.

Yesterday we had an appointment with a pulmonologist . It went very well. He was not concerned at all about Chase's lungs. He wants to continue to watch him, but he did not put Chase on any maintenance medications. Yay!! He did recommend that we take a more aggressive approach to speech therapy and getting Chase off the NG tube. I'm not going to argue with that! I can't wait to get rid of it and I'm sure Chase feels the same way. We are going to start an intensive program at Our Children's House at Baylor. Please pray that all goes well and the NG tube is gone soon.

Today we had Chase's 2 month check up. He was 7 pounds 15 1/2 ounces (-5 %) and 21 1/2 inches (25%). I'm a little discouraged about his weight, but the doctor was not at all! Chase's cardiologist wants to see Chase gaining 10 - 30 grams/day. At this rate, Chase should have been somewhere between 7 lbs 13 oz and 8 lbs 6 oz today. We are in the range, but on the low end. I guess I should just be happy that we are in the range, but I really want to see him grow more. We are going to do weight checks each week for a while. Hopefully we will see him getting closer to the high end of the range! I'm praying!

Closing with a couple of pictures. I am so very happy with the progress that Chase has made, but know that it would not have been possible without God's hand on Chase throughout the past two months. Until now, I have not shared pictures of Chase when he was just a few days old, but we decided to share to show just what an amazing God we serve. Chase is a miracle. All babies are miracles. God gave us one miracle...Chase's life.....and then He sent a few more Chase's way. And now we have a precious little boy that is two months old!

Chase - 8 days old

Chase - 2 Months Old!

8 Weeks!

It's hard to believe that Chase is already 8 weeks old. Here are some precious pics we had taken today.

Sleepy!

Ga-Ga (my Dad) came over to watch Eli while Hunter and I took Chase to the cardiologist on Tuesday. Eli LOVES it when Ga-Ga comes over because they always play nonstop. Well, apparently they played so much that Eli fell asleep right in his tracks. Ga-Ga thought he was watching TV, but Eli was being very still (something that Eli doesn't do very often). When he checked, he found him sound asleep.

Dr Visit Today

We had a marathon visit with the cardiologist today. We were at Children's for 5 hours.

Chase continues to make progress. He is almost 8 pounds. He had an echo and EKG today. The dr said that overall the echo looked good. He has some slight issues, but nothing abnormal for his surgery and diagnosis and no obstruction of the pulmonary veins which is the BIG concern. The dr took him off oxygen while we were in the office and he did really well. Once we get a pulse/ox monitor in our home (s/b tomorrow morning), we can take Chase off the oxygen. Yeah! Also, we can start Chase on breast milk! He will be taking the milk through the feeding tube still, but we are so glad to move past the portagen! We will have a chest x-ray next week to ensure that Chase is tolerating the breast milk. Please pray for good results. : ) We will be having a swallow study tomorrow....Chase is still having issues with oral feedings. We are working with a speech therpist in our home, but if his issues don't improve soon, we will start seeing a more specialized group at Our Children's House at Baylor. I have a feeling that the oral feedings are going to take a while. Chase's surgeon said to expect it and I think he was right!

Thanks for checking on us and for keeping us in your prayers!

Please also remember our sweet friend James and his Mom and Dad in your prayers. James' hands were badly burned during an accident at a cookout this weekend. They are beginning a journey at the Parkland burn unit and at Children's.

A Fun Night!

My little football player....

My little pumpkin.......

Getting them both to look and smile is impossible.....

Mom and her boys......

Dad, Eli and Frankenstein (aka "freakin-stan")......