Jillian Leaves the Hospital !!

Jillian left the hosptial Friday afternoon and took her first car ride at 3:33pm. Jennifer and Jillian will spend about a week at Jennifer's parents to give them a period of time to adjust before she comes home.

We're doing this so we can prolong the blog just that much longer!! Hehe.

Jillian's first night was a little rough as she is having some reflux problems. We're making some adjustments that seem to be helping. She is nursing wonderfully! Praise God! She also takes her bottle supplements that have her vitamins and iron. Once she took over 60 mL (that's about 2 oz) of Mommy's milk from the bottle! She's eating like a horse! God is faithful and so good to us.

Thanks to those who gave coming home gifts! Jennifer is beginning to write thank-you notes for all of the gifts we have received thus far. We are beyond blessed with friends and family who love us so much.

I promise to get the camera back from Jennifer and post some "Leaving the Hospital" pictures.

We love you all!

James & Family

We're not quite home yet. Jillian may have gotten to go home today, but she lost a tiny bit of weight. We're praying for a big weight gain tomorrow so we can head home.

Here is the first shot of the entire family together. Thank you for your prayers and support!

God bless!

James, Jennifer, James, Jocelyn, Jillian

Family Reunited for the First Time!

"Children, Daddy has something to tell you," I had just gotten off of the phone with Jillian's doctor who said it would be okay for the children to visit their sister for the first time in the hospital with Mommy. "You have to take showers and get fresh new clothes on before we leave." Out of the kitchen they flew to make preparations to see their baby sister for the first time.

They both took turns sitting on the bed with Mommy and then got to hold their sister for the first time. This has been such an exhausting trial, but God has been faithful to help us through this process. It won't be much longer now!

I can't let a day go by without expressing our sincere appreciation for the gifts and prayer that we have received from our friends and family. We even have whole churches in other states praying, which is very humbling. I pray that we too can support the body of Christ when we find someone in distress. There have been many tragic and trying events which have happened to families this year. My prayer is that our Father would comfort you and hold you in His arms if you are experiencing a difficult situation. We have been so blessed despite all that has gone on lately. I know that our final destination is an eternity with Jesus in heaven and it gives me more resolve to run a good race. We have been far from perfect during this trial, which is all the more reason that we are thankful that our Father is our advocate and strength.

God bless you all. Pictures of our departure are coming soon!

All Systems Go!

Jillian is now eating on her own and has passed all the requirements necessary to go home!

She has been taken off all monitors and is now rooming in with Mommy. Daddy comes to visit in the evenings after home schooling the children and working on preparations for Jillian's homecoming. Nani is staying with the children and helping with the remodeling, evening activities, and overnight stays when Dad is away. In light of all of the new developments in our lives we will be staying in our home a bit longer until life settles down a bit.

Jillian passed her car seat test with flying colors, is nursing and taking a bottle on her own, has not lost any weight over the last couple of days since rooming in, and has not had any medical issues. I would not be suprised if we were released tomorrow, March 12, 2009!

We're Getting Closer ...

We're beginning to make a bit of progress! It is still difficult to tell when Jillian will be coming home, but we have just started a "trial" by which Jillian is taking her feedings by mouth (PO) only.

I would like to say triumphantly that the tube has been removed, but this is more of an experiment to see how she'll do without the tube feedings. We started this experiment on Sunday, March 8th (yesterday). We're praying that Jillian's doctor will allow us to go home and work on this on our own.

I do have some really exciting news! She has successfully nursed about 3 times for over 20 minutes each time! Successful nursing is AWESOME news and is very encouraging. So far Jillian has only done this when she is wide awake, but we're praying that these increase in frequency. The picture I provided is indicative of Jillian's sleepy disposition, even when she's eating.

Jennifer and I stayed in the hospital overnight and attempted to nurse and bottle feed Jillian. The order is to now feed her whatever she wants whenever she wants it. The first night was a little rough as this is a rather sudden change for her. Please pray that she acclimates quickly to the new exclusive PO feedings and we have favor with the doctors to go home.

I'll try to update the blog daily in light of this new development. I have been focusing on our family and preparing our home for Jillian's return. Jennifer and Jillian will most likely spend the first week out of the hospital with her parents and then transition to our home.

We're getting closer! We are so blessed to have so many of you that are faithfully praying. Pray that Jillian becomes a more awake eater and that we are released soon.

God bless you all!

James