Happy Valentine's Day

Graham weighed 13lbs 11oz today at the pediatrician's office when we went in for his RVS shot. We go the cardiologist on Monday. Here are a few recent pics.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Riding big boy style in the stroller (without the carseat).

Rolling around on the play mat... so close to rolling over.

4 Months Old!

Graham is 4 months old. My how time flies! He had his 4 month doctor's appointment today. He weighs 13lbs 2 oz and is in the 25th percentile for height and weight. The doctors are very pleased with his weight gain. Graham's eating and sleeping schedule did not mesh well with his 3:00pm appointment time and so he arrived at the doctor's tired and hungry. Oops. He fussed during the whole check-up and so I was so distracted I forgot to ask any of the questions I went with. He got 2 shots and was inconsolable afterwards. He was screaming so hard he wouldn't even eat. Poor baby. I stayed in the doctor's office for at least 45 minutes after the we saw the doctor. I eventually got Graham calmed down and then fed him and then we headed out. I haven't heard him scream like that since right before he had to be intubated because he couldn't breathe in the hospital.

So what to document about 4 months old... Graham is talking and laughing all the time and we just love it! He enjoys being on his play mat and hates being put on his tummy. He is on the verge of rolling over from back to tummy. He loves staring at any light. He loves putting his hands in his mouth. His head is still a little wobbly and he mostly grabs things only by accident. He still wants to eat about every 2 hours. He eats, stays awake about an hour before getting fussy and going down (with a fight) for a one hour nap.

He is still waking to eat once during the night (between 10pm and 6am medicine and feeding times). The doctor says he may not be able to eat enough in one feeding (before tiring out due to his heart condition) to sleep much longer. This may be possible but he doesn't seem to get too tired while eating. I know lots of parents do "sleep training" where they let their babies "cry it out" but I am wary of doing this, not wanting Graham to have trouble breathing when he cries too hard for too long. Maybe one day he will sleep through the night! We can work on it more after his surgery. Being in the hospital for at least a week will ruin any schedule he is on anyway.

Here are Graham's 4 month pictures and one sweet picture with his daddy.

Aint no virus gonna hold me down

Well, Graham has some kind of virus. He slept all day Sunday and yesterday he was fussy and didn't want to eat and started grunting with every breath. By mid-afternoon I was concerned enough to call the pediatrician and we got in at 4:50pm! He had a fever of 100.9. The pediatrician gave him some tylenol and said that if we made it through the night without going to the emergency room to come back to see him first thing in the morning. Praise the Lord Graham ate through the night, his breathing is normal, and the fever is down. I am just monitoring him closely and will go back to the pediatrician as needed. We are hoping it is just a mild cold (not RSV or anything more serious) and that he will recover quickly with no complications.

Stones of Remembrance

We discussed stones of remembrance at church last week. Several times in the Old Testament the Israelites set up stones to remember what God had done for them. They do this after God parts the Jordan for Israel to cross over.

Joshua 4:23-24
He said to the sons of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the Lord your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”

It is so important to remember the things the Lord has done because that will increase our faith and enable us to trust that the Lord will be faithful in the future. As I think about Graham's heart, I have hope that the Lord will heal him completely, either miraculously or through surgery. I look forward to giving God glory for this for years to come and I pray that one day Graham will understand what the Lord has done for him and choose to follow the Lord. Of course Graham will have an enormous scar on his chest as a reminder, but I would love to have an actual stone of remembrance for Graham's healing to ensure that our family and anyone who enters our home will know that "the hand of the Lord is mighty" and will "fear the Lord forever." You can order actual engraved stones online. Perhaps we will do that. Or perhaps we will find another creative way to create a stone of remembrance. Thinking on this gives me great hope as I look forward to Graham's healing!

Another Good Report

We went back to the cardiologist today and he was quite surprised at how well Graham is still doing. His blood oxygen level was still at 99/100%! He weighs 12.5 lbs. The doc did another echo and everything looked good. We don't have to go back until February 18. We are so thankful for how well Graham is doing, allowing us to continue to push back surgery. The doc said he can only attribute this to the ballon catheterization that he did before thanksgiving. But we know it is because of all the prayers for Graham. Thank you for your continued prayers!

First NCSU Game and Laughing Video

We took Graham to his first NCSU basketball game last night. He did great! He slept through almost the whole thing, stirring for an instant whenever the crowd erupted because of a bad referee call or a great offensive play. Here are a few pics from the game.

And here is a video of Graham laughing. He only laughs like this for daddy. Notice Jet going crazy in the background. He doesn't want to miss a good time.

 

Christmas and Pictures

We had a great time visiting family for 7 nights for Christmas celebrations. Matt and I came home with colds and pinkeye, but so far Graham has remained healthy. Praise the Lord! Here are a few recent pictures.

 

Christmas at the Laneys'

 

 Graham loves his glow worm! He smiles and coos at it instead of falling asleep... but at least he isn't crying!

 3 months old

First walk with the baby carrier.

snowman toboggan