Devon Eating from a Bottle!

Dear Devon,

Your Aunt Nikki has been very bad about keeping your blog up and running! She's so sorry! You went home mid-December and you have been doing so well, Devon! And it's high time I catch everyone up on how well you are doing.

You indeed went home in December, after the surgery to repair the opening from your esophogus into your stomach was so successful. You had a tube insterted into your stomach so that your mom and dad could feed you and so you wouldn't have to have a tube going down nose or throat into your stomach. For the first time since you were born, you didn't have to have anything taped or attached to your precious little face.

Your mom and dad were so excited to bring you home, and they loved showing you off. You've been doing so well since you've come home, with no real set backs to mention at all! You are growing like a weed, and teething, and eating your fingers and crying when your aunt Nikki tells you over Gmail Chat that you can't eat the anymore. :) And slowly, your mom and dad were able to start feeding you orally, little bits at a time with a dropper.

But for a while you just didn't want to take a bottle because it was hard for you to know how to suck, swollow, and breathe at the same time, which is what babies have to do in order to drink from a bottle. Your mom and dad would try to get you to take some, but at first you just weren't interested.

And then, in the last week or two, you have begun taking a bottle! And now, you drink your whole feed from the bottle at once! You are going to Philadelphia in a couple of weeks and, depending on how you are doing then, they may be able to take your tube out of your stomach! Mommy is trying to figure out right now if you can burp without having to use your tube, but she's not sure yet. She's so proud of you, and so is your daddy. And so am I!

And I'm so thankful to God, who has clearly given you the strength to learn this new skill, and such an important one. You are doing so well, you are such a mircale, and your very life testifies to the goodness of God.

And, on another fun note, you are going to have a little brother!! Your mom has had a few checkups with the doctor, and the doc says your little brother looks just perfect. Your mom and dad are going to have their hands full pretty soon, but that's just more nephews for me to love and spoil!

I am going to be coming to visit you on the 20th of this month, so get ready, buddy! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures of you so I can post them for everyone who has prayed for you to see. I can't wait to see you!

I am so thankful to everyone who has prayed for you, Devon, and loved and supported your parents and me from near and far.

Love,

Your Aunt Nikki

He'll be Home for Christmas

Well, I've been crying buckets this evening as I praise God for His goodness in the progress we have seen in Devon,becuase i got the word today that

Devon is going home tomorrow!!

His surgery was such a success and he is up to full feeds in his little tummy and they are releasing him tomorrow morning at 9am. Ashley and Ron are of course exstatic and keep singing, "Tomorrow, Tomorrow!" from Annie and say they would leave right now if they could.

This has been a long road our little man has been on, and the journey continues. But the fact that,5 months and two days after he was born, Devon can finally go home with his Mommy and Daddy is such an exciting milestone that I don't know what else to say but Praise God and THANK YOU to our heavenly Father and all of you who prayed for Devon, Ashey, Ron, and all of our family. It was all I could do not to get in the car and drive down today, but I can't for various reasons and I know the Lord will work out just the right time for me to go down. He hasn't shown us anything but goodness so far, and I turst that will continue.

Ashley and Ron are heading home tomorrow in some pretty ugly weather, so we would appreciate prayers for safety. I can't believe my nephew will be home for Christmas; what an incredible blessing. I found this really cute slideshow and while it's a bit slow, it's neat to see the pictures this way, so i hope you enjoy the photos from our Thanksgiving Weekend.

Give Thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His love endures forever! -Psalm 118:1

Devon's surgery a success

For anyone reading this blog but not my other blog, please click on "Armchair Housewife' on the right to read the most recent two posts about Devon's surgery. I haen't had time to post here, but I do intend to do so soon, with new pictures included. Thanks!

Growing Boy

I just spoke with your mom today, and there's lots of good news to share with everyone who is checking in on your progress. First of all, I got to visit with you a couple of weekends ago down in Philadelphia, and here are the pictures from that wonderful day.

When I saw you, you were in a room with a window instead of the NICU, and there was just you and one other little baby in your room. There was a couch/bed next to your crib where your mom could sit and be with you, and that's where she spends most of her waking hours these days. Your mom loves you so much, Devon, and she is with you all the time. Your dad is there a lot, too, when he isn't back home working to help take care of you.

You seem to like your aunt Nikki. Or, at the very least, you didn't cry or fuss too much when I held you. And this time, we got to stay long enough that I got to hold you, and sing to you, and you even slept in my arms. Now that was a little slice of heaven for your Aunt Nikki.

So, on to the good news! First of all, you no longer have your cannula in your nose, which is a very good sign that the doctors think that your breathing is getting stronger. The doctors are also taking you off your feeds for four hours a day, two periods of two hours, and this means your mom gets to take you out of the room and take you on walks around the hospital. This is very exciting news indeed! when I was there, i got to see her put you in a stroller for the first time, and be able to walk around the room with you in her arms. How exciting! Also, now that you are off the cannula, it will be even easier for her to take you around, because she won't have to worry about having to take the tank with you wherever you go.

You're continuing to grow strong, nearing 9 lbs now. Your mom and dad heard from the surgeon just today, and they are thinking in just three weeks that they will be able to retry the surgery you need to fix your stomach and stop the acid reflux episodes from happening. This is of course very important because until you can take food into your tummy, you won't be able to go home with your mom and dad. And do they EVER want you to come home with them!

Your mom and grandma went shopping for some goodies for you today: some new clothes because you are growing, a new carrier, and a few toys. I will get to see you again before too long, when I come down to visit for Thanksgiving. I can't wait!

And, one more very exciting piece of news, Devon. You have a little brother or sister on the way! Your mom and dad are excited (and I am too!) that there will be another little Newman to love, and it looks like he or she will be born just one month shy of a year after you were born. Your mom and dad (and grandparents!) are going to have their hands full, but your Aunt Nikki just thinks the Lord wants her to have lots of nieces and nephews to love on and spoil.

You are so loved.

Your Aunt Nikki

Ibuteral Worked

Hi friends,

I spoke with my sister this morning and she informed me that the Ibuteral is working and the fluid has left Devon's lungs. This means they can take him off the medication now.

Good news indeed. Also, still no major acid reflux attacks in the past couple of weeks, praise you Jesus! The intestines are still going strong and now they're just waiting for him to grow some more. I spoke with my Aunt Sue who visited just yesterday and she said that the room he is in now has a window and he loved to look out it, that he's so alert and responsive. She also said that they told Ashley that next week they will start "unplugging" him for short periods of time so that she and Ron can walk around with him, even take him outside for a bit, which I know will be a very exciting time for Ashley and Ron.

Days until I get to see my little man again: 13!!

Growing Pains

Hey little man, you Aunt Nikki is really in full-gear missing you mode. I was so blessed to be able t be a part of the benefit that raised money for you and your parents this past weekend, but it made me miss you all the more. I can't wait until I get to see you on November 2nd. I'll be on a cruise to Bermuda the week before, and I can't imagine anything that would make getting off the boat sweeter than knowing I get to drive to see you right after. I can't wait to give you a big kiss.

I talked with you mom yesterday and you're doing very well in that you are growing, you are nearly 8 lbs now! In fact, you grew nearly a whole pound just in the 6 days your mommy was away for the benefit (which, by the way, I can tell you that was very hard on your mom. She went home because she had to be there for that benefit but she cried every day for missing her little boy)! You are such a fighter, little Devon man.

And it's a testament to God's goodness and hand on your life that you are growing so quickly, becuse that is precisely what you need to do right now, little man. The doctors say that they want to try to do surgery again to stop your acid reflux problem, but they can't do it until you grow some more. Your liver is still too big compared to your other organs, so you need to grow into it, and your lungs needs to get stronger and better developed, too. This acid reflux has been very hard on you, buddy, it's painful and it's dangerous because it's slowly eating away at your esophogus, which is not a good thing. So we're all praying for you that you will grow grow grow in the next six weeks, when they will reevaluate you and see if you're ready for surgery.

Your Grandma Laurie is down visiting you today and I know she is beside herself happy to get to put her arms around you. She has missed you so much, in all honestly probably even more than your aunt Nikki, because a grandmoter's heart is only a tiny step away from a mother's heart when it comes to love and longing, so I know how much this trip has meant to her. She's be there more if she could, but she has to work and she's too far away to just pop down. But you're always in her thoughts and prayers, as you are in mine.

They have you on ibuteral right now, which is an inhalant steroid to help your lungs grow, and they continue to feed you directly into your intestines instead of into your stomach. Thankfully you have not had any really scary reflux episdoes in about a week and a half, but there is still reflux happening, and we are praying you will be strong enough soon to allow them to correct that.

We all love you so much, Devon. Your Aunt Nikki is counting the days (16!) until she gets to see your little potato head again.

Love,

Your Aunt Nikki

Devon's Benefit

The benefit for Ashley, Ron and little Devon was held this past Sunday in Sayre, Pennsylvania. Lisa Beers and her mother Pat, who are related by marriage to Ron (Lisa is Ron's aunt) did a truly tremendous job in organizing this benefit. They canvased the county asking individuals and businesses for donations of goods, services, and volunteer time, and they had a wonderful response from so many in the community. There were something like70 gift cards donated from businesses all over the area, and on top of that hundreds of items donated for the auction, including big, beautiful gift baskets and even a brand new barbq. Hundreds of people came throughout the day, and the total raised was over $2500. We are so thankful for all that was done for Ashley and Ron. Enjoy the pictures!