Memorial Day

Today, Grady is wearing his camo's. This is to honor all the military men and women, thank their families and Grady's Pa, his Uncle Brian, his great grandfathers and his great, great grandfathers. How could you not love and appreciate this little soldier? I know, I know, it is really hunting, but this boy is not hunting just yet. So, we will say, this is for Memorial Day. Besides, I just wanted to show you how cute he is, just in case you forgot or something. Mommy gave Grady a bath today and she chose this for Grady to wear.

Talk soon,

JoJo

Who you Callin' Crabby

As you can see, our little Grady is getting bigger. He weighs 6 lbs and 1 oz. He should, Grady is getting 55 mls each feeding. The nurses have moved his feedings up to just over 30 minutes. They are working to get him ready for bottle feeding. Grady's nurse told Mom and I that this little man works his paci. That is a very good step to getting him to accept the bottle. Grady has also grown 1/2 an inch. He now stands at 16 3/4 inches long. Most of his preemie clothes are getting too small, so Mommy has moved him up to the newborn jammies. They are a little long, but now Grady has room to wiggle.

Last night, Grady's nurse told us how he kicks when you try to change him. So, guess what! Sure enough, when Mommy was changing his diaper, Grady tried to boot her away. Silly boy. Does he not know, Mommy knows best? Guess he has a few more things to learn. It is so wonderful to see Grady responding to loving touches. Mommy was nibbling on his toes and Grady got a grin on his face that would melt your heart.

Daddy was holding our boy, in this picture. Talk about melting your heart. Before we know it, Grady will be on Daddy's heals, following him everywhere. Well, when he is not in his sisters things. Time has really gone by fast. We have another big week coming up. Please keep Grady and his parents in your prayers. The doctors have a couple things planned for him, this week.

Grady will get to meet his Uncle Brian soon. As if Grady doesn't have enough people to spoil him, now Unk is going to join in on the fun. I, personally, can't wait. To have all of my children together, is one more blessing.

Thank you never seems like enough to say to all of you. Please know how very special you are to us. Having your support and prayers means so much to our family. Knowing you are there praying for and loving my family, is one more blessing to all of us.

Talk soon,

JoJo

VIDEO of Grady

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Grady in action. Yeah. Our little man has grown. He is 5 pounds and 14 ounces. Just a couple more ounces and he will be as big as his new friend, Gavin. Welcome, Gavin. Soon, we will have little boys and girls running all over the place. How fun is that going to be?! Emma is going to be a very busy girl keeping up with all these new babies.

The white armband you see is Grady's IV. His doctors took a look at his airway, yesterday to see why he is still on the respirator. They are working hard to get this boy off that respirator. Hopefully, we will have Grady breathing on his own soon. We are all waiting for that day. Of course, then we will be able to hear his displeasure of only getting fed every three hours. This little man knows his schedule. He starts complaining about 10 to 15 minutes before eating time. It will not take him long to grow into his cute little clothes, at this rate. At last count, Grady was getting 50 ml of formula every three hours. He is getting close to 2 ounces for every meal.

As always, thank you for all your prayers and support. You give us strength and support just knowing you are there.

Talk soon,

JoJo

Grady with Mommy and Sissy

Well, here you are. Finally got a picture of Grady with his favorite girls. As you can see, our boy is getting bigger. He is getting stronger too. The roll you see in his hand, is to keep him from getting ahold of his tubing. Those little hands stay pretty busy and Grady is strong enough to pull on things. Once he gets a grip, it is hard to get those little fingers to let go. So, his nurse gave him somthing to grip. Looks like weight lifting to me. Think this child is right handed?

You must know, when Grady hears his sisters voice, he starts trying to peek up at her. She will talk to him and ask him a few questions while she is trying to get him to hold her hand. Grady's eyebrows will stretch up, he will peek out and then shut his eyes quickly. The boy is flirting with Emma. He will almost jump trying to close that eye quickly. Emma is so cute with him. She will get close to him and talk softly. It looks like she is telling him secrets. He will squirm and she will look up at Momma and smile. Too sweet. She is going to be a good helper.

Grady has healed from his procedures. He continues to grow. He was 5 lbs and 4 ounces a few days ago. His feedings are up to 50 mls and that lasts about an hour. Grady is tolerating the change in speed. The nurses have moved him up to the next size diaper. It is a little big on him, but the last size was getting too small. His occupational therapist is working to keep his hips in line. We have not seen her with him, but have watched her working with some of Grady's room mates. It looks very relaxing, so I know Grady enjoys his time with her. Who would not enjoy some massaging of your legs, while being held in someone's lap. Little leg lifts with assistance? Where do I sign up? It is very reassuring to see these professionals working with these babies. There is so much love and tenderness that you know our baby boy is getting the best care he can get from someone other than his loving family.

The doctor tried taking Grady off his respirator again. Grady did well for about 12 hours and then began to struggle some. They continued to let him try, but after about 30 hours, Grady just could not do it any longer. So, this week, they want to take a look. The doctor is thinking there has to be something keeping him from doing this on his own. I know I don't have to ask, but please keep Grady, Mommy and Daddy in your prayers this week. God willing, we will find out that he just needs some more time and growth. But, if not, Grady is in the best of care. Having all of you praying for him and cheering him on will do the trick. What a blessed little boy he is. Thank you for your love and support.

Talk soon,

JoJo

Smiles from our Little Boy

As you can see, Grady is much better. He is recouperating as he should be. There is still a little tenderness, but Grady doesn't show it. He is alert and looking around. I know this picture shows his eyes closed, but wouldn't you relax if you were getting your lunch AND getting held by your Mommy? This is too close to see, but Grady is in Suzanna's arms and I believe the smile on his face says it all. Grubbin' and lovin' is the only way to go.

Grady continues to shed the fluids that were gathering. He weighs 5 pounds and is 42 cm long. The boy has grown 1 cm this week. His breathing is coming along wonderfully. The goal is to get him to room air and he is soooo close. Grady is a tough little boy. He wants to move his head around but is restricted by the vent. Daddy picked his hoses up and zoom, Grady moved his head. Once he is free from all of these tubes, we may not be able to slow him down. I can not wait for that day.

Thank you all for the support and prayers. Grady has made such progress and you are a huge part of that. Your faith and love continue to give us strength.

Talk soon,
JoJo

No more glass

Look at this baby boy. Here, you see Grady modeling the latest version of his Preemie Jammies'. He is regulating his own body temp, so Grady has been moved to a big boy bed. He does not have to stay under plexiglass any longer. Now that he is not under the warmer, Grady gets to wear his clothes. Momma bought some clothes many weeks ago and they have been sitting in Grady's drawer just waiting for this day. We all know how fun it is to see our children in the cute little clothes they have. And, they fit him well.

We have been monitoring his recovery and I guess measurements just slipped by me. His weight has not been accurate due to the fluid retention, but the fluids are leaving him so we will have better numbers soon. He did well during his procedures. Grady slept the day after and most of the following day, too. Please pray this is all the procedures his little body will require for his recovery. What a blessing it has been to have him in one of the best NICU's he could have been in. The nursing staff and doctors are wonderful and dedicated to taking the best care they can provide, for these tiny, precious babies.

Grady had a great night last night. He was awake and looking around. He is not requiring pain meds any longer. With all the sleep he has had lately, Grady probably pulled an all nighter and kept tabs on the nurses last night instead of the other way around. He is receiving 40 ml of formula and will move to 45 ml soon. Poor little fella had to go a day and a half without him groceries. This means he is eating about 1 1/2 ounces every three hours. That should put some weight on him. At this rate, Grady will grow out of his modeling career fast. No more preemie jammies for this boy. He will be in hunting gear before we know it.

Mommy got to enjoy rubbing Grady's back. Grady was enjoying it and it he just relaxed, closed his eyes and went back to sleep. It seems he tolerates touch much better now. Maybe the clothing helps. He is so cute in his little suit. As you can see, he is still on the respirator. As he continues to recoup from all he has been through, they will monitor this. Once Grady's stats are back where they need to be, they will consider trying him on the CPAP again. But they want to give him plenty of time to get strong again, before they try this.

Knowing you are here supporting and praying for Grady, has gotten all of us through these last few days. We will never be able to express how important your support and prayers are to all of us.

Talk soon,
JoJo

Sore, Sleeping Baby

Hey all, I just wanted to let you know that Grady did have his procedures this morning. He has been through a lot, but is doing well. Mommy, Daddy and I were allowed to go in together to see him after the nurses brought him back to the NICU. It looks like he will sleep most of the day. His nurse has extra pain meds just in case Grady requires it. All your prayers are very much appreciated. We continue to pray for this to be the last of the procedures so that Grady can concentrate on getting better and growing so we can take him home. This little boy will know how blessed he is to have you in his life. All of you mean so much to us.

Thank you and God bless you and your familes as he has ours.

Talk soon,

JoJo