Joshua Ryan's Journey Cont....

Hey- long time I know!! Things have been crazy lately :) Sorry!!
Joshua is doing AMAZING!! The Dr.s and nurses are truly amazed at how well he is doing and how fast he is doing it!! He is completly off the oxygen and feeding tube, and doing all his feeds by bottle! He is up to 35ml which is 1oz + 1tsp of formula, and weighs 6lbs 3oz now! They are taking him completly off IV's today and moving him to 40/45ml. When he gets to 50ml and pooping on his own(which he isn't doing right now) he will be able to go home!! So, people I need you to pray that he will be able to have a big poop before the dr. sees him again today :) Thank you so much for all your prayers and for carrying us all the way through this!! We truly feel blessed, and could not have done it without your prayers!! THANK YOU!

Well here are some pictures of the cutest baby EVERY :)

Gavyn was shaving in the waiting room! We do pretty much live up there :)

Joshua Ryan's Journey Cont....

Well Wednesday was a big day for us! It was Michael and I's 4th wedding anniversiary and we spent it at the hospital with our 2nd son who had heart surgery that day :( He is doing a little better every day, but still has a long way to come- if you want the details, msg me your email address and I will put you on my email update list- I just don't have the time nor the energy to write email updates and myspace updates! Sorry for all of those who only use myspace :(
Thursday was Thanksgiving and I am very Thankful for a lot of things, but it was still was a pretty sad day for me just because I wanted my son with us, instead of being stuck in a hosp. bed all by himself :( It made me really sad and hard to keep my focus on the family and loved one's that were around me. I just feel like I am not complete anymore without Joshua~ and I just feel empty when I am not around him :( WE just HOPE and PRAY that he will be with us for Christmas, or I don't know what I will do :(
I did go with my syblings to see "August Rush"- EXCELLENT MOVIE!!! I would see it 10 more times! :) I loved it so much!! I hadn't seen a movie in like 6 months, so I forgot how fun it was! Now I want to go everyday :) I think I will make Michael take me to see "Enchanted" for a late Anniversiary date, since we didn't get one on Wednesday!
Then yesterday was an interesting and fun day!! We had a nice dinner with some friends, and tried to play matchmaker- so far it seems to be working!!! :)
Speaking of Matchmaker- my sister Micah and I got into a conversation at the hosp. on Wed. about the T.V. sow the Bachelor- and she actually got to meet the guy in Austin and some of the girls from the show... Her good friend is best friends with this guy and apparently they have mutual ex-girlfriends! He said that 'Brad' aka 'The Bachelor' only did this show for publicity for his bar/resturant business... so there you go for all you Bachelor Fans- he was a fake and a phony and I think DeAnna does deserve better!!! :)
Today we spent most of the day at the hospital like everyday, but then tonight we put up my parents Christmas Tree and that was some family fun!
This will be Gavyn's 3rd Christmas and Emily & Joshua's 1st- werid huh? I am so excited about the holidays but I don't think I will be able to find time to get any shopping done- it is just too hard to get anything done when you are living at the hosp. Then again if he was home I don't think I would be getting out anyway :) Guess we will just have to celebrate it with an empty tree- that is ok though, becuase it isn't about that anyway, right?! I know I love the presents too! I am sure I will get some Christmas presents under the tree... :)
OK I better get some sleep tomorrow is church and then I have to super clean my house before Mike's family come into town on Tuesday! If anyone wants to take my 2 year old for a field trip on Monday, just let me know- I just have a small application you might have to fill out :)
Good Nite- Sweet Dreams!!

Joshua's Journey Cont....

The Neo-natologist came in to see Joshua yesterday and wasn't happy at all about his heavy breathing. He and the Cardiologist have decided that Joshua needs to undergo a 3rd surgery. Which is scheduled for tomorrow at 12pm. If you think about it, please keep him in your prayers- he needs all the prayer he can get.

They see signs of an open valve that is causing too much blood flow to the heart. This valve called PDA for short should have naturally closed on it's own once Joshua's lungs took over for the breathing; however, it did not and with it open like that it has caused Mild Heart Failure and could only get worse over time.

Joshua will be on the breathing machine and HEAVY pain medicine before he goes into surgery. Poor baby, he has gone through so much already and now this... :( The Dr. said that because of the degree of enlargement of Joshua's heart, he might get worse before he gets better and that he will be very sick for a few days after his surgery. BUT we know the Ultimate Surgeon will be with him and that His Ways are Higher than Ours!! Right!! Please be in agreement with us as we walk through this with our son, Joshua.

If the surgery works and this is what was causing the heavy breathing, then the Dr.'s think that when he recovers from surgery he will be able to get off the oxygen completely, and will nipple feed better since he won't be working so hard to breath.

Also, Joshua took a whole OZ of milk in a bottle for me yesterday! The nurse said that is very rare that the mom can actually get the baby to drink the whole bottle in his 1st feeding like that- So, I kept the bottle for a special memory and I marked the date on it :) So Sweet!!! He now weighs 5lbs 9oz (he lost 1 oz yesterday) and is 18 1/2 in. long!! He is getting so big and looks so healthy!! Of course, now he will be back on the tubes so you might see some more "Tube Pictures" but I can't stop taking pictures of him and showing him off- he is just So ADORABLE to us! We Can't wait to have him home with us and love on him!

Thank you all for your prayers! Your Love and Support mean the World to us!
Thank you sincerely from the bottom of our hearts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love,
Mike, Selah, Gavyn, & Joshua

Joshua's Journey Cont....

Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Finally were a Family!


Yesterday I got the greatest news EVER!!! The Social Worker from the hospital called and said that all the paper work the mom had signed last Thurs. was sent to their attorney and everything has gone through perfectly!! Which means Michael and I are now the managing conservators of Joshua- WE ARE THE PARENTS!!!!
She said that we can now bring our family and friends into see Joshua, and that I can start kangaroo and working with a breastfeeding consultant there at the hospital. We are the ones that make all the medical decisions for Joshua now, and the surgeons now can talk to Michael and I!!! Joshua will be discharged from the hospital to US!!!! Yay!!!!
This was all so very exciting and I was able to tell my mom that she could FINALLY go see Joshua!
So, I took my mom up there last night first and she got to hold him and video tape me giving him a bath for the 1st time- boy this kid has curly hair when it is wet!
Then, Michael brought Gavyn up there and he got to meet his baby brother for the 1st time!!! It was the MOST PRECIOUS thing you could have imagined!! Gavyn was so careful and tender with Joshua and was SO excited to see him he couldn't stop smiling!! He kept kissing his hand(totally on his own) because he was scared to kiss his head!! So, he just held his hand and kept giving him LOTS of kisses!! At one point, Joshua was stretching and Gavyn said, "Oh, Hi Five!" and touched his hand! He thought Joshua was reaching to give him a Hi Five!- It was so CUTE!! He said over, and over again "Love you baby Joshua- your my brother!"- He screamed when we took him away :( It was sad! He kept screaming, "baby Joshua!"- It broke my heart, but then he settled down as soon as we got to the waiting room. He is going to be SUCH A GREAT BIG BROTHER!!
Then, I took all my sisters and Brandon in one at a time- they all loved Joshua and thought he was SO BEAUTIFUL, which HE IS!

Joshua is still dong AMAZING, and is now is a crib!!! Yay!!! He is now getting 7ml of formula every feeding, I think they have to get up to 10ml before they can start on the bottle. He weighed 5lbs 2oz last night! The bottle is the last thing we are waiting for before we can take him home :) I pray that he will be ready before Thanksgiving, but if not that is ok too. We just want him to be very healthy! The surgeon, Dr. Vaughne told us last night that Joshua is a MIRACLE. So to be on the safe side Joshua qualifies for ECI(sp?), which means that when we take him home we will have 5 specialist and a nurse come out to the house once a month(each one a different week) for awhile, so if anything did happen they can catch it fast! I absolutely love this because it makes me feel more safe that Joshua is being watched closely! So Praise the Lord for that!!!

Thank you all for your prayers!! They are amazing and have carried all of us through this whole process- you really have No IDEA! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
We love you all and ask that you just continue praying that his intestines will keep digesting and he will be able to get on the bottle this week!

Blessings,
Mike, Selah, Gavyn, & Baby Joshua

Joshua's Journey

Friday, November 09, 2007
Greetings Family & Friends!!

I hope everyone is enjoying getting ready for the holidays!! We are; we have Gavyn's 2nd birthday and Joshua's baby shower this weekend and then Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here in NO TIME! Exciting times!!! There is a small chance we will be able to bring Joshua home before Thanksgiving, but if not, defiantly by Christmas!!! SO EXCITING!!!!!

A quick update on everything-
Joshua is doing excellent! Dr.'s are still very happy with his progress. He has been on formula feeds through a feeding tube since Monday and doing GREAT! He is weighing 4lbs 5oz now and is off of oxygen and all IV's!! PTL!! The dr. said he will probably remove the drain coming from his belly today or tomorrow! So, everything is going just as we want it to- we just need him to keep doing well on the feeds so he can come home!!!
The adoption is in process as we are waiting for our attorney's to tie some loose ends before we can go to court. We had our Home Study on Monday evening and that went SO GOOD and was easier than we thought- I think we passed with "flying colors!" Thanks to Mackenzie & Reggie Scott and my mom who have been SO GREAT watching Gavyn for us!!
The Birth Mom met with the attorney's yesterday and signed all the "Relinquishment Forms," which terminates her rights as the parent, and we now have temporary custody of Joshua until we go to court. YAY!!!
Michael & I are trying to get both of the boys rooms done before we can bring Joshua home. I was making all the baby bedding and decorating Joshua's room, and we could tell Gavyn was getting a little jealous, so we decided to re-decorate Gavyn's room as well(which was LONG overdue) for his birthday/& Christmas. I will have pictures coming soon!!!
It has been extremely busy around here, but Gavyn is doing great with it all and being very sweet about it all! The other day my mom & I were shopping for fabric, I had left him with her while I went to grab something and she said he started saying, "Mama where are you??" when she asked him where I was he said, "she's at the hospital."- He is SO smart and really understands that when I am not around I am probably at the hospital with Joshua. He already loves Joshua so MUCH and prays for him everyday! Even when someone else is praying he will remind them to pray for Joshua- SO CUTE!! I can't wait until Joshua comes home to see how Gavyn reacts to him, I think they will be best buds!