Newborn Pictures, by Magan Randall

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Lawson's One Month Old!

Wow, this has been the most wonderful month of our life (also the quickest!) Lawson has finally met all of his grandparents, uncles, and aunts. We're not even close to meeting all his cousins- but there's plenty of time! Lawson has not been feeling well for the past week or so. He has been put on a prescription for his acid reflux and for an eye infection. He seems to be getting more alert everyday and is changing so fast. At almost 5 weeks old, he has finally hit the 8 pound mark! Yay, he's a growin' boy! Here are a few pictures of his busy month!!

Uncle Jordy (Aunt Nikki showed up after I put my camera up)

Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Amanda

Aunt Lyndsey and Cousin Camden (they are going to be the best of friends!)

Uncle Mark

My Grandma Joy

Adam's grandparents, Ray and Betty

Nanny and PaPaw

Lawson's fist walk- he LOVES to be pushed in his stroller!

Play time with all three of my boys!

Our little pumpkin! 

Our precious blessing!

3 Weeks old tomorrow!

Wow, the past three weeks have been a whirlwind, I've not had much time to blog.  Here's a super quick update, hopefully I will have more in a day or so!
We went to the pediatrician again yesterday and Lawson is back to his birth weight, yay!!  The pediatrician keeps assuring Adam and I that everything is great- but after such a rocky start, we seem to worry about everything! 
Here is a picture from Lawson's newborn photo shoot, we can't wait to get all the proofs!!

...And then there were three!

We finally made it home- thank you God! Yesterday was a big day for my little familly, we are so grateful to be home together! We would like to thank everyone for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. They have meant more to us than you can imagine. Please continue to pray that Lawson will get stronger everyday and that God will give us the wisdom we need to care for him. Here are a few pictures of our first trip home together!

It's No Suprise to God

I got an email from one of my dear friends Shanna this week.  I must admit that I have read it, cried, and prayed about it about a thousand times this week.  It really has put things in perspective for me and has helped me deal with this entire unexpected ordeal.  This definitely caught Adam and I off guard- but I am so glad that there are no surprises to God and that he knows the beginning from the end.  Thanks Shanna for the reminder of God's amazing love and his desire for us to be victorious!  Below is the email that she sent.  I hope it can touch someone else like it has touched me and my family this week.

"But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph…"

2 Corinthians 2:14, AMP

In life, we all have to deal with the unexpected. Just because we're believers, just because we're good people or doing the right thing doesn't make us exempt from trouble. The scripture says, "The rain falls on the just and the unjust." In times when something unexpected happens, or you find yourself facing a crisis, you don't have to go into "panic mode" or fall apart emotionally. Remember, that crisis is no surprise to God. It may be unexpected to you, but God knows the end from the beginning. He has solutions to problems that you haven't even had. He has equipped you for every battle, and He goes before you making your crooked places straight.

Today, focus on the fact that He is with you. Remember that He is walking with you and guiding you to a place of peace and victory. No matter what has happened, He will take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it around for your good! He always leads us in victory, so keep moving forward trusting in the good plan He has for you!
Our Prayer for Lawson:
Heavenly Father, I come to You with an open and humble heart. I thank You for the victory that You have in store for our family even when I can't see it. I choose to trust You and Your goodness knowing that You are faithful.
In Jesus' Name. Amen

Lawson's One Week Old!

Been having a some good days!  Fist of all, there are no IV's or catheters in this baby at all!!!  The only thing going into him is his feeding tube.  Also, Lawson's head ultrasound came back today and everything looks perfect.  The doctor said they do these ultrasounds on all babies but that he did not see any reason to do one for Lawson- but b/c it was standard he ordered it anyways.  It's such a relief to know that everything looks great.  I've put everything in God's hands- but I must admit that I've only slept 3 hours since they ordered the scan.  This faith thing can be a bit of a challenge for me at times.  Lawson spent a few days in clothes and swaddled up, but those dang jaundice numbers crept back up and they put him back on his light therapy yesterday afternoon.  His numbers were better this morning, but we decided that it would be best to leave him under his lights all day today and tonight and hopefully he'll come off of them on Friday morning.  The doctor thinks that he will have less of a chance of rebounding back up if we keep them on longer.  We agreed, but it was hard to do because after getting a taste of wearing clothes and being all snuggled up- he really doesn't like laying under his "tanning" lights in just his diaper. 

Feedings also seem to be getting better.  Lawson is eating 54 mL at each feeding (60mL is 2 oz.) so he is almost eating 16 oz. a day!  He's breastfeeding and bottlefeeding (breastmilk), and we are having to use the feeding tube less and less.  We'll keep the tube in for a few more days until he starts eating 62mL's at a feeding and we make sure the tolerates his feedings by digesting them.  I'm sure you don't need to see anymore pictures, but too bad.  We're in love so here are a few from his 2AM feeding last night.  Never mind a sleep deprived mommy and daddy- but look at that precious boy!

Right before they took that silly IV out- poor little boy looked like he had a transformer arm...

Tons of blond hair- Adam was concerned they got Lawson mixed up with another baby, but I have to keep reminding him that we saw him come out - he's really ours (even though he looks nothing like us, lol!)

Be still my heart, I couldn't love anything more!!

This was our first family picture- It's 3AM here and Daddy and Mommy have only slept about 30 hours for the entire week and Mommy's swelling has not gone away yet, but I would not trade this picture for anything.  My little family is complete!

Day 5 Update

Well Lawson made a lot of progress yesterday and he held his ground for the most part today.  We were told that his IV could come out Wednesday or Thursday.  That would be huge!  His jaundice levels rose a little today but not enough to put him back on light therapy.  The doctor did say that those levels usually peak on the 5th day of life, so hopefully they will go down again tomorrow so we don't have to worry about him going back on the lights.  Lawson is having a couple of issues with reflux.  This is not anything the doctors are really worried about at this time, but it is something that Lawson will have to overcome.  Today I was able to breastfeed him again and he took his full feeding from me this morning.  He's really a great breast feeder but it's much harder to breastfeed than bottle feed so he slept through his afternoon feeding and it had to be put through his feeding tube.  This was hard for us, especially after he had been making so much progress.  We were hoping that it was just a fluke, but he did the same thing with his next feeding.  He has bottle fed twice since then and finished all 1.5 ounces each time and burped on his own.  We're having to remind ourselves that he is still very premature and that progress is good- even if it is slow or even if we take a step backwards every now and then.  Please continue to pray that Lawson will be able to tolerate his feedings and get stronger everyday!