Christmas at the Hogar Betania - Dec. 22

I have been wanting to post these photos of our Christmas service at the Hogar Betania de Ancianos (Bethany Home for the Elderly) on December 22. This was right before Nathan was born (can you tell from the photo that I was about to pop!?!) and needless to say, life got crazy and I never had the opportunity to post these photos.

It turned out that only Santi and I were available to do the Christmas service for the residents as all our other regular volunteers were out of town. So we had invited the Weeks family (missionaries with HCJB) to come and join us for the service - mostly because Brent & Shelly are very musically talented and let's just say Santi and I don't really sing too well!

The Weeks graciously agreed to help us out along with their three boys. We had so much fun singing Christmas songs in Spanish - THANKS TO BRENT AND SHELLY for planning some wonderful music.

And Santi organized the story of the Three Trees (maybe you have heard it before - the three trees who wanted to do something special in "life" and ended up being the manger, the boat and the cross). It turned out to be perfect for the Week's three boys to help out and represent the three trees.

We also want to THANK our dear friend, retired missionary, Karen Pedersen, who left the story of the Three Trees with us in Quito several months ago when her and her husband moved to TX. We were looking through files for pictures of the manger, boat and cross, when I came across the entire story and flannel cut-outs that she had left with me! PERFECT!

The residents were very attentive throughout the story (it probably helped that there were three boys helping out providing additional entertainment).

And they also enjoyed the gifts we were able to give them at the end of the service - they each received a blanket (these had been donated throughout the year from VBS children from the US), a bag of candy (they probably didn't really need candy as their teeth are mostly gone!), and somehow in the throes of the final days of pregnancy, I managed to make sugar cookies for them!

I have mentioned before that we have been looking for practical ways to help out the elderly at the Hogar Betania. We have been receiving a donation of $150 per month from the English-speaking church here in Quito. With that money, we have been trying to cover the cost of some medicines that the 40 residents need - they just don't have any way to pay for these medicines on their own. Sometimes it's something as simple as some tylenol to help ease the pain of arthritis. And other times, it's something as complicated as heart medicine which is very necessary. What amazes us is that rarely do the residents complain of their aches and pains.

Another thing that we have been able to do in recent months is hire a young lady, Miriam, to go to the Hogar twice a month to do pedicures and manicures. She has special training in working with feet and toe-nails and also has a great smile and personality to cheer the residents as she works on their hands and feet! I can't tell you what this simple act does to help the residents feel better (and the ladies love showing us their newly-painted fingernails when we go on Sunday). And it definitely helps with their health - I probably shouldn't describe to you what sort of condition their feet and toes were in before she started going out there!

And of course, there is more that we'd like to do, but lately, the $150 that we receive each month from the church is not covering all the requests for medicines and to be able to pay Miriam to go out there twice a month to do the pedicures and manicures. I normally would not use this blog to raise funds, but perhaps there is someone out there who would like to help with these needs at the Hogar? We would be thrilled to have you be a part of the ministry to these dear people in this way if God leads you to do so.

If you are interested in helping, please feel free to email me directly at: rarteaga@extremeresponse.org. AND/OR if you'd like to send some funds to help with the needs at the Hogar, you can send your tax-deductible donation to:

EXTREME RESPONSE INTERNATIONAL
PO Box 345
Snellville, GA 30078

PLEASE INCLUDE A NOTE THAT THE DONATION IS FOR THE HOGAR BETANIA PROGRAM. We will use any funds received to help the residents at the Hogar, through purchasing medicines for them, continuing to provide pedicures and manicures, and doing special things for them from time to time.

Thanks for reading all about the Hogar Betania - these residents are very dear to us! Please pray for the Hogar Volunteer Team as we seek ways to continue to help them!

Bath Time

Nathan loves his bath time and it always puts him in a good mood (not that he's ever in a bad mood). Today he was all smiley after his bath and I had his oxygen tube out of his nose so that I could put a new one in, so I thought I'd snap some photos!

Daddy Time

Nathan and I have been enjoying having daddy home this weekend. There's nothing like laying around in daddy's arms. Daddy even gave Nathan one of his feedings today so that I could get out for a much needed haircut and color (gotta cover those gray hairs that are popping out everywhere!) and do some grocery shopping. THANKS, DADDY!

One Month Old Today

Our baby Nathan is one month old today! Hard to believe. In some ways, it seems as if he has been with us forever and we could never imagine our lives without him. In other ways, it seems like this month has flown by. I guess considering all that has happened this past month (the time in the hospital, Nathan's surgery and recovery and all the doctor's appointments), that would make sense.

We are so much enjoying giving Nathan all the love and care in the world. . . okay, to be honest, I probably don't enjoy the 2 a.m. feedings that much! But we can't complain as Nathan is basically sleeping through the night except for waking at 2 am to eat. During this month, we can already see that he has a sweet personality. Of course, if you wait too long to feed him after his nap, he does get a little angry (like that red-faced screaming kind of angry), but I guess we all get kind of upset when we're hungry, right? So I can't really blame him.

I think I mentioned that at Nathan's one-month checkup this week, he weighed in at 9 lbs. 8 oz. Which means he's gained 2 lbs since his birth on Christmas Day. He also has grown 2 cm, so he is now at 54 cm. I can't remember how to convert that to inches, but I'm guessing it's something like 21 inches.

Some day soon, I will get back to blogging about other events and happenings here in Ecuador with HCJB and Extreme Response. In the meantime, since Nathan is still on oxygen, I'm spending most of my time inside our home so I guess my perspective these days is kind of limited. I basically go out for doctor's appointments (and try to run as many errands as I can while we're out) and that's about it.

This Sunday, Santi will be preaching at the nursing home, Hogar Betania. Pray for him as he will be preparing a message for the 40 + residents at the Hogar. So often, it is difficult to think of something that would encourage them as they lead lonely, difficult lives without much joy. Pray that God would give Santi the words that would be an encouragement to these dear elderly residents.

Doctor's Visit and Good News

Nathan with his doctors - Dr. Javier Jijon and Dr. Fernando Aguinaga




Nathan had a good day at the doctor's this morning. He behaved himself quite well, except for when he wet all over the exam table! We had just weighed him and I was just about to put a new diaper on him when he decided to do his thing! Oh well! The doctor said that it was probably because he remembered that the last time he was there, he had received a shot!

The good news is that the x-ray we took last week showed great improvement in Nathan's left lung. We could see how the lung had grown into the empty space in the chest cavity - with just a little bit of space showing now. And the doctor said that if you didn't know that Nathan had had surgery, you'd hardly be able to tell it from the x-ray. So we were thrilled to hear this good news about Nathan's lung and how it's growing and developing.

Nathan had also gained more weight - at his last visit two weeks ago he weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. Now he weighs 9 lbs. 8 oz. Everyone (mostly Ecuadorians who are used to small babies) comment on how big he is! Lately he has been waking up almost every two hours to eat so it doesn't surprise me that he has gained weight.

We still have Nathan on oxgyen - the doctor wants us to continue for two more weeks. Nathan's oxygen level in his blood still wasn't quite where it should be, but he was much improved from two weeks ago when we had him on the monitor. And we seriously have the oxygen tank on such a low level that we can barely tell if it's on or not. So hopefully in these next two weeks, we hope to see yet more improvement.

And once again, the doctor is amazed at how well Nathan is doing - considering that he was born with CDH. He was glad to hear that Nathan's hearing test went well. And just so happy to see how well he's doing. We reminded him that many people are praying.

We go in for another monitoring of Nathan's oxygen levels in two weeks. Nathan will also have another monthly vaccine called Synagis. This is a very expensive vaccine that is normally given to premature babies to protect them from respiratory infections. They are giving this to Nathan to prevent him from getting a respiratory infection. It is especially important at this time as this is cold and virus season here in Quito and also of course, due to Nathan's condition. He has already had one vaccine this month (at $861 for one vial - next month he may need two vials depending on his weight!) and will need to have three more shots according to the doctor. Thankfully our insurance has agreed to pay for 80% of the cost of the vaccines.

I'm including a photo of Nathan that we took today with his doctors (and a couple of other photos I took here at home). Dr. Javier Jijon is holding him and the other doctor who has taken good care of Nathan is Dr. Fernando Aguinaga. We are just praising God that He led us to Dr. Jijon as not only is he a great pediatrician but he also specializes in neonatal intensive care which was just what Nathan needed when he was born. He also is the brother of my OB/GYN doctor and both have studied medicine in the US.

Thanks for all your prayers!

Grandma Emma

Santi's mom, Emma, came to visit for a couple of days this weekend. So Nathan finally had a chance to meet his paternal grandma. She lives in a town called Tulcan, located about 4 hours from Quito on the Columbian border. She was here visiting for the holidays when Nathan was born but because he was in NICU, she didn't get to see him or hold him. So this weekend was her opportunity and she had a great time spoiling him.

Busy Days

We have had a few busy days with the visit of my best friend, Julie, from the US. We were thrilled to have her here - even if it was for just 3 days. She was a great help with Nathan and we had a wonderful time together.

We were able to get out of the house for a little bit - including a visit to her favorite restaurant here in Quito - Crepes & Waffles. And we also were able to go to an outdoor souvenir market where we were able to do some shopping. We thank Santi for staying at home with Nathan and taking care of him so that we could go out for a bit.

Santi starts back at his work in the computer department at HCJB tomorrow. We have both enjoyed our time together with Nathan at home that I think we're a little sad that he will be gone tomorrow!

On Tuesday, we have our appointment with the pediatrician at 11 am. We're anxious to hear about the results of the x-ray of Nathan's chest and also to see if we can take Nathan off of the oxygen. He's getting so that he grabs the tubing quite often and gets it out of his nose so we have to keep an eye on it.

Thanks for praying for Santi's test a couple of weeks ago - we finally found out the results a couple of days ago - he tested out of two levels and will be entering the 3rd level of classes when he begins in February. So he's excited about that! We appreciate your prayers and interest.

We trust that those of you living up north are staying warm! It seems like there is lots of cold weather going on up there! Especially for those poor Green Bay Packers who lost tonight! We admit that we were a bit disappointed for them.

Good News - Nathan's Hearing Test

We took Nathan to the hearing place this morning for his hearing test. As I mentioned earlier, we were a little worried about his hearing as hearing loss can be a part of CDH and also it seems like he pretty much ignores noises of any kind. He can be sleeping in our room the TV can be going and we can be talking or the phone can ring and he doesn't wake up! I guess that's to our advantage, but at any rate, we were curious as to how the hearing test would turn out today.

We were all glad that Nathan was sound asleep for the test - he barely noticed the apparatus that they put in his hear to measure his hearing!

And we are glad to inform you that his hearing is fine! The doctor said that it would be good to do another test when he's one year old. But that all is fine for now!

Once again, we are grateful! Is it possible to be continually and increasingly amazed at God's grace, mercy and love towards us!?!?! That's how we feel right now! Thanks to all of you who were praying . . . and to sign off - here's another photo of our little guy! As you can see, he's already addicted to his pacifier!

quick note

Somehow these days at home with Nathan are passing by quickly! I'm not sure that I could tell you exactly what I've been doing with my time, but most of my time revolves around feeding Nathan every 2 - 3 hours and trying to catch a nap myself when he naps or trying to keep up with things at home while he's napping! I'm finding that I'm becoming an expert in sterilizing bottles and filling them with sterilized water and then getting them ready for the next feeding and using the bottle warmer, etc. etc. (Nathan is still doing breast milk as well as formula - which will soon make him a chubby baby!).

Santi has been home during this time as well. His boss at HCJB graciously gave him time off the rest of this week. It's been wonderful to be home together and take care of Nathan together. We have had to leave the house a couple of times for appointments for Nathan and there's no way I could take Nathan out by myself. Between his car seat, his diaper bag, and the oxygen tank, it's quite a handful just to get out the door.

Yesterday, we took Nathan in for an x-ray of his chest. The hope is that the x-ray will show improvement and growth in Nathan's left lung that was not fully developed due to the CDH. We won't know the results until our appt with his pediatrician on Tuesday, Jan. 22.

Then tomorrow, we have to take Nathan in for a hearing test. The doctor told us that he sends all newborns for a hearing test. Of course, we're hoping that all is well with Nathan's hearing. I guess with Nathan being born with CDH, he is also susceptible to other developmental issues. So far, none have been encountered, which we continue to believe is a miracle from God. And hopefully, his hearing will be fine tomorrow when he is tested.

I mention this as I finally got brave and looked up CDH (Congenital Diaphramatic Hernia) on the internet last night to try understand a little more about CDH (and hearing loss can be typical of CDH babies). Once again, I was completely amazed at God's protection, love, and mercy to us when it comes to Nathan's case. The scenarios for a typical CDH baby are so much worse than Nathan's situation. So many abnormalities that are typical in CDH babies just haven't been found in Nathan (if you want to know more details, feel free to Google CDH and you'll see what I'm talking about).

What can we say to this except that we are so grateful for all of your prayers that have helped us through the situation so far and that yes, THIS IS A MIRACLE!

Anyways - we still have tests, doctor visits and exams ahead of us. But we know that God has brought us this far and He certainly isn't going to abandon us anytime soon. He is our refuge and strength!

Several of you have asked how Santi did on his exam that he had to take a week ago Saturday. He wants to thank you for praying. Our little outing today was to stop by the University to check the results which were supposed to be posted. However, the results were not posted and Santi couldn't find anyone who could give him the results. That is very typical of the University here - so we weren't terribly surprised. But we were disappointed to not be able to find out how he did. So I guess he'll go back early next week to see if the results have been posted. We will let you know as soon as we know!

I guess this note is not as quick as I intended. But it does give an update of the past few days! Thanks for checking our blog and tuning into our lives! We appreciate all of you!

More Nathan Photos

Like most new parents, we can't resist sharing photos of our son! He seems to be growing daily! We have enjoyed a nice quiet weekend at home, catching up on sleep and life in general.

Tomorrow, we need to take Nathan in for an x-ray of his chest. We are hoping that we will see improvements with his left lung. We won't know the results though until our next appt with the pediatrician on Jan. 22.

We thank you all for praying and asking about Nathan and his progress. He's such a joy to have at home! Also, thanks to many of you who mentioned that you are praying for my Aunt Elva. We appreciate your prayers.

My Aunt Elva needs prayer

Please pray for my Aunt Elva. . . . she is pictured on the left in this photo taken back in April of 2006 along with her friend and companion Aunt June. She turned 90 years old this year and just found out that she has ovarian cancer and that it apparently has spread to other organs. Aunt Elva is the last of my mom's living sisters (my mom has some brothers who are still living). As a family, we are all concerned for Aunt Elva and are in prayer that God would give her grace and strength for the days ahead. She is one incredible woman who has done more in her lifetime than most of us could imagine. We'd appreciate your prayers for her. She will be having more tests and doctors appt in the days to come.

Thanks for praying!

My husband

helping store milk in the NICU

lighting sparklers on New Year's Eve

I think I have mentioned that I can't say enough wonderful things about my husband these days. He has been a great help ever since Nathan was born. It was he who first received the news of Nathan's hernia while I was in post c-section recovery. He spent the first four hours with Nathan and the doctors as they tried to stabilize Nathan and figure out a plan of action. I admire his strength to be able to have done that. I'm not sure I would have been able to do so.

And from there, Santi hasn't stopped. While I was in the hospital, he helped me in so many ways. He gave me back massages. He brought me snacks and special things from home to eat to keep my appetite up. He cut my toenails for me (my long toe-nails were driving me nuts but I couldn't reach them). He made many trips back and forth from the hospital to our home to bring various items. He ran other errands. He accompanied me on my trips to NICU to pump milk and kept me company during the long 20 minutes of pumping. He helped store the pumped milk in the freezer, writing out the labels for me and putting the milk in the syringes for storage. He made sure my laptop was working properly in the hospital so that I could keep up with the blog and emails. He stayed at night at the hospital on an uncomfortable sofa bed in my room so that I wouldn't be alone and then helped me get up numerous times in the night. And he helped dry many tears.

And now that we're home, he hasn't stopped - he prepares and warms the baby bottles that we feed Nathan every three hours. He helps give Nathan various drops (drops for gas, vitamins and children's tylenol). He burps and changes Nathan. He runs up and down the stairs for me (we live in a four-level house), so that I don't have to do so much climbing. He washes the dishes. He bathes Nathan. He runs errands. He brings the meals that various ladies have graciously made for us. He massages my back. He keeps me smiling!

I could continue the list and probably many of these things are what any new father and husband would normally do. I guess I just wanted to thank him and brag about him a bit - for all his help during these past two weeks and for his eternal patience with me.

Above are a couple of photos of Santiago. One is from when we 'were in the hospital and he was helping store the milk. And the other photo is from New Year's Eve - he brought me sparklers so that we could celebrate New Year's Eve out on the patio of my room in the hospital! Thankfully, we didn't get in trouble for lighting sparklers and it did bring a memorial moment for ringing in 2008!

I couldn't resist posting these photos of Nathan taken today. I guess I have to brag on my son just a bit. Hard to believe that he's two weeks old already!

First Doctor's Visit -

Nathan Ready To Leave for the Doctor's Office


Nathan at the Doctor's Office


Today Nathan is two weeks old and we had our appointment with Dr. Jijon - Nathan's pediatrician. We just love Dr. Jijon as he is so patient and loving and kind and is so good about taking time to talk to us about Nathan's condition and how he's progressing. I think in all, we were at his office for almost two hours (that includes a feeding time for Nathan and also some time on the monitor to see how his oxygen levels were).

Nathan is progressing very well. He now weighs 8 lbs. 4 oz. and is right on target on the growth chart. We are going to continue with things as they have been, including doing breast feeding along with the formula. Nathan is also still on oxygen. We were a little disappointed in this as it would be so nice to get the tube out of his nose. However, obviously we want Nathan to be breathing well and have the right amount of oxygen in his blood. The doctor wasn't concerned about the fact that Nathan still needs oxygen. He did mention a couple of times that it's mostly because of the fact that we are at over 9,000 ft. altitude that Nathan still needs oxygen.

So we'll see what the doctor says in two more weeks when we have our next appt. Once again, the doctor was amazed at Nathan's progress and mentioned the "luck" that we have had in Nathan's case! Of course, we all know that the God has been working in Nathan's life and using the situation for His glory and honor!

Thanks again for praying - many of you have mentioned that you were praying for the appt. today. We really appreciate it.

Backtracking to Christmas Eve

We have often chuckled over the past couple of weeks about how we ended up going to the hospital on Christmas Eve! Santi's mom was visiting from out of town and we had decided to drive around downtown Quito and go out for a nice lunch.

And we hadn't made any other major plans for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day since we didn't know exactly when Nathan would arrive and we didn't want to inconvenience any dinner guests should Nathan show up on the scene!

So for Christmas Eve, we planned to have a quiet evening at home with Santi's mom and I had planned a small turkey with some yummy cheesy potatoes! (if you want the recipe, let me know - they are DELICIOUS!).

Well, we got back from downtown and I told Santi and Emma that I just had to lay down for a nap but that I was going to put the turkey and potatoes in the oven first so that they would be sure to be done for eating later in the evening.

So around 5 pm, we all laid down for a snooze! I woke up around 6:30 pm, needing to head to the bathroom. I tried to get back in bed and realized that maybe I needed to go to the bathroom again! That's when I realized that my water had broke! And then it was moments of confusion and excitement while I woke up Santi and we tried to figure out what we needed to do first!

Of course, I hadn't packed my suitcase yet (those of you who know me well and my tendency to procrastinate probably aren't surprised) so I needed to figure that out and we also thought we should call the doctor.

But the main question on my mind was "What am I going to do with the turkey!?!?!?" Thankfully it was a small turkey and was close to being done by the time things calmed down. So in the midst of trying to get my suitcase packed and things ready to go to the hospital, Santi and his mom took care of the turkey and cheesy potatoes and wouldn't you know it, they were all just perfect for eating right when we were ready to head to the hospital!

So we had our Christmas Eve dinner, standing in the kitchen around the turkey while Santi carved it. I nibbled just a bit on it, but thankfully Santi and his mom were able to truly enjoy it (albeit standing up) and we still have a container in the freezer with turkey! I guess I should pull it out one of these days so that we can sit down and enjoy our Christmas turkey!

Home Sweet Home

It's been a wonderful couple of days at home! We are definitely understanding the meaning of "Home Sweet Home". It feels good to just relax and take it easy and take care of Nathan. He's doing excellent! We're finding out what a sweet, good-natured baby he really is in spite of all the tubes, wires, poking and prodding he experienced in the hospital. And we're enjoying taking naps whenever Nathan is sleeping . . . we're finally feeling somewhat rested and relaxed!

Nathan has done well with staying pretty much on the same schedule that he had at the hospital - eating about every three hours and sleeping in between feedings . . . so we can't complain as the time between feedings give us a chance to catch up on sleep, meals, household duties and get his formula ready for the next feeding.

We're still doing feedings with breast milk and formula, which seems to be working out well. It is nice because it gives Santi an opportunity to help with feedings as he's great about getting Nathan's bottles ready while I'm breast feeding and from time to time Santi even feeds Nathan his bottle. So it's been a good experience for us both to be involved in Nathan's feedings.

Nathan is still connected to oxygen - mostly when he's sleeping. The doctor told us that we could take him off of the oxygen while feeding, bathing or just holding him. So we have been doing that and so far, Nathan seems fine. It will be so nice when the tube finally comes out of his nose though.

And of course, everyone asks how Nathan is sleeping at night. Basically, he gets up at 12, 3 and 6 to eat and get his diaper changed. Otherwise, he sleeps. . . . well, "like a baby!"

The only "strange" things we have noticed is that he gets hiccups A LOT! We think it's from the surgery on his diaphragm. . . . definitely a question for the doctor on Tuesday. And that Nathan's stomach gurgles a lot while he's eating. We're not sure if these are normal things for a newborn or unique to Nathan's situation and his surgery. But we'll certainly ask the doctor on Tuesday.

Otherwise, we are so grateful to say that all has gone well since coming home. Santi has been an incredible help to me! It's awesome to have his help here at home and I really can't say enough wonderful things about him.

And for those of you who prayed for Santi's exam on Sat morning, he thinks he did well. However, we won't know the results until next week. THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!

And another THANKS to a number of ladies from the missionary community here in Quito who are providing a meal-a-day for us this coming week. What a blessing! THANK YOU so much, ladies! And we're grateful for many of our friends and fellow-workers here in Quito who have called and checked on us and have offered to help in any way! You guys are all awesome!

And we're looking forward to the doctor's appt on Tuesday morning at 11:00!

We hope you all had a great weekend as well! Until next time . . .

Ruth & Santi & Nathan

Photos of Nathan Going Home!

Okay - for some reason, these are the only two photos I have of Nathan going home. The photos crack me up! First, because he totally doesn't have on what we thought we'd put on him to go home - we had a sweater for him that Santi's mom had picked out as well as a cute hat and blanket from my brother's family. It was such a cute idea until Santi informed me that it was blazing hot outside and that he would be way too hot with all those clothes on. So we had to go with plan B for the clothes.

And then the expression on his face cracks us up as well! He obviously is wondering what on earth we are doing with him! But he's in his car seat and ready to go! We were impressed that Dr. Jijon doesn't allow any of the babies to go home until they are in a car seat. For those of you who have been here to Ecuador - you know that you often see babies in cars without any car seats (sitting sometimes even on the lap of the driver or the front passenger). Sometimes you even see them on motorcycles (in their mom's arms of course). Anyways - that's just a side note I guess.

And then lastly, we couldn't resist taking a photo of some of the nurses and aides who have been taking care of Nathan since his birth on Dec. 25! They did such a wonderful job of watching over our little one. We appreciate them! And many of the others who aren't pictured in the photo.

Well, I must go - just wanted to get these photos out to you. Nathan is asleep again in his crib - we can tell that he's trying to figure out his new environment. Hopefully soon it will feel like home to him!

NATHAN IS HOME!!!

We are so pleased to share that we brought Nathan home this afternoon! He actually got released in the morning, but there was quite a bit of paperwork and important information to take care of before we could leave the hospital (that alone is a whole other post)!

At this moment, the little fella' is sound asleep in his crib in his room having just been fed and is doing quite well. I'm enjoying listening to his little baby noises on the monitor while he sleeps!

One of the necessary details we had to do before he could come home was rent an oxygen tank for him. He still has a very minimal need for oxygen - in fact, it's practically turned off and he's using just the little bit of oxygen that is escaping from the tank.

The doctor said that if we lived at sea level (which we don't - we live at 9,300 ft. altitude in the Andes Mts.), he wouldn't need oxygen, but the altitude does make a difference, so he will be on minimal oxygen for a while. We're not sure for how long. We have the equipment rented for 10 days so far.

The doctor said that we can disconnect him from the oxygen when we give him baths, feed him, change him, etc. The main time that he needs oxygen is while he is sleeping, which is easy enough. By now, Nathan is so used to tubes, cables, monitors, etc. That a little oxgyen thing in his noise is not that big of a deal.

We have an appt. with the doctor on Tuesday to see how Nathan is progressing. They will check the saturation of oxygen in his blood among other things. Pray for us as it will probably be the first time we take him out again. The doctor said it'd be best not to take him out for a week or so (which is just fine as things a quite bulky with his infant seat and then wheeling around an oxygen tank at the same time!).

We can't describe to you how fun it was to drive home with him today!!!!! And it's just awesome to have him here in the peace and quietmess of home.

You may have been wondering why we haven't posted in a couple of days. On Weds morning when we met with the doctor and he said that Nathan was progressing wonderfully. So he asked us to plan to spend 24 hours with Nathan in one of the hospital rooms. We were not expecting this at all, but of course, we were glad to do it (we had just taken all our overnight stuff home and unpacked it thinking we wouldn't need it again! HA - little did we know!).

So they installed us in a room (yep - I had just left the hospital the day before so going back wasn't my idea of fun, but that's okay), getting Nathan all hooked up to the oxygen, etc. This would also be the first time that I would be breastfeeding Nathan on a consistent, every 3 hour basis. The nurses from the NICU would be checking on us from time to time.

So we spent our first night with Nathan in a hospital room. It went well all things considering. Santi was a big help - in fact, he's an expert now at burping Nathan.

When the doctor came yesterday around noon to our room, to see how things were going, he told us that all was well, except for the fact that Nathan was losing weight rather than gaining. So he told us that he'd like us to stay another 24 hours and get Nathan's weight up. To do that, I was to breast feed Nathan and then supplement it with formula. So we did that for the next 24 hours!

This morning when we took Nathan down to the NICU for his bath, they informed us that Nathan had gained weight in the past 24 hours and that we were headed home! So after being cooped up in the hospital room for 48 hours, it's so nice to be home now and getting settled in. I feel like I've been gone forever.

And there were a few things to scramble to get once we knew we were going home - things like renting the oxygen tanks (one standard and one portable), getting bottles and sterilizers, etc. Since I had planned on nursing from the beginning we hadn't gotten any before now. As I type this, Santi is out getting a few more things that we realized we needed because of Nathan's condition (not that his condition is bad - just that there are some unexpected things).

Speaking of Santi - I can't say enough nice things about my husband! He has been WONDERFUL during all this time. I can't describe to you how patient, loving and kind he has been and he has always been ready to run errands and take care of all the other stuff going on so that Nathan and I could be in relative peace there at the hospital. He's also been a rock for me during my down moments and whenever I'd just burst into tears . . . . I have post already kind of written out about him to just list all the special things he has done for me and the baby this week. I'll try to do that at some point when I have time!

And speaking of Santi (again) - please pray for him! He has an important exam to take at one of the universities here in Quito tomorrow. He just went to register for the exam (barely making it) and will be taking the exam at 9:00 am tomorrow morning. I can't believe he's still doing it and will have the presence of mind to even take the exam (personally my mind is mush right now), but he's going to go ahead with him. Pray that God will give him clarity of thought and that it will turn out well for him.

Please praise God with us that our little Nathan is now at home with us! And pray for us as we all settle down to being a family.

I will post some photos asap!

Quick Update

We never cease to be amazed at how quickly Nathan is progressing - it seems as if you would never know that he had a serious condition and surgery a week ago tomorrow! God is truly doing amazing things and is working in our lives! Thank you again for being a part of this journey with us.

Ruth was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon and at the same time the pediatrician asked her to plan to start nursing Nathan at his 9:00 pm feeding! For some reason, no one told differently and I guess we just assumed, that we needed to be there every three hours for his feedings, including during the night (especially since my reserves of milk that I had been pumping were all gone). So we scrambled around and figured out sleeping arrangements closer to the hospital (we live approx 20 - 30 minutes away from the hospital) and made a plan for the next 48 hours.

Well, we got to the hospital last night and started the 9:00 pm feeding - Nathan took to breast feeding like an expert! It wasn't even difficult and actually was fun! I guess I probably say that because it was a relief after using a breast pump for so many days! Both mom and baby did just fine and he only needed a little bit of supplement to keep him going for the next couple of hours until the next feeding time! I know there were lots of praying that the breast feeding would go well. And it did!!! PTL!!!

So we were getting ready to leave and we said to the nurse "See you a midnight!" and she just looked at us horrified! And we said, "What?" She said there's no way I should be getting up in the middle of the night to come out and breast feed Nathan and I said well, what else can I do there's no more milk in the fridge! And she said, no problem she'll just give him formula! DUH! I guess I didn't really think of that. I would have preferred him not to have formula, but for a couple of feedings it wasn't going to be a problem!

So . . . the exciting part of all that was that we went home and got a relatively good night of sleep! It felt wonderful to be home again and sleep in our own bed with no nurses coming in in the middle of the night to check vitals, etc. . . . . what a blessing!

So we were back at it at 6:00 am this morning . . . . Nathan ate like a pro again and this time, he didn't need any additional formula to fill him up - so that's good news. They also took out his IV line last night, so that was basically the last thing he had connected to him. He still has the oxygen monitor/sensor thing on his foot, but that's minor compared to all the cables and wires, and tubes he had on last week!

We hope to be able to see his pediatrician today before noon to get a report and figure out where things are! We'll do our best to update you as soon as possible. We have Nathan's car seat and diaper bag in the car all ready to go for the moment the Dr. says we can take him home!!

Again, we couldn't be making it through all of this without your help! Thank you for your love, kindness and concern to us these days! We are so grateful!!!

Miracles!

We just met with Nathan's attending pediatrician (we have had to be patient these days with the holidays and Dr. Jijón has been on vacation for a couple of days but of course, he left our child in good hands).

Dr. Jijón was just over-joyed by the progress Nathan has made in the last day or two and how quickly he is progressing! So quickly that they are now giving Nathan two more "large feedings" (like 2 oz.) and by the third feeding tonight (9 pm), I'll be breast-feeding him! Isn't that exciting!?!?! Pray that my milk production will highly increase in order to satisfy his large appetite! (the doctor explained to me that due the c-section and the stress of the situation and the fact that I haven't been able to breast-feed it's way normal that my production would be low! ) He told me to drink water and more water! I feel like I'm drowning!

AND . . . .

The next exciting part is that he no longer has any tube connected to his nose. The oxygen they took out yesterday and he has done fine and just now they took out the tube that was connected into his stomach to suck out gases, etc. So he's off of two more tubes.

AND . . . .

We helped the nurse put him in a regular "cuna" (or little crib) rather than being in the incubator! So he's now longer in the incubator! Isn't that exciting news too!

AND . . .

before we put him in his crib, we also got to put clothes on him! So now he's all dressed up like a cute little baby (which of course he is!).

AND . . . (THIS IS MY FAVORITE ONE!)
if all goes well with breast-feeding, his oxygen levels, etc. NATHAN WILL GET TO GO HOME IN 48 HOURS!!! Needless to say we are thrilled beyond words!!!

We're sorry we didn't get any pictures of him in clothes and in his new crib. We don't always take the camera down with us and we certainly didn't expect all these changes when we went down there at noon today! but don't worry we will get pictures!

AGAIN, THIS IS A MIRACLE IN THE WORKS! Of which all of you have been a part of! Thank you so much.

The doctor indicated to us various times that most babies in this situation do not respond this well and so rapidly - we think he's amazed at how God is working in Nathan's life and our lives as well. It's hard to believe that just a week ago Nathan was born and to think about all that he has been through this week and yet he's still good-natured, calm and sweet and has caught the hearts of all the nurses and doctors attending him. I actually think they spoil him a little more than the rest of the babies there in the NICU! But maybe that's just a new mother speaking!

In Good Hands

I couldn't resist taking these photos today while Santi was holding Nathan in the NICU. Nathan continues to improve. Now, he tends to get mad because he is still hungry after his feeding and it takes him a while to calm down. The doctor is increasing the amounts he can eat at a time as quickly as he can, but it still doesn't seem to be enough to satisfy him! I'm afraid we're going to run out of the pumped milk we've been saving up before I can start breastfeeding him! It looks like today that I will be released from the hospital and will also start breastfeeding him! So two big steps today! Pray as we adjust to a new schedule and figuring out how to work out trips back and forth to the hospital.

It's been very convenient and helpful to be here at the hospital. However, we will need to work with things with the insurance company as we found out on day 7 here at the hospital via email that they had precertified 4 days for me here in the hospital (seems kind of late to be notifying me of this after the fact). So we'll have to work that little detail out. The doctors were very hesistant to release me in light of the stress and everything going up and me needing to be close to the baby while still recovering from the c-section, plus they were concerned about what looked like an infection that I might had so they were keeping close eye on me (I'm fine now!).

The holidays have also complicated things a bit with doctors and schedules. It's 11:00 am here in Quito right now and we're still waiting for the doctor to come and release me. Plus it's time to go down and see Nathan and do a feeding and pumping.

But like everything else, we know that God will work it all out in His time. It's just up to us to be patient and trust!