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!