peace & praise

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4: 4-7

This is our blog; written with truth and honesty; I cannot apologize for any of my feelings; I am human and like everyone else, I have good days and bad ones; I am VERY grateful for Coy; I am very aware of how blessed we are; I am aware that Coy's life is a miracle; I was there when the doctors told us he would not be born alive and this was "for the best" at 23 weeks gestation. I use this blog as a tool to communicate Coy's journey, but with that comes our healing and hardships, emotions, and thoughts; it is honest, regardless if you feel my feelings are right, wrong, or indifferent. My heart ACHES for those who cannot have children, for those who have lost a child/grandchild; I have NO idea of the heartache you have felt; I can not even begin to imagine what you have been through; I can only pray for God's peace to fill your spirit & comfort your soul. However, I do know what it is like having a child in intensive care for 9 weeks ongoing; I can speak for those who have had a child on the brink of life or death, each day passed a VICTORY, each new day to come a BATTLE. I am very thankful, very grateful for these past 9 weeks, but there is a greiving process that comes with the rollarcoaster ride as well; no one wants to see their child ill, on life support, to stand by each day and feel so helpless; my heart soars with each good day and it trembles in fear with the bad ones; Coy has had a string of exceptionally wonderful days, however we are no where near "out of the woods." He has a long way to go; we have a long way to go; and like everyone knows, in this life, there are no guarantees.

So, Coy had another AWESOME day! I was very excited to get to the hospital to find his oxygen on 28%! Each day, his oxygen requirement has slowly been decreased (he was btw 25-40% today)....his nurse said he was at 25% for 1 full hour! (we breathe 21% O2 which is room air...) They decided to wean down his albuterol treatments to every 6 hours; later this week they will start weaning the CPAP...(he is on a CPAP of 8, we need to get to 4)...Please continue to pray for Coy's lungs to be strengthened and matured each new day; pray for his oxygen requirement to be minimal!

His feedings have been going well...he is tolerating all of them! 23 cc every 3 hours! He was very cute today; I know I say this everyday, but he LOVES his pacifier; he chomps on it while his milk is going into his tummy...this to me is a good sign! Babies don't receive the "suck, swallow, breathe" reflex until about 34-35 wks in utero, so many preemies have issues with bottle feeds...as soon as Coy is on the nasal cannula (after the CPAP is weaned), we can try bottle feeds/ breastfeeds...please pray that once we can start, Coy will take the bottle...pray for him to continue to tolerate his feedings...

Coy will have another eye exam this Wednesday by the famous Dr. Hittner; please continue to pray against ROP; pray for his vision to be complete & perfect!

Again, we are so grateful for all the love, support, care, and concern over Coy, Chris, & I. Thank you for uplifting us in prayer; for sharing your stories, heartaches, and encouraging words. I cannot even begin to express our gratitude.