Picture Day and More Good News

We had family pictures yesterday and it was WONDERFUL to have our whole family together. (Unfortunately we don't have any of the pictures yet, these pics are not from picture day.) They took us to the parent room, its a place where families preparing to leave the NICU spend the night with their medically fragile child so they are prepared for real life when they go home.

The NICU graciously let us all in. Luckily we didn't have any sudden coughing spells or have to wipe our noses while we walked by the front desk.

When we took Jonah into the room, we took off all his monitors and the oxygen and it was just us and him. We watched our sweet kids each take a turn holding Jonah and loving on him. Jonah was completely aware of what was happening. He responded by opening his eyes and moving them all around. He moved his hands up to his face and kicked his legs. He loved all the attention. My favorite was watching Jaya holding him. In the beginning she was a little unsure and uncomfortable, but by the end she was beginning to understand that this is 'her' baby. She rubbed his head and gave him kisses.

Tai Nui has been telling me for YEARS that he needs a brother! And watching him hold his brother and the love he has for him was priceless. Losing his brothers has affected him deeply. I can see a special brother bond already forming and it makes me happy to see.

Sydney was so sweet, careful to hold his head up properly to protect his airway. She wanted the most turns of anyone.

Tahlia was a bit emotional and didn't want to give Jonah back. Mariah, ever the responsible girl, held him close and snuggled him. She also helped everyone else get settled with Jonah's head properly supported.

Rob admitted to getting a little teary-eyed watching our kids with their brother. It was a sweet experience for all of us.

So one of the things that we've been praying for with Jonah is that we will find the JOY and see the little miracles that undeniably follow these special little spirits. When we got the news that our family would be able to come to the NICU for pictures, I knew that it was one small miracle for our family, a tender mercy from a loving Heavenly Father. And we definately felt the joy. We are so grateful. And we will have the first time our kids met their brother forever captured through pictures! (We should be getting our pictures back sometime next week, we will be sure to share:)

Now the other good news: Barring any catastrophies in the next few hours, Jonah is coming home tomorrow. He will have a fair amount of medical equipment. An oxgen tank, a feeding pump, and an oxygen saturation monitor compete with alarms. But he is coming home. I mentioned before about how stressed I was watching him getting his feeds. And he did reflux while I was holding him. BUT! Then he spit up, coughed, and swallowed! All we can compare him to is Jacob and Josiah, and they never did any of those things. Jonah appears to have lots more basic reflexes than they did and he is certainly more physically capable with all his movements. So he is coming home with an NG tube (tube that runs through his nose to his stomach) and he takes his feeds over an hour so it won't overwhelm his belly. Its going to work.

We just want to thank all of our friends and family and neighbors for all your love and kindness. We feel extremely blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people. We love you all!