Having Tyce Home

Sorry it's been so long since I lasted posted about Tyce... Where to begin??? There's so much to cover - I'll try to be brief. Well after going out to see him initially, we were able to arrange for someone from our family to be with him in Columbus for most of his stay in the NICU. Between the two of us and our parents, we were collectively able to fly out to visit him about 6 or 7 times. Praise God for providing the means and the time to do that! And thank you to our friends who generously donated their Southwest frequent flyer miles to us -- we couldn't have done it without you! It was pretty amazing to see how much our boy had grown every time we went out to see him. A couple weeks after we went out to meet him for the first time, the doctor called to tell me that Tyce had pulled the oxygen cannula out of his nose during the night without the nurses noticing and had done just fine without it. His oxygen saturation had stayed up in the 90's where it needed to be all night long, so the doctor decided to give him a trial run without the oxygen... and, guess what?? He never needed it again! It was pretty amazing to everyone (including the staff at the hospital) that he was off of oxygen completely at 29 weeks gestation -- a full 2 months before he was even supposed to be born! He continued to grow and gain weight, and I was even able to give him his first bottle. He was 33 weeks, and I asked if we could try bottle feeding, even though I knew it was a little early. The doctor gave me the go-ahead, although he was pessimistic and told me not to expect him to take it, as they usually don't even try to bottle feed a preemie until they are 35 weeks. In true Tyce fashion, he beat all odds and chugged his very first bottle!! Finally, after what seemed like forever, we were able to bring him home on Valentine's Day, a full month before his due date. What a special day that was. Gabi was beyond thrilled to finally meet her baby brother.

Since then, we've been trucking along and getting used to life with two kids. Tyce has done amazingly well, and Gabi can't get enough of her brother. That being said, it definitely hasn't been easy. Although Tyce had very few "preemie issues," he still requires extra time and care. As is common with most preemies, his muscles and joints are a little bit stiff, so we have an occupational therapist come to the house twice a month to work with him and show me stretches and massage techniques to help him loosen up. Also, he has had appointments with the ophthalmologist every 2 weeks since we brought him home to make sure his mild retinopathy of prematurity is resolving. Praise God that he had his last appointment a few days ago, and the doctor said that his eyes are healing beautifully and that he expects him to develop good vision and have no future complications from it. It's been pretty obvious that God has had His hand on Tyce and caused his body to heal and develop wonderfully!

For those of you who aren't on Facebook and don't get to see pictures or hear about how Tyce is doing now, let me tell you a little bit about him. His corrected age is almost 2 months old, and he pretty much acts just like a normal 2 month old. He is very content when he is awake and just likes to look around. It's amazing how well he focuses on our faces and how he studies new people. He recently started smiling and cooing at us, which has been incredibly exciting and rewarding. He has rolled over from his tummy to his back a handful of times and can sit for a few minutes in the Bumbo seat by himself. I'm guessing he weighs about 10 or 11 pounds now and is slowing chunking up. Can't wait to see how his little personality continues to develop!

Lastly, as for the puzzle, it has been completed! I just need to glue it and write everyone's names on the back, and I promise to post a picture when I'm done. It's pretty cool how PERFECTLY God provided the funds for this adoption. The combination of our personal savings, the adoption tax credit, and the puzzle donations covered the adoption costs exactly - no more, no less. What an amazing provider our God is! A huge THANK YOU to all who donated money for our adoption. Most importantly, we are immensely thankful for all of your prayers for us and for Tyce. God blessed us through each of you, and we are forever grateful!