4 months old!!!

It's hard to believe that four months ago we were in the operating room, awaiting the arrival of Jacob Elliot Tuley. These past 4 months have been filled with many different emotions. Today (and most days really), we're filled with awe and wonder at our God and the Love that he gave us through Jacob. What a blessing. Jacob is a gift from God and we'll always be grateful for the miracle of Life that he is!

Jacob is amazed with his hands these days. He looks at them like they are the most intriguing things ever!

Here's a picture of three generations of JETs. This was the first time that Dad Tuley was able to hold Jacob, and hadn't seen him since after his second surgery. Needless to say, he was enamored.

Thanks to our friend Ryan and her family, Jacob has an activity mat...he LOVES it. He is reaching and grabbing all the animals hanging from the top. He especially loves looking at himself in the mirror...

Thank you for the continued prayers. Many of you continue to keep praying for Jacob, for health, for growth of right lung, for development, etc. We are humbled every day by the many many lives that have been touched through Jacob and by the numbers of people that tell us how they have followed his journey. May God always be glorified for the work that was done in Jacob's life.

Routine

Update on Jacob:

He's doing really good at home. We have finally found a routine that works for him. He wakes each morning around 6:30 needing a diaper change, and then sleeps again until 8. He wakes up and we play for around an hour. He eats at 9, and goes down for a small nap around 10. That nap only lasts around 30-40 minutes. He's up and ready to play some more by about 10:45. Then he eats again at 12, and by 12:30, he's down for a nice LONG nap. Sometimes he sleeps until 2:30 or 3:00. WOW. We're loving that! Then he eats again, and plays for the rest of the evening. Sometimes we give him a bath before bedtime, which is about 8:30 or 9. He sleeps almost through the night, which is so nice. We hesitate to even write this because Jacob never follows rules (he makes his own), but hopefully this routine will stick.

We have a visit tomorrow (Wednesday) with Tennessee Early Intervention to see what kind of services Jacob will need to get him caught up with his development. He's getting stronger and stronger each day. Pray that it goes well.

Here's some pictures of the past few days. Enjoy!

Jeff, Jackson, and Jacob ready for our first walk together...Jackson was so excited he was twirling around and around.

Jacob fell asleep after the walk. Aparently he didn't seem to mind the great outdoors.

Jacob and Julie after the walk. Also, did you notice the yard in the background? Thank you to the SonSeekers class at church for coordinating care for our yard while we were in the hospital. It looks GREAT!

Jacob has discovered his hands more and more. When he doesn't have a pacifier, you'll see him putting his whole hand in his mouth. It's cute, and so is the outfit...

I had to get a picture of this...Jacob and Jackson together. Aww...

Jeff and Jacob trying out the infant carrier.

May you be blessed today!

Our first week at home!

Many of you are asking for another post...here you go!

Our first night was rough, only because WE didn't really sleep AT ALL! Jacob slept fine, in fact, he loves sleeping at home. I think it's the first time we have seen him rest so peacefully. However, we have been waking up with every sound, every smack of the lips, every sneeze, cough, etc. Occasionally we have checked to make sure he was still breathing. People say that this is totally normal when you bring a baby home. Because we spent so much time at the hospital with Jacob on the monitors, we have found ourselves wondering at times what his heart rate is, or what his saturation is. For so long Jacob was "sick" and we were so cautious when doing normal things with him like holding him and interacting with him. But, being away from the monitors at the hospital has given us such a freedom. Now, we get to do all those things and not have "numbers." We can just be parents loving on our son!

We had our first visit to our pediatrician today, and Jacob weighs 12 pounds 4 ounces! YAY! He is gaining weight! He is a little more than 26 inches long. So, for his height, he is in the 95th percentile...but his weight...its closer to the 10th percentile. We need to chub up!

Please continue to pray for Jacob. It has been amazing to share our prayer requests and see them being answered one right after the other. We need to get better and better with feeds and gain more and more weight. Also, because we were in the hospital for so long (101 days) Jacob has some catching up to do in his development. Pray that we can make leaps and bounds in the next few months.

Here's some pictures. Enjoy!

This is how Jacob always sleeps...both arms up above his head.

I promise, he does more than just sleep.

In Dad's arms, just before bath time!

In Mom's arms, just after a bath. :)Jackson is VERY curious about Jacob. He loves to sniff him anywhere we'll let him. He's being a good big brother!

Thanks to Gramma Tuley for coming and helping us during the first week. We couldn't have done it without her! As you can see, she's having a great time too!

Like Father, Like Son...

Jacob in his swing (yes he's on top of the table...we didn't keep him there for long)

Jacob practicing sitting like a big boy in his Bumbo seat. He's working really hard to keep his head up...

...and this would be Jacob getting tired of having to hold his head up... Don't worry, we rescued him very soon after taking the picture.

The staff at Cole gave us a beautiful baby shower, hosted by the 4th grade team (thanks ladies). It was outside in the gazebo at school. After 7 years at Cole, it was such a blessing to be able to share this journey with them. Thank you for the shower...and also for your prayers and support. They mean more to us than you'll ever know.

May you be blessed today!

Our favorite four letter word...HOME

There are many four letter words in our language that have deep meaning; love, hope, or life come to mind quickly. But for us, HOME has become our favorite four letter word. Today, we were able to bring our son Jacob home. That's right, home. It felt so surreal as we were sitting in the hospital room this afternoon waiting to be discharged. The room was filled with laughter and tears as the nurses and doctors all came by to visit Jacob and wish him well. We were snapping pictures left and right, grinning from ear to ear, as we held our son totally free from all wires and monitors. We prayed with our primary nurse just before it was time to walk out the doors of our NICU room, and we praised God for how far He brought Jacob. We walked down the hallway toward the doors to exit the hospital, with Jacob in our arms, and tears filled our eyes and joy filled our hearts.

We are so blessed. Great is our God!

Jacob was not supposed to be here...he was not supposed to be able to breathe...he was not supposed to come home from the hospital. For months we looked at an empty room in our house with such pain and agony. We trained ourselves to look away from the empty walls each day as we passed by the room. It was a room that was never supposed to be filled. We felt as though our family would have to live incomplete without Jacob. Today, for the first time, we are a complete family. Today, not only is that room filled with all things Jacob, but our home and hearts are filled with an overwhelming sense of...

We are so blessed. Great is our God!


Here are some pictures of our glorious day. May you be blessed by what you see and hear and may God be the one to receive Glory for how He has worked through many people to bring Jacob home with us.

The Empty Room

Jacob's room, ready for his arrival!

Jeff, Jacob, and Julie sporting our Vanderbilt attire to leave the hospital. If we weren't Vandy fans before, we are now!

Isn't he the cutest!

Yes...we know...the shoes are too big!

Leaving our room...

Walking out of the hospital...

We're free!!!

Jacob's first car ride!

We're so happy!

Our complete family...thank you for the prayers!

Now that we are home, please help us to stick to Doctors' orders...we can only have family visitors at this time. As much as we want you all to see Jacob, the doctors have asked us to protect him from public places and visitors for at least 6 weeks. We are not allowed to have Jacob around other children for a while, since they usually carry alot of germs. Also, once we are in public, please don't be offended if we do not let you touch or hold him. Jacob is still VERY susceptible to illness, and his lungs are still developing. If he gets sick, it would likely be more serious than the average child.

Thank you again for the continued prayers for Jacob. We are forever grateful.