Gotcha!

Nap times at the Tuley house can be pretty silly sometimes. We have been putting Jacob in his crib and letting him fall asleep/wake-up on his own. Not that we don't "LOVE" to rock him to sleep...but whenever we do rock him now, he will fall asleep and as soon as we put him in the crib he wakes up, without fail. Anyhow...when we put J down for a nap we put him on a monitor that checks his saturation levels (the amount of 02 in his blood). We attach it to his foot. He usually falls asleep pretty quickly. But, once he wakes up, J has been into kicking his feet non-stop. He has realized that if he kicks his feet enough, the sat monitor will alarm and send us scrambling into the room. We will come into the room and find his legs still and him looking up at the monitor. Ha, what a character!

Here are a few pictures of Jacob as I found him this week after he'd woken up from his naps. In the first picture he was pulling on the cord to the sat. monitor, and in the second pic he had scooted himself off the boppy completely and was so proud. (Yes we let him fall asleep in the boppy sometimes, only because we have the sat monitor and it will tell us if something goes wrong...)





Lastly, I will leave you with this picture taken of Jacob on his 7 month birthday (August 26th). Yes, he's already 7 months, WOW! He is able to roll himself up on his side...but just won't go the last little bit and roll over onto his tummy. What a stinker! But...do you see who's holding the pacifier???? :)


Our preacher did a great sermon this morning. He reminded us that in the storms of our lives that God has, and always will be, fighting through those for us. We need only to be still. This brought back so many memories, good and bad, of Jacob's fight for his life and how much we relied on God in that time. Tears came easily for me this morning as I was reminded of how Great our God was to us. May we always Praise God for what was done in Jacob!

Thanks for checking in with us. Hope you have a blessed week.

Beautiful...Something to Pray for...

The weather in Nashville was SO BEAUTIFUL today that we decided to take the "kids" outside while we washed the cars. As you can see from the pictures, they had a great time!Jacob loved feeling the breeze on his face, looking at the tree above him, and watching his toys swing as he hit them over and over. Jackson seemed to really enjoy eating the grass and watching us as we cleaned the cars.

You can see Jackson eating grass and Jacob kicking his feet.

This is Jacob's face when he hits his hanging toys. He's so proud of himself.

Cheese!


Too Cool...

Just hangin' out...

Thanks for checking in with us. Have a blessed week!

Something to pray for...We have to give Jacob two shots every day. One in the morning and one at night. When he was in the NICU he had a central line (most babies do) and because of that line, Jacob formed a clot in a major vein. We have been on Lovenox, a blood thinner, since they found the clots in the NICU and have had to continue giving these to him daily. It's not fun for Jacob (or us, since we are the ones administering the shot). We go back to the doctor on September 16th to do an ultrasound to find out if the clot is still there. If the clot is still there, then we have to continue the shots for 3 more months. If the clot is gone, then we can stop giving him the shots. PLEASE pray that Jacob's vein is CLOT FREE so that he doesn't have to continue this medication. Thanks so much!

Blessed...

So far, it's been a pretty good week for Jacob. He's learning to do lots of things! He is beginning to push his chest up with his arms, definately kicking around his legs ALOT more (which means more strength...), and starting to eat some baby food too. He's such a champ! His physical therapy sessions are going great, and each time we go, we learn more things that we can do with Jacob to help him strengthen his arms, legs, and core. I'll try to get some more pictures this week and show you what he's doing...

Some of our favorite moments this week have been when he wakes up from naps...he just smiles and makes loud screeching noises. It's so funny. He's beginning to imitate us alot more and just laughs when he does something we do.

He's growing so much! He is already 19 pounds and 28 1/2 inches tall. He is wearing size 3 diapers already, and in 9 month clothing. The 6 month stuff is just too short and tight. We've already cleared out the closet a couple of times with the clothes that he doesn't fit into anymore...sniff sniff.

Here's a few more pictures of Jacob. He's wearing a bib from our friend Anne...it says, "Bless, Blessed, Blessing." I don't think it needs any more explanation.

God is SO good to us. We continue to thank God daily for our miracle...each day with him is such a blessing, and we will NEVER ever take that for granted...even on days that don't go our way. God is faithful.

Thanks for checking in on us. May you have a blessed week!

Elbows and Mohawks...

Jacob did pretty good yesterday afternoon when I put him up to rest on his elbows and forearms. He played with the blanket and held his head up pretty good. We need him to lift his chest with his arms and bear weight on his arms. This will help him to roll over and sit up. Enjoy the pics!

I added this picture of Jacob and his Mohawk. He's got enough hair to do a few styles here and there. Hee Hee.

A Great Week...

This week was GREAT for Jacob. Everyday we witness a new skill that he has mastered and we're so thankful. Jacob is bringing his hands together to grab his Frog Paci, or hold a toy. He has begun using the "raking" grasp to grab items (even small ones like Cheerios) that are in front of him. He is reaching out for toys and bringing more to his mouth. We even witnessed him trying to put the paci back in his mouth. What a sight! He is so close to sitting on his own, and we have seen him get up onto his side all on his own, this means he's close to rolling over. He still needs some leg and upper arm strength in order to "fully" do these things, but he's working on that! YAY Jacob!

Many of you have asked, and YES, we are getting out of the house! We are pretty busy during the week. We have been attending church on Sundays for the past few weeks, and that has been great! Also, Jacob has various therapy sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and sometimes other doctors appointments on either Tuesdays or Fridays. We get visited every other week by a nurse from the program Nurses for Newborns. She weighs and measures Jacob, then listens to his heart and lungs and checks on his developmental progress. I have been taking him on a morning walk (about an hour) every day with a neighbor and her son. Occasionally, we are able to get out for dinner or run errands. Jacob handles all of this SO well.

This week we were visited by Jeff's Aunt Vonnie from Little Rock, Arkansas. She had a great time holding Jacob and watching him play with his toys. Here's a few pictures of them together.

I was able to catch these photos of Jacob and Jackson this week. In the first picture, I am not sure what they both are looking at...but apparently, it was interesting enough to keep their attention for a while. I was making all kinds of sounds and noises to get their attention for a picture. Finally it worked, thus the second picture in this group...

This picture just shows how Jacob is using both of his hands to grab a toy.

There are a couple of CDH babies that have been fighting hard for their lives, or about to be fighting. Please keep them and their families in your prayers this week. Please pray for Baby Jackson, who lost his battle with CDH. Pray for peace to surround his family. Also, Baby Max and Baby Ireland will be born some time next week, and will begin their CDH journey. Thanks so much.

Thanks for checking in with us. Have a blessed week!

When I grow up...

When I grow up I want to be just like my Uncle Biggie.

I want to be a pilot for Delta (don't I look cute in my hat?) ...

...and I want to eat Mexican Food ALL the time! Yummy!

Thanks Uncle Biggie for spending your layover with me. I had fun when you made silly faces at me, and when you tickled my toes, and when you laughed with me. I love all the airplane stuff you got me too. I Love you Uncle Biggie!

Love,

Jacob

Today Jacob spent some time outside and in the sunroom. I was able to snap some cute pics of our cutie patootie. In case you're wondering, he's STARING at the fan in the sunroom. He was so amazed at how fast it was spinning.

Looks like somebody is practicing sitting up...we're working on giving Jacob opportunities to put pressure on his arms and helping him learn how to balance himself. He's making progress.

Jackson jumped up on the couch and started licking Jacob's hand as I was taking pictures. This is what I caught... Jacob seems to be saying, "Do you see this?" Jackson loves Jacob, and Jacob loves Jackson.

Something made Jacob light up...not sure what it was, but it made for a great picture!!!

Thanks for checking in on us! May you be blessed today!

New Places...

Jacob found a new place to nap...

...and a new place to play...

...as well as a new place to hold his zebra (with both hands).

It's been fun watching Jacob this past week. Thanks for checking in on us. Have a blessed day, God is up to amazing things!

6 Months!!!

We can't believe our son is already 6 months old. He had a great day today! He went to church, slept, went to SATCO, slept, played with some new blocks we got for him, slept, went on a walk with his friend Sam, and now is sleeping some more. :) God is so good to us and we give God all the praise for having brought Jacob this far. Everyday is a blessing!

I got a picture of Jacob after his nap doing this...is he trying to roll over???? Maybe???? One goal we would love is to see Jacob rolling over and sitting up by the time he's 8 months old. Originally we thought it might be too lofty, but it is JACOB we're talking about. He never goes by the books...so maybe he'll surprise us all and roll before we know it. Come on Jacob, you can do it!

Pulmonology Appointment

We had a good check up with the doctor today. Jacob did great during the ECHO. He flirted with the Ultrasound technician and behaved really well as she looked at his heart and vessels.

After the ECHO they weighed him; he weighed 17 pounds 5 ounces with only his dry diaper on. This placed him at 49th percentile. About a month ago, he was in the 16th percentile, so he's made GREAT progress. YAY Jacob!

Then we met with the doctor and he reported that Jacob's pulmonary hypertension has decreased, but not enough to decrease his oxygen requirement. This means that we will be on oxygen at least until next spring. Once we have made it through the cold/flu season, we will begin to ween him off the oxygen slowly; like taking him off during the day and keeping him on through the night, or decreasing the flow, etc. Actually, Jeff and I think this is a good thing. They are using oxygen to help relax the vessels that take blood to his lungs, allowing his lungs to grow and develop.

Thanks for thinking of us today.

This one's for GG...

This update is for GG (Jacob's Great Grandmother; Jeff's Grandmother "Alice") She tells me that she looks morning, noon, and night for an update. So here you go GG...ENJOY!!! We love you!

Here's an update on the big guy...he's had a great week. The home health nurse came for another visit and Jacob is up to 17lbs 10 oz. He's also 28 1/2 inches long. This puts him in the 50th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height. Apparently, Jacob has surpassed what Jeff weighed when he was 6 months. Way to go Jacob! The nurse listened to his lungs and said they sounded clear, but he was breathing a little fast, so we're going to keep an eye on that. She also evaluated his development in gross motor, fine motor, hearing, and vision skills. Hearing and vision seem okay at this point, but developmentally we are behind in gross and fine motor skills...Jacob just doesn't have alot of strength. His arms and legs are very weak, which can be expected from being in the hospital for so long. Please pray that Jacob can make some real progress with his strength in the next few months. We would really like to see him rolling over and sitting up by the time he is 8 months old. Maybe that's lofty, but we'd love to see Jacob making that kind of progress.

We have our Pulmonology appointment tomorrow. Jacob will get an ECHO and we will talk to the doctors about Oxygen and such. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Here's what you all are really wanting to see...pictures!

As Mama Tuley was on her way to Little Rock to see Aunt Vonnie for her birthday, she stopped in for a short visit. She was amazed at how big Jacob had gotten since she last saw him. He's a growing boy! Here's a picture of them interacting. It was a good visit, but not long enough!

This picture was taken by a member of our SonSeekers class on the day of the shower at Woodmont. I thought it was a great picture of us together. Thanks for the pictures Cookie!

Jacob is really enjoying his fingers lately. Here's a close up of him chewing away. I wonder if any teeth are on the way???

This video was taken yesterday afternoon. I was in the kitchen getting some of his food ready and I heard some "racket" in the living room. This is how he was entertaining himself. I quickly got the camera and didn't make a sound because I didn't want to distract him or lose this moment. It was funny!

Thanks for checking in on us. May you be blessed today!

Look at that HAIR !??!?!

I got these pictures of Jacob just after he woke up from a nap. Whenever I go in to get him out of his crib, he always gives me the BEST smiles. It's like he's been holding them in, and as soon as he sees me, he lights up! It just melts my heart everyday! This child has been through so much, and yet, everyday he smiles like nothing has happened to him. What a miracle!




This is a close up of his cute face. I got this picture after he'd been fed and had fallen asleep in his bouncy seat. Precious! Now ladies, don't be too jealous of those lashes. Hee Hee.


Jacob had an outing about a week or two ago and he got to meet some of his mommy's teacher friends. We went to Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch. Teachers love summer break! We actually get to have a lunch with our friends for longer than "30 minutes." Jacob did such a great job on the outing and they doted over him so much! These are very special ladies and I am so honored to call them friends.

This picture is one of my favorite pictures of Jeff. He is so happy when he comes home from work and gets to hang out with Jacob. Both of their faces light up when they see each other. It's priceless! Jacob wasn't still, so he's a little blurry in the pic...

Thanks for always checking in on us. I know there are many of you (some that we don't even know) that are continually reading the blog, checking on Jacob's progress, and praying for his health. THANK YOU. Today in church a wonderful lady asked if she could put her hand on Jacob and pray over him. We both teared up. We didn't even know her, but she knew about Jacob. Words cannot express the gratitude that Jeff and I have in our hearts for people that have lifted up prayers for our son. I know there are many of you that we have never met or may not know very well, but your concern for Jacob and your prayers mean SO much. May you be blessed today!

Heads Up!

I was finally able to catch a few photos of Jacob holding his head up. It doesn't last long, but he's getting better and better at it. When his arms are in front of him, it's like a natural reflex for him to lift his head. This is a really big deal for him! Way to go Jacob!

Look at the devilish grin on that face of his...

In this picture I was holding a monkey from his activity mat that rattles. He automatically lifted his head and watched it as I lifted it higher and higher.

This picture was just too cute...I had to post this one. He's sitting so well in his bumbo chair and holding himself. He loses balance every now and then, but overall, we're excited about his progress. What a cutie!

Thank you for checking in on us. May you be blessed today!