One Year Homecoming!

I can hardly believe it has been a year already, but our little boy has been home for one year as of May 11 - tomorrow. WOW! He's doing so amazingly well! You should see his beautiful smile and his love for being held. If he can cuddle and get as much attention as possible from you he would. He also loves to eat...funny huh! His favorite foods are fruits and pretty much anything sweet. But, he does like some veggies too (just not meat very much). Reece has begun to take a few steps here and there. He loves to walk for food rewards and his greatest sources of encouragement in the walking process have been Rileigh, Audra, Gerrit, Evan, and definitely uncle Scott. He got Reece to do a whole walking workout on Mother's Day!

What a HUGE blessing Reece is. He's going to do great things in his life - well he already has in my opinion.

My thoughts go up to the NICU tonight and to all of those precious little lives up there. May god watch over you and heal you and may His peace cover you while you sleep tonight.
Blessings extended - Sue

4 month sign off

Reece is four months as of yesterday! Time has flown since we've been home. He's doing quite well and has been fun to watch improve all of the time. His favorite place to play is his activity gym, but sitting in the Bumbo seat is a close second. He's so strong!
Ben loves his brother and thinks it's fun to play with him in his gym area until I tell him to get off his brother...still working on being gentle. I just don't think Ben knows his own strength yet. But, he does give lots of kisses and hugs and smiles and is soaking in how to be a good big brother all of the time.
As parents, it seems strange to me that he's been home almost as long as he was in the NICU already. While we were going through our experience I remember someone told me that it's only 10 weeks of an entire life. It will seem like nothing years from now. You know, they are probably right. Our world seemed to change drastically fast during those ten weeks, but life is becoming easier as we better understand what our "normal" is now...with 2 kids!
Thanks for being our on-line friends. Thanks for praying for us and holding us up to our heavenly father throughout this process. My plan is to call this my last blog entry, print all of the entries for Reece's future reading. His life is a miracle. I feel he deserves to have his "story" in print for when he's old enough to read it.
Lots of love to you all! -Sue

doing fine

We did another stool sample test for Dr. Green this past Friday. There is still some blood showing up on the tests. The good side is: the blood cannot be seen, his tummy is still soft, there's no fever, and he's eating well. So, we're still monitoring this. Nothing's new other than I'm feeding him too much and need to cut back on that a little. I guess as a mother of a baby who had digestive problems and wasn't able to eat for so long, I feel like when he cries he may need food. You know, the diaper's dry, he's been up for a while, but maybe he's still hungry? I guess I was wrong. I need to work on getting him on a eat, wake, sleep cycle a little better. And, this should help us all. It's just getting over the mental hump that Reece really is great! He's going to be fine and "normal". Thankfully, I have a husband who has known this all along and doctors who are helping me get used to our little bundle of love. And, thankfully, we have a supportive family and friends who stick in there and still ask how they can help. YOU are an example of Christ's love! Thank you! And, from Reece to you..."I love you!"

3 months old!

Reece is now 3 months old and is doing well. His bili-levels are going down slowly and he's no longer seeing his surgical doctor. This week, we'll complete a "test" of sorts that he's been under. To give a little history... just before Reece's appointment at his Pediatrician I noticed some blood in Reece's stool. It only was visible once a day and at the same time of the day. Thus, we told Dr. Green who had us take a stool smear sample to see if it really was blood. We had to do more than one sample. The results showed that there was blood in his stool. Dr. Green asked me to cut out dairy from my diet while I'm nursing him. Unfortunately, I was still not producing enough for him and knew he needed formula. So...Reece is on a special formula for a trial period. We are going to do another smear test later this week and send in the results on Friday. Hopefully it's just that he needs to stay on this formula and he'll be fine.

Life with 2 boys is always an adventure. I know Ben loves his little brother and wants to spend his time with Reece touching his face or holding his hand or talking to him really close and loudly. I guess he thinks Reece will understand him better that way? We're working on how to talk to a baby and how to touch gently and as a mom I just want him to continue to love his little brother as much as possible. Just the sparkle in his eyes is a wonder to see when he watches Reece smile at him. It's a Kodak moment by far.

Speaking of which - I won't be adding new pictures on here unless I can get the help of my wonderful sister-in-law. And, I won't be blogging that often anymore.

However, thanks for your prayers and thanks for your support! We are so greatly blessed by you! - Sue and the boys

Home Sweet Home

It is hard to believe but after 69 days we finally have our entire family at home. Reece Gregory Nykamp was released from the hospital at 5:30pm today. We are extremely thankful to each and everyone of our friends and family that have been praying for us and supporting us in so many ways. I do not know how we would have gotten through this adventure without each and everyone of you. But most important I thank God for his faithfulness.

YEAH GOD!!!

The HIDA scan results were "normal". His bili-levels went down a little, and we're in the process of coming home!!!! It may be tomorrow because of all of the paperwork, but that's okay with me! I'm just very thankful for God's healing in my little boy's life! YEAH GOD! -Sue

Test time changed

Did you know that a child needs to be on phenabarbytol (I sound spelled that one - good ole' First Grade training) for 5 days before a HIDA scan? Well, today would have been day 3. So, the test has been post-poned until Monday morning at 8:30 AM. I'd like you to know though - God IS answering prayers - Reece's bili-levels have gone done a little. YEAH! Not that it makes that much difference to the entire plan of action, but it means a lot to us as parents. He has lost weight the last two nights. I guess with all of the liver talk I totally forgot to pray for weight gain again. I can see God's love in Reece's eyes, in his hand grip (including the thumb tucked in which he loves to do), in his coo, in his kicks, in his cries, in his squirts, in his smiles and especially in his cuddles. It's amazing to think the God who plays with the dancing fireflies by night is the same God who cuddles our little Reece and rocks him to sleep. Thanks for your prayers -Sue