Daddy and Son Bonding

We've had a great Thanksgiving. My sister is here visiting and my Aunt Betsy took us out to eat for lunch. Then we headed to the hospital to visit Jayden. Daddy held him for LONG time today since he is leaving for Bolivia tomorrow.

He kissed our son, prayed for him, and loved on him. We talked about how much Jayden will grow in the next two weeks while Gerson is gone. Both Jayden and I are going to miss him. I plan to spend my days at the hospital during those two weeks. If anyone wants to come visit, I'd love having visitors during the next two weeks. I'm afraid it's going to be awfully quiet around here with Gerson gone and my Aunt Betsy leaving on Sunday. So, I'll be all alone. Drop in if you're in the neighborhood!
We received fabulous news from the doctor today. Jayden is growing each day ---- and up until today he's just been being fed by IV. (As you can see, he's still small enough to fit in the crook of Gerson's arm.) Today they started Jayden on my milk and he tolerated it so well they upped his "dosage." He's getting 4 ml (not quite a tablespoon) every 3 hours. In addition, although he is still in the incubator most of the time (except when we're holding him), he is one step closer to regulating his own body temperature. Before today, the incubator was regulated to adjust the temperature inside to his body temperature. If his temperature dropped, the incubator would heat up to help his body temperature rise. However, now the incubator, although still warm inside, maintains a steady temperature so that Jayden has to maintain his body temperature on his own. This is great news!! As the nurse said, it's preparing him for a "big boy bed" -- a crib. We were excited by all of the good news and thanking the Lord for continuing to answer prayer. 

Please pray for Gerson tomorrow (Friday) as he travels to Bolivia. In the next few days he will be studying hard to prepare for his final defense. His defense date is December 8th. Pray for me as I'm very emotional now and I've already cried a lot at the thought of his leaving. However, we both know he needs to go and finish his studies. We keep reminding ourselves of how faithful God has been and trust He will continue to uphold us in the days to come. We also realize that the last time we were separated was a LOT longer than what we will face this time. However, we would appreciate your continued prayers. 

By the way, Gerson is taking our laptop with him so he can use it for his thesis presentation. Because of that, I may not have a way to put pictures up for the two weeks he's gone. However, I will still be able to write updates to keep you all posted on Jayden's progress and Gerson's trip.