Day two at the NICU

So today was much more relaxed and laid back. Even with several visitors to come and see the little guy, the day was way less intense than yesterday, but still incredibly great! So lets see, what happend today... Greyson was still pretty chill/zonked out from the morphine he was on and for most of the day was pretty content just laying on his belly. This evening around 7:30 he was off the ventilator and breathing on his own just fine, as well as off the morphine. It's time to wake up a little and stop just lazin' around all day!!! So this evening was the first time we was fed,not thru the IV,which was encouraging. Tomorrow we'll try to feed him a bottle, could be tricky with him on his belly, but we'll make it work. All his vital signs look normal, We put him on the Atkins diet so he dropped a few oz. (hehehe) actually i guess they lose some weight after they are born. He's at 7lb 1oz as of tonight. The neurosurgeon took a look at him and said things looked good, but they have to keep a close eye on his back and head to watch for swelling. His head looked fine today. Leigh is doing well, shes never been this tired though, so we gotta get her to sleep and rested. But its hard to trade time spent with the G-man over sleep. I for one needed some sleep that didnt included a horribly designed "fold-out chair/futton" so i scooted home for a couple hours and crashed on the couch for a few to get my head back into things. Sure is a nice to live so close to the hospital.
So all-in-all another brilliant day with our son! Thank you for your Aprayers, we just pray tonight that Greyson will rest well and continue healing.

Praise God for this little guy!

love,

The 3 Gibbs'

PS the picture with my eyes closed was the only one of her in it that she approved of, so obviously i dont really have a say in that. :)

This is Leigh...I fell asleep before I could read it last night so I'm just adding my two cents.. :)
I got to change his diaper!! I know this may not sound so amazing, but for a mom who really only gets to "look" at her baby, changing a diaper is one HUGE thing! It was actually one of the scariest things that I have ever done. :) He has to be on his stomach and they really don't want him to move around at all so it takes some effort, but I loved every second of it! I also got to wipe his face a few times (we've got a drooler) and help the nurse pick him up to weigh him. Pretty mundane tasks but I loved every one of them! Andy has become a real pro at taking his temperature. Thank you all SO much for your prayers and well wishes, we just love our little man SO much and can't wait for you all to meet him!!

Day 1

We'll today is coming to a close and what a day it has been!!!

We are glad to report that Greyson was a brave and strong little boy during his surgery this afternoon. The procedures went well and the opening in his back is now closed and so the healing process begins. The doctors say he's got to be on his belly for 5-7 days in order for him to heal properly. There is a 10 cm incision on his back, that admitedly looks like he got roughed up in a knife fight or something, but its quite incredible what the neurosurgeon and plastic surgeon have done to repair the defect. And so tomorrow we will know everything there is to know about our little guy...oh wait, nope not that easy :) There will still be a lot of waiting and seeing and still a number of uncertainties. But this time we've got the cutest little g-man to wait with us. It truly is an amazing feeling to become a parent. It's really not "real" to us yet, due to the whirlwind of events today, but WOW! the love we have for this little guy is bustin' off the charts!

And truthfully with our deepest sincerity we can't thank everyone enough for their constant love and prayers throughout the day. it's Truly incredible to see people from all walks of life come together to love on a tiny, chubby cheek little guy.
A guy we call, Greyson!!!

kinda cool to call him Greyson huh? although, G-man is pretty cool too.

please keep those prayers coming, tomorrow is another day filled with its new and exciting challenges!

love to all,

Leigh, Andy, Greyson

Greyson Neal Gibbs

Hello everyone!
The 3 of us just wanted to give everyone a quick update while we have a few minutes. Greyson is doing well, we just got back from visiting and can't even describe the love we have for this little guy!!! He's amazing!

So a few details:

he was born at 7:48 AM, 7lbs 7 oz, and 20 inches long.

his surgery to close the opening in his back is scheduled for 3 this afternoon. We wont know much until after, but we are busting with JOY!!!

We promise to get more details up here later this evening.

Continue to pray for Greyson as he has to undergo his big surgery soon.

thank you deeply for the prayers and love.

we all love you very much,

Andy, Leigh, Greyson :)

Let's do this thing!

Have you ever been so incredibly excited about something, yet scared out of your mind at the same time? Its an interesting clash of emotions and its what I've been feeling pretty much all day. In less than 11 hours ill be a Dad. Leigh and I will be responsible for a human, OUR little Gibblet!

It's really amazing where we were mentally, spiritually, and emotionally when we started this blog, and where we are now on this eve before we meet him. A complete turnaround would be an understatement! The growth I've experienced in every part of my life has been more than I could have ever imagined. Yes, I wish I could have experienced this growth without the circumstances my son will face, but that was not for me to decided.

So tonight Leigh and I lift up our son to God, knowing he has him in his hands always.

Thank you to everyone who is taking this journey with us. Our closest friends and family, to those we only know by a screen name. We thank you and love you!

Please send your love and prayers to our little Gibblet!

love, Leigh and Andy

THURSDAY IT IS!!!

I can't even believe it but Thursday is the day that we will FINALLY be able to meet our son!!!! The doctor just called with the news that his lungs are mature and that it's a go!! You'd think that I'd be more nervous right now, but mostly I am just so overwhelmed with excitement, I can hardly stand it! So this is how the day "should" play out...

5:30 we arrive at the hospital
7:30 c-section begins
8:00 we'll be parents!!! :)

ok, the rest of the day we really have no idea, the Gibblet will most likely have his surgery by 1:00. We will post updates here as often as possible, so keep your computers on!! Love to you all! OH, and most importantly...thank you SO much for all of your prayers!! They worked! :) Keep 'em coming! :)

Leigh

quick update...

I know that many of you are waiting to see how our amnio came out today but, we don't have any results just yet. The amnio itself went pretty well, although the little gibblet was moving all around and we had to do it twice...ouch! The doctor did call a few hours after the test was done and told me that his lungs were still "transitional" which basically means that it's not a definite negative or positive. We have to wait until tomorrow to get the exact number. So...long story short...look for another update tomorrow, oh and say some prayers tonight that he will be ready, we can't take much more of this!!! :)

Love, Leigh and Andy

Still Waiting...

Today, I had an appointment with my regular doctor and things are looking good. It looks as if we will have another amniocentesis on Monday to check on the G-man's lungs and if all goes well with that, we will have our little guy on Thursday, February 12. Please pray that his lungs are developing and are where they need to be for delivery. This "wait and see" is starting to get the best of us and we just want to meet our little guy!! In the meantime, Andy and I thought it would be fun to start a little competition to see who could come closest to his birth weight. At our last ultrasound (which was a week and a half ago) he weighed approximately 6lbs. 6ozs. My guess is that he will weigh 7lbs. 13ozs. Andy is going with 7lbs. 8ozs. If anyone has a good guess, let us know!

Love,
Leigh and Andy