LEO GAINED WEIGHT!

     We have had a good day. 

    Over the weekend we were hoping that Leo could gain weight so that the feeding tube did not have to be reinserted. Ladies and gentlemen, he gained 4oz! The doctor was very pleased with his weight gain. It's a confirmation that he is not expending too much energy in sucking. His feeds take about 20-30 minutes and then we are still holding him upright for 20-30 minutes afterwards to avoid some spit ups (although, believe me, he has had a few). He is sleeping and pooping well too. 

    The doctor also had good things to say about Leo's muscle tone and eye reflexes. His tone continues to improve. This little boy can lift his head up and look around more and more. And, as for his eyes, I know we have mentioned on here that we don't feel like he engages very well. It's difficult to say, though, because newborns don't really engage with their eyes. Also, Leo is a premie so that is a factor as well. So, previously, the doctor has tested his eye reflexes by moving his hand very quickly directly in front and towards Leo's eyes. Before, Leo would not even blink. He didn't respond to this movement at all. Well, today he responded to it twice. He was a bit delayed once, but it was progress. I had also told Brad yesterday that I felt like Leo was looking at me--like at me--for like 5 seconds. I don't know what it is, but his eyes seem to be bouncing around just a little less. And the doctor was happy with what he saw. 

    We continue to pray for recovery in Leo's body and that God would give us what we need to care for him. God is teaching us so much through our little lion man's life. We are so thankful for the miracles that we have seen in Leo's life, and we are learning to delight in each day's progress while preparing for the realities that we can. May God be credited for all that Leo is doing because there ain't no other explanation!

 t shirt fundraiser

    We also wanted to share a fundraiser that some friends at our church put together. They are selling "Fighting like a lion" t-shirts. The t shirts will be shipped out after the fundraiser ends.......in 14 days (whatever day that is). Once you get your shirts--for those who are getting them--we would LOVE to see you in them! I think you could post them on facebook or instagram and tag me (Brad doesn't do social media).




Comments

  1. JesApril 12, 2021 at 2:51 PM

    Those cheeks!!! 😍

    ReplyDelete
  2. CheriApril 12, 2021 at 3:04 PM

    Leo is so adorable and loved so much. Its great to see his progress. Woah 4oz in a week? Great job little man, you too Charis and Brad. Love you guys. I'm ready for Leo snuggles again any day
    soon

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hannah LouApril 12, 2021 at 7:27 PM

    I continue to pray for all of you. It is so wonderful to hear of the progress Leo makes, even if there doesn't feel like there is much to report. None of us knows what tomorrow holds or what God is doing, but it is so good to rest in the knowledge of his love for all of you. Praying you continue to know His presence in the days of good reports and in the days of frustration and tears.

    ReplyDelete
  4. trina hallApril 12, 2021 at 9:07 PM

    i told you have faith because you cannot have fear where faith is . God is good

    ReplyDelete
  5. Cindy GApril 13, 2021 at 2:26 PM

    Celebrating Leo's progress with you! Love you all!

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownApril 13, 2021 at 3:19 PM

    Thank you for the update and glad to see positives,my prayers for all continue.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tammy TozerApril 14, 2021 at 8:04 AM

    He's SO cute! God is so good!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Leo is 3

Image
 *disclaimer* I just need to say that this post was written many times. Many things were written and then deleted. Paragraphs were switched around. Some sentences just didn't make sense at all. Trying to reflect on Leo's life as a whole obviously leaves me a bit at a loss for words. I think there's some good nuggets of truth in here. I know that scattered nature accurately reflects my mind as well. So, here's some thoughts from Leo's 3 years of life because I want to say so much but I never felt like it came out the way I wanted but I don't want that to keep me from sharing it :) A reflection on Leo's 3 years of life, from the perspective of his mom, written without fear of offending or coming across arrogant... I wish that his birthday brought only happy memories and not all the painful ones. We are overjoyed at who Leo is and how he is. We see great strength in his differences and interest in a life we never thought we'd have. But the very moment he wa
Read more

Happy 2024!

Image
 Some goings-on in the Wilcox family :D Leo got a haircut. We shaved the little lion's mane. But it'll grow back. I promise! We just think he's the cutest. So, when he gets a straight buzz, I've been doing it. I feel very accomplished that I can buzz his head and get us both cleaned up afterwards. However, when he gets more of a haircut it's either my sister or my cousin doing it while I hold him. I'm a big fan of the buzz, though. We had a family filled Christmas. Blessed. To be a blessing. Holidays were sweet times. A little story from them: We did a Friendsgiving one night and met some friends of friends. One guy asked to hold Leo and then offered to keep him while Brad and I got food and ate. It was a beautifully weird feeling to plate my food with Brad and sit down and eat while hearing Leo's happy noises from the couch. Leo was chatting away and the guy was so great with him. It was so wonderful to practice setting aside the voices of, "Is he frus
Read more

A Little More of an Update

 Hiya' Friends! These are some things regarding Leo's care, appointments, therapies, development, etc. that are rolling around in our heads these days. Eating, Pukes, Weight We haven't seen nutrition or GI in a little bit. We've monitored his weight in our own way or through some of the appointments we have had. It's not at a totally great place, but I'm not too concerned. He is mostly going up, but has some up and downs just not drastic. Brad and I are confident in feeding Leo some food that we blend up ourselves (instead of the packaged) in order to expand our options of what we can feed him. We are not replacing meals with what we have blended, but just introducing new ingredients into his system in a more significant portion (60mls of blended food). This is a bit of a time-consuming process and so far we have run into one ingredient that did not seem to sit well in his system. He did not seem to adjust to it even with some time. We have seen that feeding him
Read more