Happy May!

     This week we don't have any appointments until Friday, so it's a bit of a quieter week. Still a little bit to update you on, though.

    Leo and I are doing well with nursing. I am nursing him every other time that I feed him. I think it's a bit of a difficult transition for him as far as sucking and only getting formula sometimes (in the bottle he gets fortified breastmilk). We've had some days with more spit ups, less sleeping, or difficulty latching, but we're doing it! The lactation consultant said that she wanted me to just go to 100% breastfeeding, but she's wary to do that because of his weight. So, again, please pray for his weight gain. I'm expecting him to not gain as much--or at least have somewhat of a dip--if he's transitioning off of fortified breastmilk to solely breastmilk, but I think we can still do it. 

    He's sleeping well at night, giving us some longer stretches. We are getting used to a bit of a routine during the night so Brad and I are waking up to Leo when we need to. He is also getting LOUDER! We have now heard 3 cries. Like, sounds like a baby cry not just grunts cry. I am convinced that those muscles are getting stronger and it is so exciting to experience. Hopefully, speech therapy will be able to give us a little more insight into what is going on in there. 

    That brings us to Friday. Friday we have our speech therapy appointment. Then on Tuesday we have our evaluation (for Early Intervention). I would like to ask for specific prayer for these appointments. We don't know exactly what to expect. And I'm nervous that at either of these appointments we could receive some hard news. Maybe they will see evidence of his brain damage that we can't identify. I don't know. But the devil will throw these worries at us. Regardless, I don't want to miss in my own heart or in acknowledging all that God has done in Leo's life and physical body. He is doing so good. Would you pray that God prepares for His will no matter what it is. We need not try and prepare ourselves for every possible scenario. We just need to pray for the grace to accept whatever comes as God's will because that's what it is.

    Random things to share: Leo and I went to church for the first time this past Sunday. The t-shirt fundraiser is over so we are anxiously awaiting our shirts and CAN'T WAIT to see people in theirs. Brad and I went on a date night on Monday thanks to a coworker of mine for watching Leo and treating us. I got to a bridal shower on Saturday and Brad got a taste of taking care of Leo on his own.....that was funny. And God is just continuing to show us that everything is in His hands. 

    Thank you.