In lieu of flowers...

Nikki has spent the last year living in the Nashville Ronald McDonald House, and is asking for any and all donations be given to the Nashville Ronald McDonald House in Payton's memory. If any of you feel drawn to do so, click on the following link to find out more. Thanks so much!

Full name: Payton Wilson
http://www.rmhcnashville.com/donation_form

Sad news

It is with great sadness that I am posting tonight. Princess Payton, who was supposed to go to her home in KY today after a year in the NICU, instead went to be with the Lord last night. All of us who have grown to know and love Payton and her family are devastated and I cannot even imagine what they are going through.

Payton's mother, Nikki, has been at her daughter's bedside every day for the last year, fighting, praying, and hoping for miracles. Both Nikki and Payton were very lucky to have each other and the two obviously gave each other the strength and courage they needed to make it through all the many ups and downs of the last year. Please pray for Nikki and her family as they grieve.

And please, hug your kids a little tighter tonight. It's so easy to forget how lucky we all are.

Friend Update

Just thought I'd let you all know that Tiffany was released from the hospital and is now home on complete bedrest. Please keep on praying that baby Salem stays put!

Also, Princess Payton did not get to go home Friday, but the plan is now for her to go home, for the 1st time EVER, on Monday, her one year birthday! Please pray for the transition to go off without a hitch with no more delays, and for Payton to keep growing stronger and healthier.

Thanks again, all, for all the prayers and support. Love you!

Urgent prayer requests...

Hi all,

I know I haven't done many updates on our friends lately, but there are a couple in need of some extra prayers today if you don't mind taking a second or two to do so...

Remember our friend Tiffany? Her son Samuel was born and passed away not long after Daxton was born last year. She went through multiple surgeries and procedures and is now 20 weeks pregnant with another little boy. She has started to dilate and had a bloody show and was subsequently admitted to the hospital last night. Please pray for Baby Salem to stay put and for Mom and Dad to stay strong.

Also, remember Baby Payton? After many, many months of ups and downs in the NICU, she's finally going home today. Her 1st birthday is on Monday, and looks like she'll be celebrating it at home where she belongs! Many prayers of thanks, and prayers for Princess Payton to grow strong and healthy.

Thank you so much everyone!

It's my 1st 29th birthday

Everyone sing along...

Happy birthday to meee
Happy birthday tooo meee
For my birthday this yeeeear
Shep's getting a vaaaaa-sec-toh-meeeeeee


Aaaand, many mooooore :)

The newest addition...

My mom got on to me today for sitting around doing nothing all day instead of updating my blog, so I put in my earplugs and got my priorities straight and here I am. I have at least 18 more years to feed the babies… They’ll keep :P

As I said before, Ty is perfect and has the best lungs ever. Ever… and he really, really likes to use them!!! He was born Thursday morning and, other than a few breaks to eat or sleep, has screamed and screamed and screamed… Like to the extreme that his parents who have prayed for months for strong lungs began to pray for maybe a touch of laryngitis… Just make him a little hoarse, Lord… Just a little.

Of course, we don’t really mean it… Most of the time.

Actually, today has been a much better day. Ty has been super gassy and we know his tummy has been hurting, but this morning he had a massive booty blowout (or 3) and he’s been much happier ever since. Yay :)

The only issue we’ve had with our newest monkey is his current disinterest in boobs. I say disinterest… I think a more accurate description would be to compare putting his face near a nipple to placing a cat in the bathtub. (In case you’ve never given a cat a bath, it’s not easy or particularly fun…)

So we spent 2 days trying to get the kid to eat unsuccessfully from the tap, with his response being adamantly and fervently “NO,” with our only success at getting him to drink being from a plastic hospital spoon. He’d lick it off the spoon like he’d been eating for years… Thankfully we’re having a little more success now using the “bait and switch” method of letting him suck his paci and then switching him to Boobtown without him noticing. I still have to finish up with a Haberman bottle to make sure he’s full (thanks, Gloria!) That of course, means I’m pumping again, which I had hoped to avoid, but maybe before long Ty will be more cooperative. Wait, who am I kidding???

I was laughing today about the difference between actually feeding a baby and just pumping… The brain is a funny thing… Last time I pumped for months without any actual skin to skin with Dax, and, of course this time I’m putting Ty up there every time he fusses… So this time around I’m milking through every item of clothes I have any time any child so much as whimpers, and last time I only made milk in the presence of pumps and hydraulic construction equipment. Strange…

And lots of folks have asked how Dax is adjusting to having a little brother… And I’d have to say Dax likes Ty about as much as Ty likes boobs. Oh well, hopefully brotherly love comes later!

At any rate, it’s bedtime around here and I need to go… I did take a break to feed the children (and load the dishwasher and pump and take a shower and do Dax’s nightly routine and pump and talk on the phone and wash clothes and eat and take my medicine and pump) and it looks like I’ll have to add my birth story later… I will say that it was a fun delivery with a wonderful (and diverse) medical staff, and I can’t wait to tell you about it!!!

Good night :)

We got our drive-thru baby :)

Details to come if I ever get the chance to have a hand free again, but we are HOME with a perfect, wireless baby boy. 7lbs 7oz, 18.5". Lungs of STEEL:)

Thanks so much for all the prayers!