big yawns!

saying hi to his rubber ducky

being held by Daddy, open eyes

being comforted by Daddy

trying to soothe himself by putting his hand in (or near) his mouth

Raef is one lucky little man. yesterday, his Nonnie came to see us, and today his Grandma Verley, Grandpa Gary, and Aunt Angel came to see him. he is so loved by so many people.

i was able to come into the NICU today with a more positive attitude. it helped that i was able to talk to the parent advocate about our experience yesterday with the doctor. she's an amazing resource to have in a place like this. she also recommended that we try to get in touch with other families who've had babies born with prune belly syndrome. i hadn't thought of that yet, and was thankful for the suggestion. i'm not sure i'm totally ready for that but it's something i'll definitely want to do when we have more information about what the cause of the prune belly is.

Reid was also able to talk to our doctor this afternoon while i was visiting with Raef and he had a good conversation about Raef's condition. the doctor has already started researching prune belly, and doesn't think that the cause of it is Posterior Urethral Valve (which was presented as the most likely cause of his bladder problem in Cincinnati). that could be a good thing in terms of treatment, but again, i'm not going to speculate too much until we have more information.

in the meantime, i'm happy to know that Raef is breathing room air (!) and they're going to continue to try to wean him off of his respirator. as long as he can continue to improve his respiratory function and get stronger, we have some time to figure out the root of the problem.

last night, Reid and i said a prayer together before we went to sleep. it helped center me a little, and opened my eyes and heart again to all of the good that is happening around us in spite of the fact that our child is sick. we're surrounded by an amazing group of people. our church family, our awesome friends, and our amazing family. we wouldn't be able to do this without them.