Update on JT

Hi everyone,

This week has been fairly uneventful which is nice. JT continues to do well. Yesterday we spoke to a few doctors about his weight gain. Sadly, he isn't doing well in this area. He is able to digest my milk well but he hasn't been able to put any weight on. He keeps fluctuating around his birth weight, but has yet to surpass it. They can't/wont try to bottle feed or allow me to nurse him until he can gain and maintain his weight. So, right now that is a big prayer. He is also still in an isollette which is normal. He is at room temp and is able to maintain his body temp well which is a huge praise! But again, they can't/wont put him in a crib (one step closer to coming home) until he gains and maintains his weight.
Our other prayer request sounds slightly scarier than it is. JT (as most premies do) suffers from bradycardia. Basically his brain is still very immature and it forgets to tell his hear to beat. His heart rate then drops sometimes very low. His Brady's (as the hospital calls them) have become more frequent this past week. They aren't sure if it's because he is off of the breathing machines or if it is b/c he is eating more and suffering from reflux. They are going to give him a few days to see if he needs to go back on the CPAP machine. The praise in this is that even when his heart rate drops his blood oxygen level remains high and his breathing remains strong as well. Plus, he is able to pull himself out of these little attacks.
Lastly we ask that you would pray for health of our family. When anyone in the household is sick I cannot hold JT. Ethan has been sick and last week Jake was unable to go to the hospital at all due to a fever. Thankfully, I have not gotten anything, and being as sleep deprived as I am that is a miracle! So if you would, please pray for our health. Pray that God would just have a shield around us. We want to see and love JT as much as we possibly can but we also want him to remain as healthy as he possibly can.
We continue to find strength and endurance in the Lord. He is so loving and faithful! We are so blessed and we know that God is going to use JT and this situation to His glory. God deserves all of our praises and thanks. We want to thank you all once again for all of your prayers and encouraging words. God is listening to your petitions on our behalf, we know that! Thank you for taking time to love us from where you are and to pray for our family. The blessings we have received from God are abundant.

Our Joy is in the Lord!

Many thanks and blessings to you all,
Jake, Melissa, Ethan and Justin