A Week of Firsts

It's a bit sad to see the first week of Jrew's life come to a close. However tough the week may have been, God is truly an amazing God. We are incredibly thankful for God's precious gift of life and are unbelievably excited about the future. We have had a wonderful week learning of God's grace, goodness, healing, and amazing strength. Here are a few pics from the week. All firsts for Jrew. (& mommy and daddy too). Happy 1-Week  Birthday Jrew! (Okay, so mommy is a day late on this post... oh well.)

First Modeling Job

First Family Photo

First Time in Carseat

First Car Ride

First Time Home

First Real Meeting With the Dr. Bellardo

First Visit To the Pediatrician

First Visit With Papa Mike and Grandma Ailleen (nickname pending)

First Sponge Bath with Mom and Dad 

(also first night home with mom and dad alone)

Another pic of first sponge bath....

First Time Wearing Cute Duck Pajamas (Thanks Amy's parents)

& First Time Hanging Out in Boppy!

Not a first, but too cute to leave out. 

I think they're having a conversation.

Another random shot... 

but dad and Jrew watching the Olympics and chillin'

Welcome Home Baby Jrew Again!

Above: This is Jrew loaded to go home for the 2nd time in the first 5 days of his life. 

Above: This is a pic from the food court area of the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. It's a beautiful hospital and they do amazing things for sick children. IN addition, they treat the whole family as guests and provide plenty of support and resources for mom and dad.

Above: This is Jrew in the UV light box. We hated putting him in it. But here he is taking a bottle of breastmilk from Thomas, except he sort of "held" it up on his own for a few seconds. :) We were only able to take him out for 30 minutes at a time and he was sometimes still hungry after he was put back in the box.

Below: We decided to pose for a picture with our auto timer to celebrate going home for real this time!

Above: This pic is of Baby Jrew in the dreaded UV light box. We hated it but it helped him get well for sure. They had to protect his eyes from the light so we had to keep them covered with a little blindfold. Also a dreaded thing.

FINALLY: We thank God for orchestrating all of the events in the way that he did. Granted, it was really tough taking our newborn into the hospital for treatment and even harder to let go of him in order for him to be placed in the light box. I also understand that in perspective, there are many parents who have the burden of much more and our situation was a somewhat "common" thing for babies to deal with. However, God is still good and AMAZING. We are so thankful for this baby boy and pray that God will continue to help him grow and be healthy. Thank you all for your prayers, e-mails, and phone calls. We can't thank you enough for being so encouraging. The first week is official today at 12:19 pm. Who in the world would've guessed. 

Rose Family Update...

The last 24 hours have been a very challenging time for the Rose family. But before I explain, let me at least tell you things are doing well now and you can go ahead and thank God for his continued blessings and miracles he is constantly pouring out.

On Saturday, we were told Jrew had a mild case of jaundice. However, the doctor said she wasn't too concerned and felt that as he began to eat better that he would begin to feel better as well. It had been a tough first two days trying to feed baby Jrew. Both mommy and baby are learning and sometimes it could be really stressful. Despite the difficulties, we were discharged on Sunday and were so relieved to be home. It felt wonderful and peaceful to be in a place where nurses weren't shuffling in and out checking blood pressure (for me) and teaching us about feeding, etc... The pediatrician did ask us to come in on Monday so she could check on the jaundice and the feeding as well.

Monday's appointment went pretty well at first and we were happy to report the feeding was becoming remarkably improved. The blood test results showed, however, that Jrew's "bili rubin" level was increased and the pediatrician was a little concerned. She called us around 7 pm and asked us to please check him in at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital so he could be treated with ultraviolet lights and monitored overnight. We were blessed to be able to stay with jrew and they actually gave us a huge room for both baby and family. We have beds to sleep in, showers, food, refrigerator, etc...

So, to fast forward tot he good news. Jrew's level was 17 on Monday afternoon. It was too high for a baby who is 3 days old and on Tuesday am it was 21, which is still too high for a 4 day old. Then, his noon blood tests showed his level had dropped to 18. HOORAY!!! and then his last blood test from 6 pm tonight showed his level had dropped to 14!!!!! So, to sum up the meaning of all these numbers, if the am goes well and his level is lower again, he will get to come out of the "light box" and then we will have to stay here for the 12 hours just 'hangin' out. They will check his levels again and if they stayed low we will be discharged to go home.

So, if you didn't know all of this yet, just praise God for some amazing blessings which include the feeding imrpovements that have been tremendous (to spare you boys the details). Continue to pray for God's healing on Jrew's little body and for me and Thomas as we continue to work hard at getting Jrew healthy. Pray for me as I continue to work hard at learning how to feed jrew, sleep, and take care of myself and maintian a sense of sanity. It has been so emotionally difficult as the doctors are measuring every drop of milk Jrew gets, how often, and every ounce (literally) he is able to peepee or poopy. :) It's funny to say this, but we celebrated a poopy diaper tonight because it means he is getting better! And forgive me for rambling, I am running on very little sleep and lots of pain medication. :) LOL

Thank you all for your love and support. Continue to pray, pray, pray, and Thank GOD for he has done GREAT things!

Dita (& Thomas & Jrew)

Baby Jrew Is Home!

Here are some candid shots of us bringing Jrew home today. We are so elated to be here at last. Baby Jrew is doing great. He has slept more than you or I in the last year combined! Nevertheless, he is slowly getting the hang of eating and we have changed plenty of wet and dirty diapers! He has a slight and minor case of jaundice and so we have our first pediatric appointment tomorrow at 2:30. I'm already agonizing over what outfit he will wear to his first outing. We'll post pics of that pretty soon I'm sure! For now, enjoy these.... and a grateful shout out to Jason and Rachel who not only took these pics, but helped mommy and daddy make the transition to home! We love you all and will make personal calls whenever we can.

Welcome to the world!!!!

Surprise!!!!! If you voted 08/08/08 you are the lucky winner.
ANNOUNCING
THOMAS JEROME ROSE IV (AKA JRU or JREW mommy's still deciding)
born at 12:19 pm 7lbs 3 1/2 oz, & 20 1/2 inches

It took him 4hrs from the house to the hospital to make his arrival.
So mommy has awarded him

"The First Olympic Gold Medal for the 2008 Summer Games"

We'll fill you in on the whole story later.

Thanks so much for your love, prayers and blessings.
Here's your first look at the cutest boy in the whole wide world.
Mommy Dita and Daddy Thomas

Baby room is almost ready!

Here are a few pics of the baby room. It's almost completely finished.... 

IN the picture above, the teddy bear playing basketball is one of the most precious additions to our baby room... Thomas' very own gift and first purchase for the baby after finding out we were having a boy! :) 
Still trying to decide if this one area is too "busy".  Don't worry.... the wall decals are removable...

Childbirth Tutorial for husbands...

According to Family Feud, these are the Top 6 things a man might do while his wife is giving birth. 

And according to Dita, which ones Thomas is allowed to do... (words in bold)

1. Faint
2. Pace
3. Coach/hold hand
4. Videotape it
5. Sweat
6. Pray

AND things he must do...

1. Stay by his wife's side unless she has directed him to go away.
2. Mediate between his wife and the nurse at all times (mediation must be verbatim and include the expression, inflection, and urgency displayed in the wife's own voice)
3. Avoid saying "I wonder what the score is..." (although I don't think there are any sports events at this point that could distract him, other than the Olympics which do begin on August 8, two days before our due date.)
4. Avoid eating in front of the wife until she is cleared to eat as well. (Which means he must remain hungry unless express permission has been granted to leave the room for eating by the mother who is in labor)
5. Hug wife and remain close to her in order to provide a sense of security and protection.
6. Remind wife (when prompted) that a precious baby boy will be in arms very soon.