Three’s Company

this was us leaving the hospital!

I was in a staff meeting at Living Faith Community Church when I received a call on Monday from Jamie that Nicolas was being discharged! I was filled with emotions of anxiety of being a dad 24/7 now, pride of this little one being so strong and of course the excitement that he will be out of the neo natal intensive care unit. in about a week ago, Nicolas was on a breather and now he is ready to come home.

As we settled into home, it was a time of adjusting to feeding (Nicolas would coo…and babble to let us know that he is hungry). he has some play time after each feeding where he opens his eyes and he has this very intense face (why so serious) and his eyes traces side to side as if he is being shady. he makes funny bodily noises and during the third day at home, one diaper change, he peed into the air, some hitting his face and outfit…a few hours later, as I was wiping his cute butt, he farts in my face…the next change, his eyes was open facing me and he gave me a smile which made it all worth it.

the nights are tough but jamie and are having a system of feeding, changing and resting. i am energized throughout the day and i recite psalms throughout the day as a part of my devotion. balancing ministry, life with a new child and of course making sure Jamie and I continue to remember to connect and remind each other about the love and faith that has brought us to this moment.

today we went to the pediatrician for nicolas’ first visit and he gained .5 lbs! we have to go back since he is a preemie and the doctors told us to be vigilant in not exposing him to too many visitors since he has underdeveloped immune system. So, it will be a little longer before he is introduced to our community.

each night when we look at him, we are reminded that he belongs to God and to our community. how his start began with a community that placed us on this journey that is filled with so much prayer and support. the facebook wall posts, the emails of others who had preemie babies, the food drop-offs and the volunteers to help with cleaning has humbled us to wonder what in the world did we do to deserve this kind of love. We are so thankful for this.

well here are some pictures for you!

man, my hand smells good!

It has been an incredible 5 days and in some ways it has been a time of such anticipation and expectations. our little nicolas has entered into our lives with his typical theme of “beyond timetables.” here is a brief summary of events of these last few days…

as you know, our baby was due to be born on october 6th with the doctors hoping to induce labor so that the threat of infection from the preterm premature rupture of the membrane (PPROM) would not be a factor to our baby. so far, so good…we were getting ready and even preparing for a small prayer and baby shower today…but noooo…nicolas wants to make sure he doesn’t miss the action. on monday morning, september 29th, jamie woke up in the morning with some surprise (you can ask her the details). The doctors suspected she was going into labor although jamie didn’t feel the contractions…she called me as I was heading off to the Living Faith Community Church staff meeting and although I thought the situation at the hospital was not that urgent but wanted to be there with her for support. But when I arrived at the hospital, Jamie was beginning to feel something. something big… Read the rest of this entry »

for nicolas  

tender little one, with beautiful lips breathing,

your arrival upon us reminds us of a voice

greater than all the cosmos but also arrived in an breath like yours that echos to this day

today, you arrive because of thousands of words of prayer arrived at the throne. this day is not ours alone. they are part of this story and we belong to a family. 

prayers escape me, each time, my hesitation compounded by doubt

i am afraid i will fail you

i think of years to come

your footsteps as you walk alongside our community

your giggles as we playfully scatter words

forming of your voice as we stumble through hymns

your tears when despair overwhelms 

scrapes as I comfort you with a hug and latex

putting costumes on you as you flicker into some hero

being among the poor and learning they are beloved of Christ

failing one another but finding redemption in our frailties

a day of reversal when you will now teach an old man about faith

I love you my dear child

your eyes opened when we went to see you for the first time. thank you little one

your precious eyes that is formed by the same sacred hand that formed the majesty of skies

for 

the first 

time

the sight of your little body filled my heart with such wonder of our creator and my eyes were heavy with tears of mixed joy and worship.

my heart detours to moments of paused silence and i am fascinated by the shape of your mouth as you breathed

our little boy, who in his arrival has reminded me again..

how i love you because he loved us first

Peter’s Post, September 15, 2008

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. It has been a trying few days, but there is a time for respite and waiting. Here is a breakdown of events for your reading. On Saturday morning, Jamie and I were going to our Birthing Center orientation and tour at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital. In the morning, Jamie mentioned that she had some more than usual discharge. We didn’t think much of it. But by the time the afternoon was upon us, it was more than just a simple discharge but rather more of a trickle. We made a call to our doctor and she told us to to go to St. Luke’s Labor and Delivery. We thought that it was a formality and it was just so we can be sure everything is okay. The resident took a look at us and said that Jamie’s water broke and she would be admitted into the hospital.

The next few hours were the most difficult as our OB/GYN told us that Jamie had to stay and be monitored because there was risk to the baby and to Jamie. They told us that it is important that the baby needs to stay in the womb because the baby’s lungs are still not developed yet and can lead to a lot of complications. As we learned more, we had a preterm, premature rupture of the membrane (PPROM). Read the rest of this entry »