Tyler James

That's the thing about Tomorrow...it never gets here... What Can I say, Tyler is so beautiful! See for yourself. Tuesday Morning.

On Monday, Pastor came out and baptized Tyler. Since he was early, Melanie and Aaron wanted him baptized right away.

Tyler began developing digestive problems shortly after birth. First he wouldn't take the bottle, then he would gag and spit up only after a few sips. The nurses thought his tummy was full of amino fluid and just wasn't hungry. The other problem was that he did not have his first BM in the first 24 hours. So they helped him, but by evening time, he still hadn't gone on his own. This was a big concern to the doctors, along with the spitting up, so they ordered an x-ray. That showed, his stomach was distended....full of undigested formula. They thought there may be a blockage, so they wanted to do some more tests. But the tests they wanted to do needed to be done by a Pediatric Radiologist...which Morton Plant doesn't have. So they sent Tyler by ambulance to the NICU at St. Joesph's Women's Hospital in Tampa at 1:45 this morning. He went to Tampa because All Children's NICU in St. Pete was full.

When it was decided that he would go, Melanie called us...in tears... and Jim and I went to be with her. We got there about 9:45 PM, just as the NICU nurse was taking him to start his IV and to put the tube down his throat and into his stomach to drain out the formula. They were doing this to prevent infection. From 10 PM on, we sat in the NICU at Morton Plant, praying and waiting, waiting and praying. We made phone calls and sent out text message after text message, asking for prayer. We cried and tried not to ask why.

The transport team from St. Joesph's finally arrived about 1 AM. They assessed him, unhooked him and put him on the stretcher that has a little bassinet molded to it, strapped him in and took him away. They called Melanie about 2:20 AM to tell her that they arrived safely. The doctor called her about 4:30 to give her a report. He had a BM when he got there, but we are not sure if it was unassisted. Then he had another one several hours later, but again, we are not sure if it was unassisted. After this one, they did another x-ray and it looked real good.

Melanie was released from Morton Plant around 10:30 and we headed to Tampa. We got there and the first thing the nurse says is that he is doing really good! We held him and loved him all day long. He spent the rest of the day in NICU with a tube down his throat, and an IV in his hand. Tomorrow, they are going to try the bottle again. If he spits up or doesn't have a BM, they will do an upper GI to see if there is a blockage there. If no blockage, they will do a lower GI.

The really sad thing is seeing all these preemies in one room....meeting other parents and grandparents who have slept little for the past 3 days...and instantly bonding with them. The little girl next to Tyler only weighs 2 pounds and is half his size. It's amazing to see teeny tiny blood pressure cuffs, IVs, stethoscopes...and meeting doctors, nurses, and techs who all LOVE their job and does whatever they can to make things better for you, May God Bless each and every one.