Sunday, April 29, 2007

Welcome

Thirty six days ago, on March 27th at 9:04 and 9:05 am, we welcomed into the world Thomas James and William Kevin - Thomas weighing 1 lb. 6 oz. and William weighing 1 lb. 3 oz. - three and a half months before their due date. As most of you know, we lost our little William on the morning of the 31st. We want to thank you all for the prayers, comforting words and kindness that you've shared with our family throughout the past few weeks. And a special thank you to those you shared in William's funeral mass - we have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of respect people have shown for his life.

And while we miss William every day, our time is largely focused on the fight of little Thomas - and let us tell you, this little guy is a fighter. He's weighing in around 1 lb. 13 oz. today and has already overcome several physical obstacles - not the least of which is his prematurity. The name of the game in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) is to take things one day at a time. Every day Thomas is around, is a day for him to get older, grow more cells, and get bigger. So why we're thrilled to be able to say that Thomas has been getting consistently good reports from his doctors the past few weeks, we know to take it one day at a time going forward.

On 4-21 Thomas was strong enough to have his ventilator tube removed and graduated to a CPAP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilevel_positive_airway_pressure. This was an enormous step forward for the little guy. In the below pictures, you'll see the CPAP as the nose plugs with head gear attached in most of the pictures below. You'll also see below mom and dad are also able to hold Thomas each day - which is really just the most incredible thing. The rest are just some pics of Thomas lounging, close-ups of his face, and Thomas and his binky. We hope you enjoy them!




Thanks for stopping by - we'll share more soon!
TJC mom and dad.






















































































































































3 comments:

Just being me. Are you being you? said...

I had just received Bart's email address but then I got this link to the blog of Thomas James. Well darn it, if he doesn't have my name, James!

Well having intimate knowledge with being a James, I can assure you this little Thomas will keep on keeping on till he is a big Thomas! You can't keep a good James back.

However my prayers are with the brother that passed. May he look out for Thomas the rest of his life.

Go! Thomas Go!

Anonymous said...

Dear Michelle and Bart,
Your dad just sent me the web pages of Thomas James. He's adorable. I just wanted you to know that my whole family and all of my friends are praying for Thomas James and all your family.
Love,
Aunt Elizabeth

Unknown said...

Yeah Thomas 2.1lbs that terrific. You're cousin's Joey and Nicky can't wait until you can come home and play. Stay strong little guy !!

Love your family who is always think and praying for you,
Aunt Donna, Uncle Matt, Joey and Nicky