Making Progress

Last week was a big week for Elliot! He hit the 5-pound mark and weighs five pounds, three ounces - a pound above his birth weight. He also was moved out of his isolette and has been regulating his own body temperature for five days now with no problems. So those are two HUGE praises.

The only hurdle left is eating. Little guy is working hard on his feedings. He starts every bottle now and finishes about half of them, which is a huge improvement. As soon as he starts finishing all of them, we'll be able to bring him home. How sweet that day will be!

As much as I love and appreciate the doctors and nurses at Woman's, I'm so ready not to see that place every day! It's been a crazy summer for sure and I can't wait to get back to some sort of normalcy.

Whenever I visit Elliot, there is always some quiet time where somehow all of the other babies stop crying, the beeping machines seem to go into a lull and the nurses give us some space. I use this time to pray over my boy. The prayer is always about the same and it covers his mind, body and heart. It's not all that different from what I pray for Adele, but obviously there are some pointed differences. I would love to share with y'all what's on my mind when I say this prayer every day.

• Mind: I pray that somehow, some way he will not be held back academically. I am not naive. I realize the chances of him going to college and becoming a degreed professional are extremely slim, but I do pray that we find resources that will help him keep up with and excel in his schoolwork within his abilities. I pray that he can be ready for mainstream kindergarten with minimal aids and down the line is able to hold a steady job where he can feel successful, fulfilled and independent. 
• Body: I pray that he develops physically. I've read a lot of information on how long it takes for Down syndrome children to sit up, crawl and walk. It breaks my heart to know that many of his little friends will be running circles around him while he might still be struggling to sit up. I will accept whatever comes our way, but I do pray that we are sent physical therapists that will help us help him achieve his milestones at the front end of the statistics that I've seen.
• Heart: More so  than what I've prayed for his mind and body, I pray that Elliot's life is full of love. I pray that Justin and I cover him with love every day. I pray that our love for Christ shines through us to him and encourages him to build a personal relationship with Jesus. I pray that the love of Christ fills his heart completely and that he will fully understand what this love means. And though I realize through the scriptures that not everyone is meant to marry, I do pray that (one day far from now) he finds a special girl one day that will love him for who he is and vice-versa. And, if that girl is out there somewhere I pray all of these things for her heart too. 

I pray about a lot of other things too for both Adele and Elliot, but what's listed above is usually what I focus on. I have come to treasure this quiet time in the NICU when it's just the two of us and I can just pour out my heart over him. In a way I might actually miss it and will probably always look back fondly on this prayer time once he's home.

Whatever My Lot

I have a confession. I was scared to go to church tonight. Justin called on his way home from work and said he really wanted us to go. I just now have started feeling up to walking around, but I immediately began searching my brain for excuses. We'll have to rush through dinner. I was on my feet a lot today. My c-section incision still really hurts. But, the truth of it was that I was terrified of being hugged, having my shoulder patted or anything of the like that would make me melt into a ball of tears. Yes, the normally bubbly, peppy Melinda was frightened of being loved on.

Ultimately, Justin convinced me to go. As soon as we walked into the lobby people were so happy to see us and I admittedly also was happy to see everyone. I was hugged and I did not crumble. I somehow managed to stay strong through all of the questions and checking Adele into the childcare.

However, as we took our seats, they started singing "It Is Well With My Soul." Now, on a normal day this song would get me weepy, so today it really hit me. In that moment, I felt like I could have written that song (if I had that kind of musical talent). I hope that "whatever my lot," I can always reflect the lyrics of that hymn.

So, despite the minor breakdown during worship, church was a good decision and I'm glad Justin pushed me to go. It really was nice seeing everyone and being reminded of how loved Elliot already is! It was also so fun to see Adele running around with some of the other girls after the service... that child is such a bright spot. I can't tell you much I missed her while I was in the hospital.

In other news, Elliot is doing really well! I posted a couple of my favorite shots from this week up top. He's really such a cutie. He's gained a total of four ounces since birth so he's up to 4 pounds, 7 ounces - I'm convinced at least two of those pounds are from those cheeks! Check those out - reminds me so much of his big sister. They've also been able turn down the temperature in his isolette, which means he's getting better at regulating his temp on his own. Feeding still remains his biggest challenge. He's not really showing any consistency in how much milk he takes and rarely finishes a bottle, which means he gets the remainder through a tube. The doctors keep assuring us that he's progressing well and reminding us to be patient.... that he'll be home before we know it! What a great day that will be!

Also, Justin and I just want to say thanks for the outpouring of love, encouragement and prayers we have received since Elliot's birthday. Even though we knew we wanted to be totally transparent with Elliot's birth story, we honestly did not know how people would react to our news and my candidness about the experience. But, of course, God is great and it is clear that he has surrounded us with wonderful, supportive people throughout our lives. We've both been so humbled by the phone calls, texts and Facebook messages from everyone... including people we may not have spoken to in years! We really do appreciate it all and thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Elliot's Birth Story

After a crazy month, Justin, Adele and I are so excited to welcome Elliot Lee Wood to the world! He was born at 11:20 p.m. on Monday, July 7 weighing 4 pounds, 3 ounces. Take that all you doctors that said he would only weigh 3 pounds! Elliot's birth story is definitely one for the ages and we thank you for following along with us on this journey. As some of your already know, our journey is far from over.


After three weeks and three days in the hospital, Dr. Adam did her final scan on Monday evening around 7 p.m.. The blood flow in my placenta had drastically deteriorated since my last scan and she said it's time for this baby to come out. It just so happened that my OB, Dr. Ball, was on call that night, so we made the decision to have the c-section as soon as possible.

Everything went really fast at that point. They immediately hooked me up to IVs and took my blood sample. Before I knew it they were rolling me back to the operating room and I was getting my epidural. Justin was by my side the entire time. I was surprisingly very calm throughout the whole thing. Then I heard his sweet cries and Dr. Ball called out, "Hey there little guy! You're sure mad at me!"

The neonatalogist gave me one quick look at him before she took him for assessment. Justin of course went with her. Before I knew it, they told me how much he weighed and that he was breathing fine on his own. They wrapped him up and put him on my chest while Dr. Ball finished the surgery. He was so beautiful and I remember thinking how much he looked like Adele with his big eyes.

Since he was born at 34 weeks, they took him away after a couple of minutes because he needed to go to the NICU to finish all of his screenings. I was completely out of it any way from the surgery. My blood pressure was going crazy and I think the meds they gave me just knocked me out. I have very vague memories of the recovery room and when they finally got me back to my room for the night. All I know is for some reason I felt a cloud over everything. I held my beautiful son and saw his sweet face, but I just felt like something was wrong. Justin was in and out of the room. The nurses were acting strange. I knew in my stomach something was happening. Once the nurses cleared out of my room for the night, Justin was standing over me. I was totally in and out at this point, but I remember asking Justin, "Did Elliot make it?" He said, "Yes, but..." I cut him off. I told him I couldn't take whatever it was... that as long he was alive I was OK and that we'd talk in the morning.

Little did I know, I wouldn't wake up until early afternoon the next day... they must have put me on some crazy drugs! When I woke up, Justin was there. We talked a little bit and I said, "OK, I'm ready for it." That's when Justin told me that Elliot has most of the markers for Down Syndrome and that the neonatalogist was certain that Elliot has it.

The wind was knocked out of me. This was supposed to be the easy part. The last four weeks in the hospital suddenly felt like a cake walk. My mind was flooded with thoughts from "it wasn't possible, I saw his beautiful face" to "I'm dreaming... this isn't my life." I wondered what this would do to Adele's childhood, to our marriage, to my career. I wondered if he would ever have the mental capacity to accept Christ. I was in sheer panic mode. I was honestly terrified of what would come next in my life. I looked at Justin and I could tell that he had been battling these same thoughts since he heard the news last night. This is not what we pictured was going to happen, but, after the first few moments of shock, I knew that Justin and I would pull together. I knew that this was our son and we were going to love him to pieces. This was not our plan for our family, but it was definitely God's plan. And we were going to embrace it.

After I got the news, I wanted to see him. My nurse and Justin wheeled me down to the NICU where I held my sweet boy. He wasn't as small as I was expecting and he looked absolutely perfect. His little tongue was poking out of his mouth just like any other newborn's. His little hand wrapped tightly around my finger. I loved every part of him and I knew everything was going to be OK. Justin had a turn and like I've thought so many times over the last few weeks, I felt so much thankfulness that Justin was my husband.

The next two days are kind of a blur. Since Elliot was six weeks premature, he was put in the Level II NICU right away. His lungs were strong, but he needed help eating since his swallow-suck reflex isn't developed. He also was having problems regulating his body temperature. All of these things are normal preemie issues and have nothing to do with the Down Syndrome. While I was in the hospital we visited with him and held him as much as we could. We met with what I call a ton of "ists" ranging from a Geneticist to Speech Therapist to Occupational Therapist to Neonatalogist. All of them were amazing and gave us lots of great information about Elliot and what to expect. Everyone is in agreement that our first step is getting him home.

I was released on Thursday. While I hated leaving my boy, it felt so good to come home after almost a month. I immediately ate real food and took a nap on my couch with Macy. I read Adele stories before bedtime. And at the end of the day, after the longest four weeks of my life, Justin and I were finally able to sit in our bed and just hold each other while we cried our eyes out. We cried about our time apart. We cried about the unknown ahead. We had our pity party and then we decided together we were going to move forward. We both already knew we were head over heels in love with this kid and nothing was going to change that.

Justin said something that night that will always stick with me. He said, "I can't believe God thinks so highly of us that he blessed us with this special child." It's become clear that God has prepared us for this. He gave us a strong love and commitment toward each other. He's given us a comfortable roof over our heads. He's put us in a community where we are surrounded by loving family, friends, neighbors and church family.

It's no accident that God gave us Elliot. It's not the luck of the draw. It's not timing. God gave us Elliot for a reason and we're up for the challenges ahead. As I've already said, we're going to love on him no different. Adele is still going to be an amazing big sister. These things won't change. We are not naive. We know that there are going to be hard days, but with God, we are going to raise Elliot and Adele the same way we have always planned... in a loving home centered on Jesus.

We thank everyone for all of their prayers over the last month. We thank everyone who will continue to pray for our family. If you are praying for us, we pray first and foremost for Elliot to continue to progress so we can bring him home. They are predicting 2-3 weeks. Pray that Justin, Adele and I make this transition to a family of four with minimal challenges. Pray that Justin and my marriage continues to stay strong on the road ahead. We love all of you and again thank you for journeying with us during this time.