We wanted to send you some recent pictures of Noah - these were taken just a few hours ago! He's 5 1/2 months old and growing faster than I want him to!! He's sitting up now, and can roll over and sleep all night, but doesn't seem to particulary enjoy either of those tricks : ) His smile will melt your heart, and when he laughs out loud, all 4 of us are delighted! Another big step is that he's eating solid food now - he's into cereal and veggies, but hasn't tried fruit yet (that will happen this week sometime). I'll try to post more pictures soon - we hope all of you are doing great!

Big News Again

In the previous post, I forgot to tell you the big news. Here it is: Noah slept for 8 hours - did you catch that? E-I-G-H-T hours!!!- last night (Saturday)!!! That is the longest he's ever slept at one time, and let me tell you, I felt like a new woman all day today! Now, I'm well aware that it was probably a fluke, and it probably won't happen again for a while, but I was still VERY excited and wanted to share that with everyone : )

I also somehow deleted these pictures from the last post, so here they are. Mary Kathryn and Claire were able to be with us at the hospital for at least a little while every day, and here they are with Noah - their beloved little live baby doll! - a couple of days after his surgery. They are the best big sisters, I don't know what I (or Noah!) would do without them!

Finally, from the look on Noah's face, you can tell he was thrilled to meet his Piquette grandparents for the first time. We enjoyed their visit so much! Matthew's dad became a grandpa for the first time over 30 years ago, and he seemed just as thrilled with his 11th grandchild as I'm sure he was with his first : ) Grandma Ruthie enjoyed holding Noah and feeding him, and he loved her right back!

Love to you all! We'll be in touch soon!

Big News!

One month is a really long time in the life of a 3-month old, isn't it? And no updates during that month is probably really irritating to blog-readers, isn't it? : ) To appease you, here are some pictures from the last month - Noah has really grown a lot! His recovery has gone amazingly well, and exactly two weeks after his surgery, his doctor released him from his care! This first picture shows his surgeon holding him after his final visit. We are so thankful for him and the excellent care he took with our baby.

The very next day, Noah's adoption became final!! Talk about wrapping everything up all at once! The second picture shows us outside the courthouse with our attorney. We were so thrilled that there were no complications whatsoever with the adoption process, another blessing we give thanks for daily. It's wonderful to have the newest little Piquette in our home! Halloween was a fun night, with our girls as a "French Girl" and "Girl Pirate", and Noah as a "Pea-in-a-Pod". He slept through most of the evening - this is our only picture of him with his eyes open while wearing his costume!

I will try to post more often (and with more pictures), but I can't promise much! Things are pretty busy around here almost every day, and most days, it's rare for me to do anything on the computer other than write a speech report!

We're home!

I can hardly believe it, but here I am at our home computer writing this post!! We got home last night around 9:30, tired but happy and relieved. Noah had a good night, but we're hoping he'll soon forget how they woke him up to eat every few hours around the clock when he was in the hospital : ) He seemed to remember that last night and was up a few times - oh well, we'll just have to nap later today! We're going to try to settle into a normal routine and enjoy this precious baby now that his surgery is finished!
Thank you all for your continued love and support - it really means so much to our family! Please keep us in your prayers as Noah continues to improve, and we'll pray for you and your families to be blessed and know the peace that only our loving God can give!
And we'll try to post some pictures soon - I know it's boring to read these messages with no pictures!

Post-op report #4

We are so excited to be able to tell you that we're possibly leaving the hospital this afternoon or tonight!!! Yes, it's earlier than they originally told us, thanks to God helping Noah to heal quickly and progress as he needed to : ) It's not definite, but when his surgeon comes by late this afternoon, he said that if Noah continues to tolerate his formula, he'll probably let us go - YAY! Matthew commented earlier that not only is Noah tolerating his formula, he's inhaling it!! He never acted very hungry when he couldn't eat at all, but once we were able to give him a little, he acts like he's starving - and I'm sure he feels that he is! We greatly appreciate your continued prayers against infection and any other complication, and we'll let you know when we get home!

Post-op report #3

Lots has happened since I posted a report on Thursday! Noah's nasogastric tube and heart monitor were removed yesterday, and he was able to drink a tiny bit of Pedialyte this morning - his first food by mouth since 3:30am on Wednesday!!! If he tolerates that well for 3 feedings (10am, 1pm, and 4pm), he can have a little formula for 3 feedings, then they'll up the amount til it reaches a normal amount. YAHOO!! But don't stop praying - his body must digest what he takes in and he needs to be able to have normal output before he's out of the woods. So far, so good - we've NEVER been so excited about changing dirty diapers : ) He's been amazingly happy and content in spite of all he's been through and we KNOW that's because God is so good to answer each of our prayers so mercifully. We'll keep you posted as he continues to improve.

Post-op report #2

Whew, I think we're past the roughest part of this whole process...Noah seemed uncomfortable much of yesterday and last night, and was happiest when being held. Needless to say, the rocking chair in our room is just a tad short of being comfy, so while he slept in my arms, I wished desperately to be asleep!! However, when morning came, Noah began acting more like himself, and has spent most of today awake, happy, smiling, and cooing just like old times : )
He has every reason to be miserable, but he's really a trooper. He enjoyed his visitors today and has only needed Tylenol (nothing stronger, thank God) for whatever pain he may be feeling. We're so relieved that he doesn't seem to be having much pain - it would be really hard to see him suffer, he's so sweet and precious! If he's hungry, he's not complaining : )
Thanks to everyone - we love you all and appreciate your concern and prayers more than you'll ever know! Please don't stop praying for Noah to completely recover quickly. Please know that we would call each of you one by one if we could, but these updates will have to do for now!!