Pray for strength...he's big

Well friends, things are going well. Ryder is now 5lbs 13 oz. If you look back at the October 2nd post he weighed 4lbs 13 oz. Yup, that's 1 pound in 11 days! This means that he will weigh 33lbs when he is a year old. It also means that he will weigh close to 200lbs when he's 6! (Trust me I did the math. That means it will happen.)

Ryder is now eating from a bottle or nursing at every other feeding (4 out of 8 times a day). He is able to hold his own temperature. He is back in his normal baby bed. The best part is that he is back to his room with his friends in room 1.

Today we met Ryder's new doctor. She is a very sweet lady and Beth Anne is really glad to have her. Today I also stayed home from work (didn't feel too hot this morn and needed to rest up). This worked out well because I needed to be at the hospital with Beth Anne to hear some updates from the doctor. We found out that its likely that Ryder will be having a second surgery. This surgery will be to give Ryder a permanent shunt to replace the device that is currently implanted under his scalp. We don't know when this will be but I promise to post again before hand if he has to have the surgery so that you can be praying for his medical team and for his sweet little head. There is still a chance that the permanent shunt won't be necessary, so we're going to continue to ask God to heal Ryder's brain without a second surgery.

The doctor also told us some very exciting news today. In all previous scans they had been monitoring a spot on his brain that at one time wasn't receiving necessary amounts of blood. This spot meant an increased risk for developmental problems. Praise our Great God! It has been gone for the past 2 brain scans! Ryder still is at risk because of a bajillion other factors, but its one big factor that has been eliminated.

Please pray that we would continue to praise God for what He is doing in our life. Sometimes things are rough, but we know that He knows best & has our best in mind. He has been faithful to us and we love Him. Thank you all for your prayers and for all of your concern.