We are not in Kansas anymore!

Thanksgiving day brought all FOUR Byrge's under the same roof for the first time. It was a very exciting day for our family. My parents have been in town since Monday and just left today. They were such a tremendous help to us. They made sure meals were cooked, house work completed, and babies entertained. I think Josh and I are quickly realizing we aren't in Kansas anymore. This juggling two babies at once is challenging, but we are looking forward to what our boys have in store for us. We wanted to let everyone know that Graham is doing great and Henri is as well. Henri is still adjusting to live with a new brother, but he is affectionate with Graham and willingly give him kisses on his head. The teaching Henri to be gentle thing is going to take some practice. We hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday and we have posted some pictures for curious eyes. Enjoy!




Here Henri is giving Graham some of his first kisses.



My mom and dad getting their first picture with both of their grandsons!



Josh got sick the day before Graham came home, here they are taking their first nap at home together.



Mommy getting to read her first story to BOTH boys...Henri seems more interested in his brother!



This was Henri sitting next to Graham right before our discharge, seemed mostly uninterested as he had the real cell phone my mom brought for him to play with.

Happy Happy Thanksgiving

A Thanksgiving to always remember! Today is a huge day for the Byrge family. We will be complete, AT HOME for the first time. Graham has performed beautifully and we will be discharged here in a few hours! We may not have a huge feast spread at home, but I think McDonalds would taste great as long as I can have all three of my boys together in the same place. We have truly missed Henri so much despite the fact that he has been in great hands and are looking forward to experiencing the boys together. More pictures to come very soon. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Love,

Josh, Mel, Henri, and baby Graham

Beautiful Completion

It was a balmy Monday for November 22nd. Josh, Henri, and I had been anxiously awaiting the progression of Graham's arrival with mixed reviews. We fully expected things to progress quickly without reprieve and it was exactly the opposite. I woke Monday morning with the typical painful contractions but had other things to do, like get Henri to the pediatrician. He had a low grade fever and what mom feared was ANOTHER ear infection. Never underestimate a mom's intuition. He indeed did have an ear infection. After his appointment Henri, my parents, and I went to lunch. I had been struggling with the idea of going to MoBap all day and when I stood up from lunch, there was no doubt. My pain was worse and so the call was made to Josh. I went home to put Henri down for a nap and off to the hospital we went. We were hooked up to the monitors by 2:30 and walking to the OR at 7:30. We walked as a normal everyday c-section delivery, on an average ordinary day. For those involved in my delivery, it was just another day at the office, and Josh and I could not have been more happy for that status. Wilson Graham Byrge was born at 8:13 pm and tipped the scales at 6 pounds 7 ounces and was 20 inches long. He was 37.3 weeks old and had absolutely no complications!!!! We are happy to introduce our new complete family. Thanksgiving is a mere three hours away...although ours arrived early this year. As we get together with friends and family Josh and I want to graciously thank our friends and family for their support, prayers, concern, and inquiries. We appreciate and are thankful for each and every one of you. Enjoy!





Sometimes Thanks is not enough...this is Dr. Michael Paul..he is responsible for a term pregnancy thanks to his dedication and expertise...Graham is here!




Here Henri is with Daddy meeting Graham for the fist time. Initially he wanted nothing to do with him but by the end of the visit gave his little brother a kiss on the head! For sure going to be an interesting few months with these two cuties!



Graham's first photo with mom and dad!



Yes ladies and gentleman you read that scale correct!!!!!



Graham wants everyone to know what he thinks about this arrival!

37 weeks

Baby Graham was seen again yesterday and everything looked great. Mom looked good other than the swelling and cold she has been fighting. Mom came off the medication that was keeping the contractions at bay last night and now it's the waiting game. The fetal specialist thinks at most it may be a couple of days......!!! It's all up to Graham and mom now. Tick tick. On a funnier lighter note, Henri is recovering well from his latest ear infection and went to the library with mom the other day. They went to pick out books about becoming a sibling.....and they ended up with a few. When mom tried to read the first one to Henri, he burst into tears...this from a kid who has a book in his hands constantly. He loves to read and insists on it most the time. Guess he kinda has an idea of what is to come for him in the next of weeks. We will keep everyone posted on the status.

All In A Day

Today was a huge day for our family. Henri did not sleep well last night because he isn't feeling well. No fever but a runny nose and cough and was up for the day at 0500. So Henri went to school today with Dad, and Mom got Carson (our cat) to the vet for his annual sedation, teeth cleaning, shots, and check up. Then Mom spent almost 5 hours being seen at the fetal specialist office. So.....onto the big news. Baby Graham looked fantastic. He passed his biophysical profile with flying colors and for the whopper news of the day. Or should I say biggest news of the day? Or ginormous news of the day? Well....Graham at 35.4 weeks weighed in at 5# 8 ounces. We could not be more excited about this news! Mom's labs looked decent today and we have to stop the medication that is keeping the contractions at bay on the 19th of November. The doctor does not think that with the amount of contractions I am having on the medication that I will last long off the medication. Maybe a day or a few. Either way with that being week 37 and Graham looking great, we anticipate no huge problems with a delivery on or around the 19th. Henri has a huge job looming as a big brother but the Byrge household it getting excited about the impending delivery of miracle number two. Thank you to all who continue to inquire and pray..........we appreciate it so much.

Absent

So there has been a considerable absence here on the Byrge blog. Things since Henri's first birthday have been busy around here, but we are going to make a diligent effort to update more often.

Henri's birthday seems so long ago seeing as he will be 15 months on the 15th of this month. He has made amazing strides in his development since his birthday. Right after his birthday he was diagnosed with Sensory Integration Disorder (SID). He was having difficulty with his eating of solid foods which prompted the evaluation. He has been being seen by an Occupational Therapist three times a week to help improve his oral motor strength and help with his eating. He has come a long way and is eating table food well now. We are currently working on consistency and doing therapy exercises everyday at home. Henri is walking and jogging all over the place and his vocabulary is expanding almost everyday. He knows about 14 words and at least as many signs. He enjoys being outside doing anything and is really beginning to show his independence. He is constantly giving hugs and kisses and LOVES LOVES LOVES his cat. He is a very animated little guy and loves books. He will honestly bring me a book more than 20 times a day to read.

Josh is continuing to study for his big CFA test that is coming up in early December. Hotel in Chicago is booked and he is making his final preparations for the test.

I have been off of work for a little over 2 weeks now. This Friday we will be 35 weeks pregnant and we are doing everything we can to stay that way for as long as we can. Our original due date was December 10th. That was moved up to November 30th two weeks ago, and just yesterday we moved it up to November 19th. I am being seen my the fetal specialist once a week and the newest due date is subject to change as early as next Tuesday depending on how the appointment goes. As usual, no predictability and we are taking it one day at a time, but we remain hopeful that we can make it to at least 37 weeks. Baby Byrge #2 continues to look healthy on his weekly ultrasounds and we will get a measurement on how big he is next Tuesday. All said, we remain busy with Henri's schedule of therapy, school, and playdates and are looking forward the addition of our new little one in the next few weeks. Thanks to everyone for the prayers, support, and help, we couldn't do it without all of you. Enjoy the recent pics of the boys and we will have updates next. week.






Henri in action at his therapy session. He does play therapy including this ball exercise as well as eating exercises. He loves his therapist Laura, she is amazing.



Here Henri is having tactile play in a tube of rice.


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Here is one of the most recent Ultrasound pictures of baby Graham. He is getting snap shots weekly, so look soon for more with an updated weight. Last check three weeks ago he was a whopping 3 pounds 11 ounces.

One year

It is almost ten days overdue :( but Henri has celebrated his first birthday! We went home to Cincinnati to have his bash, and that is was. We had about 60 people with us celebrating his big day. He seemed to be completely overwhelmed by everything going on which we expected. He was really not impressed with his cake at all, and was more interested in the pool than his gifts! Josh and I had our 24 week check up with Baby Byrge #2 this week and things are progressing beautifully. He is growing appropriately, and the pregnancy thus far has been uneventful. We are praying for the same for the next three months! Thanks to everyone for the request for pictures and updates on the new baby, we appreciate it. Here are some pictures of Henri's big day. Enjoy.




Henri got to visit with his Aunt Natalie for the first time since December of last year and got some high quality snuggle time. Aunt Nat had taken him for a wagon ride and tuckered him out. He slept with her for over an hour! Sweet sweet baby.



All three grandkids.....Anna was very happy to be with the babies and Emma looks a bit concerned about all the picture taking here.....she is a sweet sweet baby.




Henri and Emma playing at GG and papa's house banging on the front door.....I would bet money that those prints will stay there for a while.



Henri being quite hesitant with his cake, he stuck his finger in the icing a few times and gave it a dirty look. He didn't take a single bite :(



The cake we had made for all the guests...it was delicious.