It has been a couple of months since we've brought Holden home from the hospital and we wanted to give everyone an update on how the little monkey is doing and share some recent photos.
Since we've last posted, Holden has had some great successes - along with some pretty big set backs, but he continues to fight his way through each obstacle.
First and foremost, we are so blessed to have Holden in our family and Reece and I are enjoying parenthood. Even Alex looks forward to his daily kisses (or as we call it, "sugar") from our little guy. The monkey now weighs over 11 lbs and is nearly 
23" long. Holden has been enjoying finally meeting his family - including Grandmas, Grandpa, his Aunts, Uncles and most recently, his cousins!!The month of June brought some set backs for Holden with 2 hospital visits totaling nearly 3 weeks in the hospital. The 1st was due to severe reflux, the 2nd was pneumonia that resulted from Holden aspirating from his reflux. It has taken several weeks for Holden to get back to where he was before the pneumonia. Although he is feeling better, he is still requiring slightly more oxygen than he needed before his hospital stay. Doctors have made several adjustments to his care and we are hopeful that we are now going in the right direction.
Holden does have a challenging summer ahead of him with 2 surgeries/procedures planned. He is scheduled for a cathizeration on July 25 (to check his lungs and heart) and then surgery for his reflux and hernia in August. Although all of these procedures are considered relatively safe, Holden is still medically fragile, so he is at slightly greater risk. As nervous as we are about what the next several weeks hold, we are hopeful that these procedures will help our little guy on his road to being healed.Those of you who really know me, know I am the eternal optimist. But even I occasionally have a day where I wonder how we are going to make it through all this. But it is those days that I dig deeper, fight harder and pray more.
And while I admit, I never thought Holden would have to endure so much, I still believe he is going to be okay. And it is my faith that gets me through and enables me to be strong for my son. And every night, before we go to bed, Holden and I say our prayers and thank God for the good health that he will be blessed with! We will continue posting updates each week or as we have more information - or more cute pictures!! We thank you for all of your support and love during this challenging time and we ask that you continue to keep Holden in your prayers, especially the next several weeks.
Love,
Mommy
