You have all been asking...

when will Meredith be returning to Lee High School? Well, teachers, administrators, faculty, and staff are returning Monday for a Professional Development Day and students are scheduled to begin the 2nd semester Tuesday. Meredith would like to stay out in order to continue to visit Preston on a regular basis. Pierce will return to Mrs. Libby's on Monday, which is wonderful because he needs to stay in that regular routine.
Meredith does have sick days and short term disability however it will not cover all the time she would like to take off and so she plans to join the sick bank in hopes of friends and coworkers donating sick days. Since Preston is in the NICU and we have no idea how long, it makes no sense for her to take her maternity leave right away because she will also need time when he is actually discharged from the hospital.
If you are a MPS employee and you have extra sick days to spare, please consider donating them to Meredith so she can continue to be with Preston on a regular basis. Although Meredith is currently unable to hold and snuggle with Preston, we all know how important a mother's presence is and he needs her there and he needs her worry free.

Tummy Time!

Last night Meredith and Ken were unable to visit at 8pm because triplets were born and two of them were moved into the same room with Preston.

It was apparently worth the patient wait to see him because this morning Preston is having his first "Tummy Time" and he is doing good. They have increased his breastmilk intake and this "tummy time" helps with digestion!

Continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers and have a very safe and Happy New Years Eve!

What a wonderful day!

An even MORE exciting evening!

Tonight while at the hospital Meredith and Ken FINALLY got to participate in the Mommy and Daddy duties. Meredith got to change Preston's diaper and pick him up to weigh him and Ken was able to hold him while they changed his bedding. This is SO exciting!
Please continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers because it is evident that it is working!

Its been a GOOD day!

This morning Mommy and Daddy went to the hospital for their usual morning visit. He is continuing to poop and urinate. He has lost a little weight but this is good because he has been retaining fluid. The nurse was kind enough to remove the hood, his CPAP, and head gear. They spent an hour and a half visiting and enjoying his crying, squeals, and moan noises.
When they arrived for their evening visit tonight they found out his CPAP has been removed and he only has a breathing tube in his nose. His feeding has also increased from 1cc of breastmilk to 2cc's every 6 hours.
Today has been a very good day!
Meredith and Ken both thank you all for the thoughts and prayers.

How can you help?

Prayer is AMAZING so keep praying. Of course you can also help by making life a little easier. Right now Meredith and Ken are spending their time going back and forth to the hospital so they can spend as much time as possible with sweet Preston. This of course puts some things on hold...like cooking dinner (and cleaning up afterwards)! You can help by signing up at http://www.takethemameal.com/. Meredith, Ken, and Pierce are pretty easy to please so make something thats your favorite or if you try to stay away from the stove, purchase them a gift card so they can pick up something convenient.
Go to http://www.takethemameal.com/ enter Bishop where it asks for recipient last name and the password is 1580.
I know they will greatly appreciate ANYTHING that will make their lives just a little bit easier!

Preston...the little fighter

As of this evening Preston is doing very well. They had to change his diaper which was of course very exciting...this is a good sign! They have also removed the respirator and he is now on a CPAP machine. He is staying strong!
Mom and Dad continue to make the trip to the hospital to visit as often as possible. The nurses at Baptist have been very helpful in every way.
Pierce is spending a couple of days with Zsa Zsa and the rest of the family before he gets back in the routine on Monday.
If only someone knew how to get a front row parking pass at Baptist South!

Precious PRESTON

PROUD Parents!

Welcome to the World Baby Boy!

Sweet Poem for Preston

I found this sweet poem and as crazy as it seems the title is



Preston's Gift



You came into the world struggling for air,

With courage and heart you survived a scare.

Your will to live and be with us,

Inspires and touches us so very much.

It must have been hard to go from warmth to thin air,

With a tube down your throat it didn't seem fair.

But you fought for your life,

it wasn't much fun.

Making our problems so small by comparison.

We hope that you know,

We'd do anything for you,

You're worth any sacrifice that we can go through.

With Gods help above,

We'll conquer any sea,

You've reminded us of the way that life needs to be.



By Kevin Shay

Kevin Shay is a reporter for the Arlington Morning News. His son Preston was born premature at 32 weeks.

December 27th

They have turned the ventilator down to 12 breaths per minute and they are trying to wean him off. Preston has been fed a little however they are holding off for now since he is digesting rather slowly.

Christmas Night...Santa Claus is coming BACK to town!

Tonight the nurses have said how pleased they are with his progress. They took Preston off the respirator but had to put him back on around lunch because he was forgetting to breathe. They have lowered his oxygen from 30 to 20. They have asked if Meredith was given steriods because he is so strong.
Since Christmas Eve Preston just HAD to enter the world, Santa made a deal with Meredith and Ken and he changed his route. Instead of coming to see Pierce the 25th he is set up to come tonight.

Mommy is released

After Preston arrives and is then transported to Baptist South, Meredith recovers at Jackson. After a few family visits, Meredith and Ken spend the night in Jackson while Mimsy keeps Pierce. Mimzi, Ken, and Pierce go to visit Preston in the NICU that night. The next day, Christmas Day, Dr. Ashhurst came by around 6am and told her she could go home around 1:30 or 2pm. Jackson released them at 11am and they took Pierce to see Preston.

Preston enters the world!

Monday Dec. 20th Meredith started to experience what she thought was a UTI. She went Tuesday morning to Primed and they sent her to Baptist East Triage. While in Triage, they monitored Preston and ran tests. They indicated she was not dialated, gave her meds for a UTI and sent her home. She felt better but still not completely up to par. Christmas Eve she woke up and thought things were going to be okay after about 4 hours of pain. Meredith and Pierce loaded up to meet Ken at Sam's and Meredith spent the entire trip leaning over the grocery cart. On the way home, Ken decided to call the doctor. The doctor's office instructed him to take her to Triage but he made the executive decision to head straight to Jackson. Once they wheeled her into a room EVERY nurse was in preparation mode. They took care of everything and Preston was born at 28 weeks at 1:45pm. He weighed 2lbs 10oz and his head was 26cm and he is about 14 inches long. Meredith was able to kiss him and he was then taken to Baptist South in Angel One.