Duggie's fan club gains a Legend

Douglas got to meet Mr. Ray Lee today (he met him yesterday but with his eyes closed), the wonderful man who my mom married a few years ago. For what seems like forever now, he's been the sweetest "Papaw" our girls, and now our boy, could ever have. Mike and I have to believe that the girls' actual grandfathers, who both passed away when we were teenagers, are smiling down on us and are very happy that a man such as Ray Lee has found his way into our family's lives. He has also lived a life you could make one heck of a movie from. Or a miniseries. I hope everyone reading this gets to meet Ray one day, but for now, here's what he had to say:

What a joy is was to meet my little Grandson Dougie. He flexed his muscles and tried to get up. This boy has to be a blessing to all his family. We are all so proud of him, and pulling for him. His mother was holding him on her bosom and I got to shake his little hand. You can't imagine what a thrill this was. I hope I live long enough to play ball with him! --- Papaw Ray

Rest assured, Ray is healthy as a horse, and will likely playing ball long after most of us are. Doug is doing great still. The docs decided to keep him on the one antibiotic for one more week, just to be safe, but all signs are continue to be that we're in for a long, fantastically boring, couple of months til he comes home.

Luscious Locks

Yesterday was another big day for Duggie. He continues to leap over milestones and do well. They increased his feedings to 17 cc's yesterday and he will soon reach the maximum feeds for his size, which will be 19 or 20 cc's. He has now been taken off any supplemental nutrition and is getting evrything he needs from the breast milk and protien powder. He will have another lumbar puncture today and if all signs of the infection are gone, then he will be taken off one of the two antibiotics he's currently on and will get the very large i.v. taken out of his arm.
Yesterday we were around for the usual suctioning and changing of the tube in his nose that supplies the little bit of oxygen he needs. The respiratory therapist took everything off and gave him a little head massage, which he enjoyed very much, since he has to wear that hat around the clock. We got a good look at his beautiful dark hair. He woke up, looked around and kept his eyes open for a bit. It was nice to see him so alert and raising a little hell while they suctioned his nose and mouth. We are told that if all continues to go well, he'll be taken off the supplemental oxygen in a week or two. It isn't hurting anything and the docs want to continue it for a bit so he doesn't have to work so hard to breathe. We want to conserve all of his energy and calories right now.

Chest to Chest Man Love ... mmmm Good?!

I figured if Douglas is gonna get anywhere in the majors, he may as well get used to the site of a man's bare chest, particularly one all ripped like his dad's.

So, today while Maw was out pumping and Rick and Kelle had gone, I snuck in a little 'kangaroo' time of my own. Words truly cannot describe (and you all know I have some words) the feeling of that tiny little spider monkey all curled up on my chest, listening to my heartbeat, beating once for every 2-3 times his does.

His rising and falling with my breath reminded me of surfing or just lying on a board or raft in the water, contently letting the waves move you. I tried breathing nice and deep, real slow like, to give him a good-but-not-dizzying ride.

Apparently moving these little guys heads even a little bit can make them dizzy for half an hour. Rocking is a big no no, which Melissa reminded me of when she came back to discover me in heaven holding the little guy for the first time, having already rocked him well into a psychedelic trance, I'm sure. Again, he'll thank me later.

I then sat still for a few minutes while Mama shot a couple of pix of my gross hairy chest with the little angel on top, looking at me all googly-eyed, and then I returned Douglas to his rightful place on Her chest. No hair, and a much better ride, I'm certain.

We went back up to see him tonight, and he was fast asleep, all curled up again. Breathing, eating, and growing. You know, regular baby stuff. Good night. Indeed.

X Games 2025 Here Comes Dougie

Pure power is an understatement -- The only word that we can say is AMAZING. After we went through all the "security checks" and got sterilized we were ready to visit Lil Dougie. Amazing -- he lay in his little domain covered in his blankees and was just as content as can be. His tiny little lips, pursed and beautiful. We stood in amazement as he shifted a little here and there and was just content. His little arms and legs pulled tight up against his body and he sported a little "skater" cap. Zane would be proud!! Halen's lovefilled drawings engulfed her brother. We just stood and took in this amazing sight.

Aunt Kelle & Uncle Rick

2.2 lbs of PURE POWER

Just a very quick post this morning before we're off to St. David's (there is legislation being circulated to change the name to St. Duggie's) ... wanted to let you all know that the doctors, having seen this child's potential as an Olympic power lifter, have stated adding protein powder to his milk, which is up to 11 cc's every 3 hours!

Douglas went from 2 to 2.2 lbs overnight, and has started calisthenics in the incubator, as seen by this impressive set of booty-lift-leg-thrusts seen above. If he keeps this up he'll end up with the calves of Doug Myres, (kind of like cantaloupes affixed to the back of each leg, for those who didn't know him) which somehow helped Doug make it all the way to playing for the Mets in his baseball career.

Things are lookin up. I'm off to scout him some more and will report back later.

Coach Dad

Douglas gets to meet his Mamaw Judy ...

*This post says its from Melissa but is really from her very proud mother, who got to meet her newest grandson today*

Well my day finally arrived! I got to see my little grandson for the very first time. It was the moment I had been waiting for ever since he was born. I was amazed at the strength that that little one had(and still has).
To me it was an experience of a lifetime to get to watch them take him out of the incubator and place him on his Mom"s (My precious daughter) chest. The smile on her face said it all. That smile and the "aahh" she said ; will be with me always!
But most of all I got to touch his little check and hand with one of my fingers. Now that's what will keep the moment in my heart forever.
He is doing so great and will continue too. "I know and believe this with all of my heart"
I appreciate all the love and support that Mike and Melissa has been getting while all this has been going on. I would like to take this time to thank everyone. " May God bless all".

With All of My Love : Judy(Grandmaw of Little Duggie)

The Li'l Slugger

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to meet Duggie for the first time. What a treat. Steve has been sick all weekend and was very sad he could not attend with me, so he sent me with a "starter kit". You see, Steve wants our little Duggie to get his head in the game of baseball. You're really just never too young. Anyway, I noticed that Duggie is already prepping with calisthenics and throwing exercises. He's an active little tyke with big feet. He's well on his way. Duggie looks amazing. He's so small, but seems strong and ready for the world. His little toes make me smile and cry all at the same time. Thank you Maw and Paw for letting me meet him. I'm so proud of you and inspired by your strength and daily fortitude. Halen and Deaven will surely spoil him crazy. I believe I'll need to return soon with "Coach Steve" in tow.  We love you Wilsons!

I Could Get Used To This....

We've spent the last two days in our now, usual routine. Pump, pump, hospital, pump, HOLD BABY D, pump, home to girls, pump, etc. Holding him is definately the best, most relaxing part of my day, and he continues to tolerate it well. The other thing I love is when I call in to check on him, which is once, first thing in the morning and again, right before I go to bed. It is a simple thing, but when the nurses say.."he's doing great, eating and sleeping"...it sounds so good, just normal newborn stuff.
Duggie is doing well, and they just keep increasing his milk intake almost every day. He's up to getting well over half a small bottle over a 24 hour period and as of yesterday, he weighs 2 pounds. They said he would probably lose a little weight at first, but not our guy. My milk supply is not doing so well, but I've called in the big guns, a prescription that is, to help move things along so hopefully that will start working very soon.
Thank you again for all of the thoughts, prayers, meals, Halen hauling to various activities and love.
MAW

All about the lighting

As some of you who have been to our home know, we Wilsons like it warm, and we are very picky about our lighting. Ambient, dimmer light, is where we like it, at least when we're inside. Outside we need sunshine or we wither.

Well, Douglas hasn't spent anytime outside yet, except for the very quick ambulance entry and exit the night he was born, so its all about his inside light right now.

Today we got a nice surprise when we walked in... Doug's little "grow light" (the UV spotlight that has been aimed at him for the past week so his skin development would accelerate and to keep jaundice at bay) was gone and he's now very comfortable in his dimly lit corner of the NICU bay, with a little blanket draped over his magic box. We were very relieved to see this, because now Douglas doesn't have to keep those "shades" on all the time, and he can open his eyes and look around as much as he wants, or just relax in the new Zen of his incubator.

Speaking of Zen, Melissa got to hold him again today, for more than an hour straight, which was amazing for both of them. I was supposed to have my 'turn' today with the kangaroo care, but since our son can't really speak for himself yet, I imagined that he might just prefer Melissa's warm, supple, bosom full of his magic nectar versus dad's pale white hairy chest, and so I made that choice for him. I think he'll thank me for that one day. In fact, I kind of think he did today... we had some serious eye contact afterward while mommy went to pump.

He continues to do great... he's on 5x the milk now that he started on (still a tiny amount, but a very satisfying increase), so hopefully he'll just keep doing what he's been doing and get even stronger as he grows. That spinal tap came back negative for meningitis, by the way... sorry if I neglected to mention that. :)

The one thing we'll miss about that spotlight is the dramatic photos, so above there's one more from that era of days gone by... (or a day gone by). Proof positive, if you ask me, that Doug receives all the energy, prayers, mojo, and good vibes you guys have been sending his way via his tiny, tiny, feet.

ALSO: My mom called me yesterday morning with a song in her voice to tell me that my brother Clint woke up for the first time since his attack, and was coherent. While he's still on a ventilator and will be awhile recovering, this was of course Very good news. Keep sending the good stuff his way, too, and I'll tell him to try sticking both feet in the air.

One More Picture From Today...

Finally!!

Today was the day I've been waiting for.....I finally was able to hold my baby for the first time and can't begin to describe to you how it felt. There is something very unnatural about having a baby and seeing him through glass but not being able to hold him.
Kangaroo care is what they call it and it is a technique used to hold premature babies. The baby is placed on the mom or dad's bare chest, tummy to tummy in between the breasts. The baby's head is turned so that his ear is above the parents heartbeat. This time together is supposed to have a major, positive impact on babies and their parents. The doctor and nurse said we could try it, but if Doug didn't tolerate it well, then we'd hold off for awhile before trying it again. I sat in a chair with my shirt unbuttoned, and the nurses did all of the work. They moved wires around and placed him gently on me, having me put my hand on his bottom to hold him up. Mind you, I've been wanting to cup that bottom in my hands from the beginning, so when they said that, I was very pleased. He cried a little at first, which was an amazing sound and then began the hiccups...every one cuter than the last. He did very well, heart rate and pulse were steady and it felt like the most natural thing in the world....I think I finally took my first deep, relaxing breaths in this moment. Of course, daddy was on hand to take lots of pictures and even record his little cry on his phone, which I now have on my phone to listen to whenever I like. Hopefully, we'll be able to do this for a little while every day and tomorrow is dad's turn.
MAW

Standing Still

I am Aunt Angie. I finally got to see little Douglas and words can not describe all of the emotions that i felt. While trying desperately not to cry cause my sweet sister (the little mama) was standing right beside me, so many thoughts went thru my head. But mainly I thought about how everything stopped when this tiny little guy came into this world as if time was just standing still. Even for his sweet big sisters, nothing was more important than their little brother. As i looked at his little body squirming around it was just a testament to me of God's power. Then i got to see those tiny little eyes open for a brief moment so he could check everything out and reassure mom and dad that he is going to be just fine. I have watched Mike and Melissa for the past couple of days going back and forth to the hospital, getting very little sleep, but their strength has been amazing. I am so grateful that they (Mike, Melissa, Deaven and Halen) are a part of my life and now i get a chance to help spoil another one :) I'm so excited. Stay strong you guys cause it wont be long before little Duggie will be at home running you over with his tri cycle. :) Love you all very much.
Aunt Angie

Happy 1 Week Birthday to Douglas!

Just a quick post and a couple of pix... one rare 'unmasked shot' and one very sweet last touch on the cheek before Maw went home for the night. Thanks to everyone for continuing to read this blog and for all the overwhelming support you all have offered. I don't know if Doug can possibly understand that there are literally hundreds of people pulling for him from all corners of the globe, but I think I'll tell him tomorrow anyway.

For the worry warts out there... he's doing great still, and no further news on my brother Clint, which sounds like good news to me considering where he was at last night. Thanks for adding him to your prayers as well.

Good night to Duggie, and all of you.

Some Down N Dirty Medical Stuff about lil Dug

So I've felt like I should share some information that we got and just fully understood on Wednesday about how all this happened and what our baby boy's real risks were and still are to some degree. A lot of it was/is a little scary, which is why I hesitated, but since all of you are so concerned and following his progress so closely, and because much of the really scary stuff has passed with the "first 72 hours" and this evening marking his 1 week birthday, (another major milestone) I figured I may as well clue you in as best I can.

First off, I want to thank our friends Andrea Schneider and Laine Rosenberg from NYC for sending us a great new doctor in Eric Su. Eric is Laine's brother in law, who just happens to work at St. David's NICU along with Doug's other two doctors, Dr. Rivera (that's him above, who was on call and arrived in minutes at South Austin hospital last Friday night), and Dr. Dekowski, who is his primary doctor since he was the one working at St. David's the night Doug was transported there, 1 hour after he was born. All three of them are great, but Eric was maybe just a little more forthcoming and easy to talk to about some of the harsher realities and the how's and why's of this whole nightmarish/miraculous episode, probably due to the fact that the scariest times had passed.

So... it all started because Melissa was a carrier (like 15-60% of all adult women, depending on who you ask) of Group B Strep (Group A is the one that causes strep throat.) This is a bacteria very commonly carried in a woman's vagina, bowels, or other areas, and rarely causes a problem. Pregnant women are screened for this at 35-37 weeks, which of course Melissa never got to. Well, it turns out the bacteria had made its way into the uterus and the placenta was acutely infected (the pathology on this just came back a couple of days ago.). Apparently little Douglas knew he didn't have the time to wait for 35 weeks, and made his mommy aware of this just in the nick of time. Because it was just such a sudden thing, Doug didn't have the benefit of steroids or antibiotics that would have been administered to Melissa had they been aware of the infection. So his little body had to do all the work of adjusting to the outside world once he was already on the outside, rather than the rapid evolution a baby can undergo to get ready if it's apparent he's coming early for a few days.

Now, I insisted from the beginning of this that Melissa not start doing searches on the Internet about preemies at 27 weeks, all that can happen, statistics, etc. Mostly because I don't care to know the odds in such situations, as I believe in things not covered in numbers, like the human spirit and family and little Doug's namesake looking after him from wherever he is. Of course, from the second I found out this is what caused all this, I did all those searches myself, as I'm sure many of you will. It's a lot of pretty scary stuff, and I found out today just how afraid Dr. Rivera was for little Doug when he first met him about 20 seconds after delivery at South Austin. Fearing this infection, Dr. Rivera immediately put Doug on just the right antibiotics, even before the pathology was sent off, much less having the results back.

The first night's head ultrasound revealed that Doug had a little bleeding in his brain cavity (ventricles, the empty spaces are called) which while common in babies delivered at this age, also terrified Dr. Rivera initially, reaffirming his fears that the infection had likely gotten into Doug's bloodstream, which we found out the next day was true. This is why the doctors didn't tell us too much in the beginning, other than "the first 72 hours will be very critical." Other than us being in shock and in no way ready to deal with it, I believe now that they feared the worst... that the antibiotics wouldn't work in time (he already had infected lungs) or that they might not be the right ones or that the bleeding would increase or spread and that the little guy just might not make it.

They, of course, did not yet have the benefit of knowing our son.

Within another day, he had beaten the infection with the help of the antibiotics (we probably all owe his life to Dr. Rivera's initial judgment and haste) and was ready to start really showing his stuff. His head ultrasound revealed no further bleeding, as has every one since (they were daily for 3 days and then they skipped a few days and now they will be weekly), and of course you know that those lungs of steel just started working once the infection cleared and haven't stopped since. He was able to get off the big (and dangerous if used too long) ventilator very quickly, and just as importantly was able to get down to room oxygen levels and stay there. All of this was astounding to the doctors given Douglas's age and infection and sudden arrival with no preparation. His lungs now look "unbelievably good" (per Dr. Rivera today) and he breathed fine with no support at all for several minutes today while they made some adjustments to his gear. He is now only on the smaller ventilator as a preventative measure.

I also caught Dr. Su yesterday morning, just as he was leaving his all-nighter shift. At midnight Wed night they performed the spinal tap on Doug (a tiny, tiny version, which went flawlessly) and while the pathology won't be back for 48 hours, the initial look at the fluids they got was very reassuring that the infection hadn't turned into meningitis, another of the big scary risks that I knew about but dare not utter the words. Dr. Su's last words to me before he left this morning were that after the first 72 hours Doug's chances of further bleeding around his brain were much lower and that after 1 week (tonight), the chances are down to like 5 percent. So I feel OK talking about this now, and I hope you all are OK reading about it.

NOW... every Dr. and every parent we've spoken to at that amazing NICU unit has advised us that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and that there WILL be setbacks. Count on them coming, and we'll all be able to deal with them better. Dr. Rivera said today that there is a very good chance that Strep B infection will come back. But they will be monitoring it very closely, and will treat it as necessary. Eventually (around 5-6 weeks), Doug's own immune system will adjust to be able to deal with the bacteria just like all of us do every day. There may also be another spinal tap later (Doug barely feels this, they promise) to check the fluid in there again, just to make sure as the tiny bit of blood in Doug's brain drains down into the spine, that it is still not infected. There are probably a million other things that could happen, and some of them will, in all likelihood. BUT... I want everyone reading this blog to know, as I know in my heart now, that Doug is going to be just fine in the near and long term and that the chances of all of this affecting him long term are getting to be quite small... he's in a world class facility and everyone working in it is fascinated by his strength and story.

As the saying goes, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, and Doug will have strengthened our family and the entire community of people who love him by the time its done, just like our friend Doug did on a daily basis while he was with us, and even since he passed.

All my love,

Mike

BIG PS... I got word from my mother Tuesday night that my oldest brother Clint, who has had asthma all his life and has had some near-death experiences with it in the past few years, has had another massive attack on top of the nastiest strain of flu and is once again on life support himself at Willis Knighton South Hospital in Shreveport (where Melissa and I grew up, and where my mom and brothers and grandmother still live). He's a tough, stubborn, guy with a great sense of humor and will likely be regaling us with stories of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel once again very soon, but if you could add him to all those prayers and energy chains and everything else circling the planet for our Douglas, my family would be forever (even more) grateful. Royce Clinton Wilson is his full name... he's 53 and the Royce part is after my dad.

Our first visit with young Douglas!

We finally got to meet young Douglas earlier this afternoon and are still all smiles several hours later. The first thing i realized was that the hospital has quite the sterilization program for people wanting to visit this young'n....a full 2 min's worth of arm scrubbing and a face mask to boot. I felt like a bit like a surgeon and a bit like someone who becomes acutely aware and a little embarrassed at how quickly i normally wash my hands.

They have young Douglas in his own little climate controlled grow box with a pretty intense light to help his skin finish developing. When Mike and i first went in (only 1 visitor at a time, Jenny went afterwards) young Douglas was on his stomach with his legs folded underneath him...a true infant pose..and the only movement you could see was his little rib cage expanding and contracting with his breath, but man was he breathing strong! I snapped the shot above when his Pops put his finger on his tiny hand..i think he recognized Mike's touch because he held his finger for a good while and stayed perfectly still. But that changed shortly because as luck would have it i was there when they turned him over and checked and repositioned the (few) various monitors on his body. They even changed his diaper, which looks like a regular diaper but was so small it took me a while to realize it was just a diaper.

They have a little red light sensor taped to his left foot to measure his heartbeat ( i believe) and another little sensor the size of a small wire taped to his stomach to measure his temperature. The nurse said that his body is so sensitive to temperature changes at his age and size that a lot of focus is kept on maintaining his core temperature, hence the clear box around his bed. As a hand-port is opened on the box, more air circulates past that opening to keep cool air from rushing in. He also has a little tube running into his mouth delivering his first sampling of what's on his menu for months to come, once they remove the i/v, which the nurse said he's getting most of his nutrition from now in the form of a glucose/vitamin/fat rich liquid, but that as his stomach starts processing more and more of the milk, they'll start reducing the i/v fluids.

He has the cutest little cheeks and hands and sure likes to move his feet around when he has the chance...that is until the nurse swaddles his feet back under the blanket (which he didn't seem to dig very much) to keep him from unfastening the remaining sensors.

I'm so thankful for this young ones safe arrival and awestruck at his parents immense strength and patience throughout this little guys early arrival...one he obviously didn't want to postpone any further! All our Love and then some to the family Wilson and wishes of continued astonishing progress for young n' strong Douglas Michael. Jenny would like to add that she's pleased the Wilson Webbed Toe Tradition(WWTT) is still in full effect!

The True Nectar Of The Gods

We woke up for the 6:00 a.m. pumping session and called to check on Doug. He did great over night. They started giving him a few drops of milk yesterday and he is taking it down every three hours now, without any problems so far. Not only is the milk the perfect form of nutrition for him and full of antibodies, it is used now more as a preventive measure for a yucky stomach infection these little guys can get if they go too long without it. So, he is off to another good start today!

I love the picture of him sleeping on his tummy(posted yesterday) so much and really wanted to see it while I'm up pumping...sort of a little motivator. Well, daddy made one call to the Gamecock office and JR and Lynair got right on it. A beautiful copy of the photo was delivered to our doorstep last night by Rick. Thank you guys, for all of the love and beautiful flowers and stuffed animals for Duggie you sent yesterday.
MAW

Another day gone, another tube out of our little man

Sorry for not updating on Doug's actual progress/medical status today... I forget how many people are (very sweetly) checking this blog many times a day to see how he's doing. Not much to report today, except that he is doing fine and the nurses are trying feeding him again to see if his lil tummy is ready to digest, AND he got the long probe out of his belly button (and artery), which was about 6 inches long when they pulled it out. The pic above is of Melissa and I holding down his little hands and feet while the nurse removed this tube. It didn't hurt him, but he moves around so much we wanted to make sure the nurse could get a clean snip quickly. This probe going away is good news, as it was to monitor his blood pressure constantly, which isn't really needed now with the way he's going. Also, every tube in like that is another chance of infection, and its just nice to get more and more of these things out of little Douglas. It also makes his tummy sleepin time a bit less tricky, which we've come to discover is his favorite time.

That's about it for tonight... time for the midnight pumping session (Melissa's doing great with that, btw... Duggie will have plenty of milk when his tummy is ready.) We'll let you know how that goes tomorrow.

Thanks again so much for all the support, prayers, offers to cook and clean, etc etc. Its truly amazing how such a tiny guy can bring such a big community of friends and family together so quickly. Our family will never forget it, I assure you.

Paw

A note from Grandma Judy (Melissa's Mom)

We got this in yesterday from Judy and she asked me to post it. She said her lesson on how to Blog and how to turn off allcaps can come later. :)

DEAREST MIKE & MELISSA,

IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME TO GET THIS UPDATE ON OUR LITTLE "DUGGIE"! I CRIED HAPPY TEARS THE WHOLE TIME I READ AND SAW THE PICTURES OF THAT SWEET PRECIOUS GIFT FROM GOD THAT WAS GIVEN TO YOU.

HE IS SURELY A MIRACLE THAT WE ALL LOVE AND AM SO PROUD OF THE COURAGE THAT NOT ONLY HE HAS BUT YOU TOO AS PARENTS HAVE. YOU BOTH HAVE TRULY BEEN BLESSED EVERY DAY YOU WILL HAVE HIM; AND WITH ALL THE HELP AND LOVE HE GETS FROM EVERYONE; HE WILL MAKE IT!

AS HIS FATHER, MIKE, YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BE SO PROUD OF THAT STRONG YOUNG MAN & AS HIS MOTHER, MELISSA, YOU (AS I HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN) ARE THE GREATEST MOM IN THE WORLD. I SAW THAT PICTURE OF YOUR SWEET HAND ON THAT PRECIOUS CHILD'S FINGER GIVING HIM ALL THE STRENGTH THAT YOU POSSIBLY CAN; BUT YOU MUST TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AS MUCH AS YOU CAN BECAUSE THIS WILL TAKE A LOT OUT OF YOU.

MIKE, THAT WAS THE MOST TOUCHING THINGS YOU WROTE ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED BEFORE AND AFTER THE BIRTH. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING THIS FOR EVERYONE. JUST CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THAT PRECIOUS SON OF YOURS AND MY ANGEL "DUGGIE". THE MOST PRECIOUS GRANDSON IN THE WORLD. I KNOW I WAS PROUD WHEN I HAD MY FIRST ONE; COREY; BUT THIS ONE IS "THE ONE THAT I AM MOST PROUD OF", BECAUSE HE IS FIGHTING TO STAY IN THIS WORLD AND WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT. HE IS FROM GOOD STOCK , BECAUSE HE WAS BORN ON HIS GRANDMAMAW'S BIRTHDAY.

I LOVE YOU BOTH VERY MUCH AND PLEASE GIVE MY LOVE TO THE GIRLS TOO! I KNOW THEY CAN'T WAIT TO MEET THEIR "LITTLE BROTHER",

HUGS AND KISSES TO EVERYONE,

MOM AND RAY

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How Sweet It Is!

To see our baby boy last night finally in a position he obviously likes....just like daddy. The night nurse flipped him over on his tummy and he curled is little legs up and stuck his booty out. He was fast asleep, which was nice to see, since he has spent most of the last few days constantly kicking and squirming. He had another good day yesterday and last night. He's still on room air and all of his stats are stable and good. They did have to pull him of of his very small feedings yesterday because his tummy wasn't quite ready. So, we'll try again a a couple of days.

Big Love

As with all the folks who love the Wilson clan, Baby Dougie's early arrival certainly rocked my world. Until I met him that is. He has the spirit of a warrior, an unwaivering strength that is almost disconcerting. His ventilator tubes had only been removed minutes before we met and he was functioning like a champion. Strength, resilience, grace under pressure, beauty...all qualities of his namesake. It's almost as if he's lying there saying "Fear not. Like the rest of my people I like it hot and this little incubator it's just like a beach in Fiji". He was kicking and moving under the "grow light", shades on and all.

My heart is full. I didn't know I could love the Wilson's anymore until Saturday. Now this new life has upped the ante.

I can't wait to see Dougie grow, to watch him develop into the man he will become. With the Wilsons as parents you know he will be wonderful. I love you guys.

xoxoxox

eldest to baby

Now, I always new I came from a long line of feisty tough folks, but Duggie gives Wilson strength a whole new meaning. He is quite the little man, bulging biceps and all. Douglas also seems to have a strong character, which doesn't surprise me, seeing who produced him. It's a beautiful thing when such innocence and strength can be combined so well. I am 16 years older than him and will be 17 years older when he finally comes home, but I will admire him and look up to him for the rest of my life. I've never been more proud of my last name and it is an absolute honor to share it with him.

Beautiful Baby Duggie

So...Melissa, Mike, Halen, Deaven and little Baby Duggie are officially my new heroes!!! The Wilson family is so strong. Baby Doug is very beautiful - moving his arms and legs like a little scrapper, which will serve him well for the journey ahead in the hospital. They are trying to tuck him into this little blanket to swaddle him and he is having none of it. I loved him instantly.

Harry and I are so grateful for being a part of the Wilson clan. I will watch Duggie grow from the hospital and will anxiously await for the day when I can hold him in my arms. I love you Wilson family...Aunt Birdie

one happy index finger

Mom and Dad (only, sorry adoring fans) get to reach in the incubator every now and then and touch the little guy's hands or feet. It's quite a treat... he's just like a tiny little man, covered in the the lightest peach fuzz you've ever seen. The feet are my favorite I believe... holding the tip of my finger across both of them, while he grips with his toes like a little monkey.

But.. its pretty special when he grasps a finger too.

No real medical updates today, as he continues to do well, and his new, smaller, nostril breathing apparatus is getting dialed down too as those magic lungs keep on keepin on.

It's The Little Things....

It seems that everything is making me cry these days, but this morning it was just an overwhelming feeling of love and support from friends and family. You see, with Doug's sudden arrival and my continuous pumping, I soon realized that I only owned a couple of button down shirts....something that makes this breast feeding process quite a bit easier. Well, Amy (Aunt Birdie) got wind of this and before I knew it, a very large bag of beautiful button down shirts arrived on my doorstep. I started pulling them out this morning, and they were perfect and boy...does she like to shop! ;) This gave me that extra bit of energy I needed this morning to get going, keep pumping, and smile. Hell, I even washed my hair! Just knowing that all of our family and friends are pulling for Doug and being so loving and supportive means so much to us. Thank you all for the prayer lists, positive thoughts, and beautiful acts of kindness.
MAW

Lungs of Steel

Hey everybody... thanks for continuing to check on our little man, and we're glad that you are enjoying checking in on the blog, as it keeps those house phones from ringing off the hook when Melissa's trying to sneak in a nap between breast pump sessions.

Doug continues to amaze his docs and nurses... those brand new (and I mean new) little lungs just kept pumpin all afternoon and night long last night, breathing room air (purified of course), and keeping his blood gases just right. They were expecting to have to put him back on the vent or at least crank up his oxygen at some point when he tired out, but he still hasn't, which is a very good sign. Quite the contrary, in fact... he almost never stops moving, working out those massive guns and getawaysticks as Auntie Sundae likes to call his legs. Clearly he's in training.

Also he's down to one IV and one antibiotic, meaning he has one hand and both feet free of any needles or tubes, which must feel terrific. They also unwrapped that bandage looking device off his head since his cool new hat (which holds the straps for his nosepiece in) and tiny foam shades are staying in place.

His little stomach and bowels have received the message from the 'primer feedings' as well, and are working on building up the bacteria to be able to digest some soon. For now he's getting everything he needs through that one IV, which should stay in place for the duration of this little Fiji vacation we're on.

Melissa's milk is really coming in now, so he's good to go when he's ready to digest it. She's still having to pump every two hours other than a sweet sweet 6 hours at night that she gets to sleep for real.

Heading to see Douglas soon, more later.

DJ (Daddy Jr.)

So as you might have heard, I was along for 'the ride' when Douglas came into our world so suddenly. I got to ride in the front seat of the ambulance and see my mom in the back on the little tv monitor they had up there. I was so excited when we could see that they could hear his heartbeat! As he was being delivered, I had to wait outside, pacing back and forth, before my sister and Uncle Rob showed up.

I could hear my dad getting angry with the ambulance driver for taking us to a hospital with no neo-natal facility, after he promised us he was sure South Austin had one. I could hear my mom screaming inside since it was too late for her to get medicine, so it was all pretty scary.

As soon as I saw this beautiful little boy, I was shocked! Such little feet, such little ears, little everything! I cannot believe that I can't see him AT ALL until he can come home. I am still in shock that I am a big sister. At least I got to meet him in person and touch his tiny hand before he went.

Feelin Strong Now...

Wow... what a little fighter we have. Douglas came off the ventilator this afternoon (it was replaced by little nostril prongs like any of us would have if we needed oxygen, only strapped to his lil head and tiny nostrils) and was breathing room air again on his own within minutes. All his tests continue to be good, and he's moving his little arms and legs like crazy, getting a good workout. All the nurses and docs today were calling him a little showoff for being so strong at such a young age.

Reminds me a lot of his namesake.

Speaking of, some of you have asked about his name and I realized that not all our friends knew Douglas Wayne Myres, a man whose spirit defies description, and who we lost as suddenly as we gained lil Duggie, back in May of 2001. He was a dear friend and business partner, and shone as brightly while he was with us as any man could. There's a bit about Doug here under 'naming the ranch' www.circledug.com and then an awful lot more about him at the site with all the pix and letters sent in when he passed, still up at http://fresh.goneoffdeep.com.

Here are some pix from today... including a very rare shot of him 'in between masks' (he has to keep his eyes covered from the special bright light shining down on him to help his skin continue to develop.

Thanks again to all of you for all the wonderful emails, texts, calls, and general offers of support and love. It means the world to us... it really does.

countdown to 72 hours

A real quick one before we head back to the hosptial... we celebrated Douglas's 2 day bday last night, with some cupcakes, candles, and balloons courtesy of Uncle Rob. While nothing is guaranteed in this whole miraculous process, the docs have been talking about 'the first 72 hours' since the day he was born, so it was a nice realization this morning when I realized that we'd made it past 60 hours overnight, with still nothing but good news every time we speak to the docs and nurses.

Thanks so much for all the kind notes, well-wishes, and prayers. Pretty cool to have people all over the world sending so much good energy to this little guy. I promise you we can feel it, and I feel sure he must too, from as much as he's accomplished in the past couple of days.

Here's a pic of Maw and Halen from last night, along with one of a great little sign the nighttime nurse Marlo worked up, realizing that she'd adopted Douglas as her "new honey." (she was also the transport nurse who safely got him from South Austin to St. David's NICU Friday night).

We're off to see the wizard... more later.

Paw

eye contact

I've read that babies can't see very much or even comprehend faces for their first few months, but have also read the contrary...that babies start preferring faces over patterns within minutes of birth, and start staring at their mom's face longer than at other faces after a few days. During a very brief visit to the hospital today with the heroic parents, (my first and last fleeting indulgence until baby is stronger and has far more free time in his social calendar), I was quite sure that young Mr. Wilson stared deeply into my eyes, with remarkable sensitivity and clarity, and of course with complete outrage over his present circumstances. Doug's face says a lot more, too, far beyond this impossibly difficult moment. I saw such a wise, beautiful and courageous man today, whose 48 hour old gaze, whether real or imagined, will be keeping me braver for years to come.

BABY D

The last two days have been scary and very emotional for us all. I have tried to focus my energy on getting much needed nutrients for the baby. I have been pumping around the clock, every two hours and finally today, two precious drops of colostrum....enough for Baby Doug's first feeding! My milk supply is slowly starting to come in, so hopefully tonight I will be able to get a few hours of sleep. We spent the afternoon at the hospital, and he is still stable, and will hopefully get the breathing tube out tomorrow. That tube will be replaced with a much smaller tube that will be in his nostrils....he'll be breathing mostly on his own. The doctors and nurses have been amazing and keep telling us we are in for a rocky road...lots of ups and downs. He is very active and strong...looks just like Mike. This first week is very critical, so please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
MAW

Headed to St. Davids part 4

Hey everybody... thanks for checking in. Hopefully this will be a fun place to watch the little guy grow, at least for the time until you can all meet him.

So far Duggie is doing great... he's nearly of the ventilator, barely using it... they are just keeping it in today as a precaution to make sure the infection in his lungs that apparently caused him to need to need to come on out has fully cleared up.

His skin looks good and he's very active and I'm sure getting that tube out of his throat will make life outside the womb a lot more hospitable.

Melissa is pumping every 2 hours, waiting for the milk to come, and it looks like it'll be in just in time for him to be able to get some.

Headed to the hosptial... more later. He're a pic of his tiny hand holding Maw's finger, just before she got to change his tiny tiny diaper last night.

A funny thing happened on the way to Fiji...

***This is the original email I sent out to friends and family, before this Blog existed, for those new to the story.***

Sooo... last night Melissa, Halen, and I boarded the plane to LA (the first of what would be 3 flights and a boat ride to reach paradise on the other side of the planet). It had been a mad dash to make our flight, having fought through Melissa having "Braxton Hicks" contractions all afternoon long, horrible rush hour traffic in the rain, and the longest, slowest line I've ever been in at the Austin airport. By some miracle we just barely, by the skin of our teeth, made it on the plane for this trip we'd had planned for 6 months.

Then, about 5 minutes later, by another miracle, we just barely made it OFF that plane before they closed the doors.

Melissa's "false labor" had gotten far more intense, and it was clear she was in no shape to do the 2 1/2 hour plane ride to LA. Our plan, having talked to a doctor in that forever line to get checked in, was to do that 'short', 2 1/2 hour flight to LA and then re-evaluate before getting on the 14 hour flight to Fiji. At the very last second, Melissa made the call I was waiting for her to make, to get off that plane.

And its a real good thing she did, because an ambulance ride and 1 hour later, a very premature little boy named Douglas Michael Wilson was born.

Right at about 8:20, the little man was born naturally at South Austin Hospital, weighing in a just under 2 pounds, in a flurry of wonder while we were all still in shock. While South Austin isn't anyone's first choice in such an emergency, luckily they had a crack team of Neo-Natal specialists from St. Davids on call... the same crack team in fact that is looking after Douglas at St. Davids' NICU ward now.

While this little guy has an awful long and hard road ahead (as do we all) to get him recovered from his sudden arrival last night (Melissa was just under 27 weeks along), he seems pretty strong so far. In his first 12 hours in the hospital, he's already gone from concentrated O2 to 'normal room air' in his tiny little ventilator. With any luck, he'll be off that thing in a few days time, since he was already breathing some on his own right after he was born.

I'm very sorry to be telling you all this in a mass email, but I hope you'll understand its been a rough night and we're still a little shell shocked, and thought this might be easier than repeating the story 50 times to all of our wonderful and worried friends and family.

Rest assured that Melissa is doing great, the girls are fine... hell, I'm even doing reasonably OK. We know its gonna be a tough few months but we are ready to face it as a family and can feel the love and support of all of you, our amazing crew of loved ones. We know you are ready to help however you can, and I'm sure we'll take some of you up on it before its over.

I'm gonna go have a little lie down with Maw now, who is at home in bed, trying to pump a little milk for when the little man can have it, hopefully in a few days.

Attached is a pic of the newest Wilson's paw prints from last night. More to come later.