The Journey of James Weston

Today Ella Jade is 3 months old! These are photos of her first 3 months. She is the sweetest little thing and about 12lbs! 🩷 Her little coos and smiles bring us to tears, absolutely adorable! 🥹 Everyone who meets her says, "She's like a doll". Sometimes it feels like this isn't real. Ella is always looking around the room, especially at whatever James is doing, just taking it all in. She is so strong, trying to stand, and holding up her head on her own. James continues to be such a sweet and gentle big brother. He is so excited about teaching her things, mainly about the difference between an oboe and a clarinet, or a mandolin and a banjo, but he's also really into circles and pentagons. 😂 Ya know normal toddler things. Time is going by too fast! These first three months have been a little crazy with the newborn stage, exclusively breastfeeding around the clock, and cluster feedings in the middle of the night. Although there were definitely days of no sleep, it...

Exciting things are happening! James just finished his first week of school!!! 📚 He is thriving in Pre-Pre-K at an undisclosed location. 😂 His social nature will flourish, and we can't wait to witness his incredible progress with each passing day. Every Valentine's Day I think about how it's the anniversary of the first time I was able to hold James in the NICU. 🥹 Today, he's a three-year-old student learning new things in the classroom, enjoying recess outside, having snack time, and going to music, art, and PE class on a regular basis! Who would have imagined it?! 🤯 Next week is picture day! 😍

Who would have thought all this would unfold in the past year? Our 2023 was jam-packed and turned out to be the grandest one yet! We had our fair share of ER visits in the spring, but nothing could stop James from pulling off some jaw-dropping feats! By February, he had completely bid farewell to the ventilator, got decannulated in April after a sleep study, and had his trach stoma stitched closed in October! We even swapped James' tube feedings from a GJ to a G-tube over the summer. Big wins! James embarked on his maiden Disney voyage, featuring both a cruise and a Disney World expedition. He even made a star-studded appearance at his first Cutco awards banquet. And just when we thought things couldn't get better, Mike unveiled a shiny new car, right after a routine oil change. We crisscrossed the nation on a 3-week road odyssey, giving James the chance to meet a platoon of family and friends. Once we returned, we decided to make the move to historic St. Augustine!  Throughout...

On Monday, December 4th, we celebrated the arrival of our daughter, Ella Jade Abramowitz! 🩷 She was born at 37 weeks + 1 day at 7:58am, weighing 5lbs 11oz and measuring 19 ¾ inches. Ella is thriving, her health bringing immense joy! 🥹 She's already breastfeeding, a special moment for me, and she's passing all her health checks. We've even seen her hold a pacifier and lift her head! Mike and I were anxious before the surgery, reliving our past experiences. Despite positive updates at all of Ella's prenatal visits, the nervousness was there. But, the birth was an incredible experience, beyond what we could've hoped for. Seeing Ella for the first time was an indescribable feeling of happiness! 😭 (Lots of happy tears) We're grateful for everyone's kind messages and support. Since our 5am hospital arrival on Monday, it's been a whirlwind with very little rest. This new journey is something we're embracing fully. I'm recovering, staying an additiona...

Photos from when I was 32 weeks (tomorrow I’ll be 36 weeks and feel it too)! Thank you so much Erin Elyse Photography for capturing these photos of our little family! 💕 Ella Jade 🌸 will be here in just 8 days and 21 hours! 😍 Our baby girl was named to honor her Grandma Eleanor, Mike's Mom as well as her maternal Great Grandmother, Mary Ella. Fun fact: The name was picked out over 4 years ago! Grandma Eleanor's birthday is December 2nd and Ella will be born on December 4th! Most know that James was named to honor my Dad, but few know that James' original due date was actually April 8th, only one day after my dad's birthday. 🎈 James' blog was recently updated with October's post. It will be the last scheduled update for the blog. This year has been a year of progress and blessings for us! Moving forward all future blog posts will be forwarded from Facebook.  #maternityphotos #countdown #thankfulgratefulblessed

This will be the last scheduled blog update! Being in the 3rd trimester and then having bronchitis for a month has been exhausting to say the least. Sorry this has taken forever to update! 🗣️ At the beginning of the month, James had his speech therapy evaluation with Wolfson's Rehabilitation. Afterwards we realized that this drive just wasn't going to work. They wanted to schedule 30 minute appointments twice a week. It was over an hour to get there. Mom pushed for a 1 hour appointment once a week instead, but that made it really hard to schedule. They have very little available. Mom would try to find a speech therapist closer but use them until then. 🤸🏻‍♂️ We are on several waiting lists for therapy. The goal is to have Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Speech Therapy at the same location close by. For Feeding Therapy we will need drive to downtown Jacksonville to Wolfson's because that is the only location in the area that will be familiar with transitioning ...