Rhys

Rhys is our little fighter. He has already overcome so many obstacles in his little life. When I think back to how sick he was, I am amazed at his resilience and strength. I am so glad that is all behind us now.

The name "Rhys" apparently means "dragon", "fervor", "passion", "ultimate strength", "king" or "zeal". I also read in one of our baby name books that it means "feisty". Which is totally fitting for Rhys. We didn't know the meaning of his name until after we had picked it and were contemplating the spelling (which, by the way, we did not make up. Its the traditional Welsh spelling of the name and is the "masculine" way as opposed to "Reese"). But once we found out the meaning of his name we thought it was a perfect fit. Even in the womb, Rhys was very active. I was always the most aware of him in comparison to his brothers.

Rhys was initially the "Big Little" brother. He was so pudgy as a new baby. Which was kinda funny since he only weighed 4 lbs 9 oz. But, when he kept getting sick he started using all his energy on just trying to live. He barely grew at all the whole time he was in the NICU. As a result, he became quite a bit smaller than Garrett. I remember at his sickest, he looked so thin and frail, like he was wasting away. You could see all his ribs and every vertebrae in his spine. Poor guy.

But, finally, the little man is putting some meat on his bones! He is now 8 lbs 12 oz and you can even see some little pudgy rolls on his limbs! He looks so healthy these days. We are so proud of him.

Rhys continues to be feisty. He has a bit more patience than Garrett does, but once he does get angry, watch out! His cry is so loud and means business! He also does not sit still. He has great head control and can be quite difficult to hold because of how squirmy he is.

Rhys' BFF is his soother. He is truly soothed by it, whereas Garrett will just humour you by sucking on it for a few seconds. Rhys LOVES his soother. I think this stems from his NICU days when he was not allowed to eat. His only solace was his beloved soother which he basically sucked inside out because he was so hungry.

Rhys is so sweet. When he does finally get tired and settle down, he just melts right into you. He loves squirming his way up so that his head is tucked right under your chin.

He always sleeps with his hands clasped together. It's rare to catch him sleeping with his hands in any other position.  He also rarely tucks his legs up. He likes to have them shooting straight out from his body. I think this is because he was transverse at the top of my uterus. I don't think his legs were ever tucked up into the fetal position.

Rhys belches like a 16 year old boy. He is so loud. It's hilarious and quite startling! And he usually does like two or three good ones in a row. He's a little glutton so it's no wonder. He can suck back a bottle like nobody's business. And he is a superstar breast-feeder. Which is a bit ironic, since he's only allowed to nurse two times per day. The rest of the time he needs bottles of my milk with a special formula added to it (he has malabsorption issues due to his NEC, the first infection he had).

I love how he always wrinkles up his forehead. He always has a serious expression on his face. He used to look a bit like Benjamin Button (a baby old man) but now that he's filling out he's starting to look more like a healthy baby.

Rhys, we are so proud and amazed by you. You have given us a lifetime of stress so far (so you better be a good teenager!) but you have taught us what's important in life as well. Keep fighting little man, you will do great things in this world. We love you!