October 17, 2011

Our new normal is spending the day at Children's Hospital, building B, floor 4, Room D2.  We did just that again today.  Jack has made amazing progress in the week that he has spent there.  Today we were happy to see that the lights were off because Jack's billi levels were back to where they should be.  This now meant that he didn't have to wear his cool purple mask, and he didn't have to try to peak through his mask.  They are going to continue to increase his feeds because he has been able to tolerate them, and is digesting it all and leaving nothing behind in his stomach.  Again, it's always nice to know that his other body systems are functioning properly.  Last night around 10 PM Jack's chest tube was water sealed, which means it is one step closer to removal, and allows to see what his chest cavity is doing without support.  He had an xray done at 1 AM and it showed NO SIGNS of a pneumothorax in EITHER of his lungs!  This is amazing.  This was the sole reason for his admission to Children's Hospital NICU.  Steve and I were just thrilled when we called in this morning at 4 AM and received the news.  We didn't know what to expect on how long he would be water sealed, but during rounds we learned that he would be losing his chest tube today!  That is exactly what happened at 12 noon.  The fellow to Jack's Dr. came in and removed it.  I left for the procedure because I didn't think I could tolerate seeing my baby go through more pain than he has already had to endure, but Steve stayed with him and was a solid rock.  Steve said that the hardest part of the procedure was taking the Tagaderm off of his skin, and the rest was easy.  He actually fell back asleep during the rest of the procedure and the actual removal of the tube.  This was Jack's 2nd chest tube, the first was not successful so they had to change the type of tube that was inserted into his cavity, so now he will  have a scar on his left side.  Very, very, very minor.......him being with us and being able to breathe on his own is MUCH more important....but when he gets older he will always have that to look at. :)  It can be his permanent souvenir. 

Since his chest tube was removed today, it made holding him much EASIER!  It was one less worry we had when moving him from his giraffe bed to my chest.  Today he was officially able to take part in Kangaroo Care.....a special hold for the parent and child.  BUT THE BIGGEST NEWS OF ALL TODAY......STEVE WAS FINALLY ABLE TO HOLD HIS SON TODAY FOR THE FIRST TIME.  I have been waiting for this moment.  I am going to load some pictures of our little Jack....enjoy!