October 18, 2011

Jack had a super day, again!  When we arrived this morning we were pleasantly surprised to see him in a crib!!!  Jack was in a giraffe bed before due to his medical needs, but since he has had his chest tube and ventilator removed, his cords and tubes don't get in the way and can just be laid down in bed next to him.  As of today, Jack still has his PICC line in, a feeding tube, and his high flow oxygen canula.  We can actually pick him up with out having a nurse around.  We also were so happy to see that Jack FINALLY received his first bath this morning.  His hair was nice, clean and fluffy.  And of course, he smelled like a sweet, little baby.  All great things.  And another achievement, he can now wear clothes!  So now Jack's cousins don't have to think he doesn't like wearing clothes or that we forgot to dress him. ;)  When we arrived we also noticed that there was a shirt attached to the end of his bed and on wires.  We found out that the preemie shirt was just too tight....another great problem.  Jack  was officially 6 lbs. 2 oz. at his weigh in last night.  He continues to gain weight so we are pleased with that as well.

Tomorrow he may be having his PICC removed.  This would mean that he would no longer receive TPN (Total Parental Nutrition) and he would go to full feeds on breast milk.  The nurses have been checking to see if Jack has any fluid remaining in his stomach from his NG tube and he has always had an empty stomach, so he is digesting everything that he is receiving.  His progress has allowed him to have daily increases in the amount of food he is receiving at each feeding.

His chest xray from 7 AM this morning showed that he had no signs of a pneumothorax in either lung.  We are hoping that this is the way it is every day and one less worry for us.  The chest xray also allowed the Dr. to no longer see the P.I.E. in either lung.  They did comment that Jack's lungs were still hazy but the P.I.E has improved.

They reduced his O2 volume level from 4.0 to 3.0 today.  The goal is to get to 2.0.  We are almost there!  There has been a slight change in how they are going to transition him from this due to humidity and the potential of drying out his nose on a different oxygen canula.  We will see what each day brings and how they transition Jack to complete room air.

We also met with one of the Occupational Therapists today in regards to Jack.  They wanted to touch base with us about how they will become an important member of the team as we get closer to having Jack feeding from a bottle, and then potentially to nursing.  Baby steps......but we like baby steps!  They will also include a speech therapist in on the process.  As for his current reflex of sucking, he really enjoys his pacifier.  This will only help strengthen his sucking reflex when it comes time to being bottle fed. 

Steve and I are so pleased with Jack's progress.  We also believe that he is making such great progress because of everyone's thoughts and prayers for Jack and our family.  Without our support network we couldn't do this.  We are exhausted at the end of each day, but ready for whatever tomorrow brings and always anxious to see him.  Eventually we will have him home with us....and we can't wait!

Thank you all so much for your prayers.  Steve, Madeline, Jack and I certainly appreciate it.  Tomorrow is going to be a big day....Madeline is going to visit him and finally be able to hold her baby brother.  Stay tuned for some pictures of that special moment tomorrow.

Good Night!