I realize that is has been ages since I have posted. Since our last post, lots has happened!! Jack is now almost 15 weeks old. He has made tremendous progress, and we are so thankful for the changes that we have seen in him. Unfortunately, the WHOLE month of December wasn't exactly easy on Jack. Early in the month Jack was readmitted to Cincinnati Children's because we were having so many difficulties with him while trying to feed him and having to stimulate him to breathe. This was and is clearly not normal. One episode he wasn't breathing and it did not occur while he was eating which was extremely scary. After they admitted him, they wanted to do a swallow study and make sure that he was swallowing like he should be and not aspirating. Fortunately, it proved that his swallowing was great and there were no issues with that. They also did an ultrasound of his brain to make sure that he didn't have a condition that occurs in a tiny population of babies with acid reflux. Again, we were blessed with great results and everything in his brain appeared to be normal. Jack slept through that whole procedure, which made it easy for them to see his brain. By the way, the ultrasound of the brain is definitely something worth seeing. Steve stayed the evening with Jack at the hospital, and did an amazing job of taking care of Jack, especially since he was not allowed to feed him. While there, they fed Jack a different formula than we had been using. Jack seemed to be happier feeding on this, and with the medicine change we were seeing slight improvements. He ate all day at the hospital with no complications, so we were able to go home 24 hours later. We decided to stick with the change in formula at home, even though it was more costly, it was making it easier on him, which is all we cared about. I must say, it's NO FUN at all having to worry about your baby breathing while he is eating and having to stimulate him so that he takes a breath. Fortunately, that is all past us! Jack was certainly ready for a break and we were praying like crazy that he could just feel like a normal, happy, healthy baby should. We thought that we were in the clear after this hospital stay, but unfortunately the week prior to Christmas, Jack was starting to show signs of distress while eating again. Not in the sense of breathing, but with comfort following feeds and during. After a long week of a very upset, crampy, unhappy little boy, we found ourselves at the hospital again on Christmas Day. We ended up going to Coldwater Community Hospital, near my hometown, because we were there for the day. It was completely fine, but we certainly appreciate what Cincinnati Children's has to offer. After doing several x-rays, blood work, an exam, it provided answers to why Jack was so upset ALL of the time. Jack's intestinal track and stomach was filled with extreme amounts of gas. Unfortunately, there is nothing that they can do for this, other than give him Mylicon drops before all feedings and on a less gassy formula. So, we are now on the MOST expensive formula out there, use Mylicon drops each feeding and Jack seems to be much happier. There are still times when he is fussy, but it is not to the extent or severity that it was during the month of December, and for that we are thankful!
Since the new year, lots has changed! I went back to work after being off for 12 weeks. IT WAS TOUGH!!! (and still is!) Steve stayed home for one week and he decided that he could never be a stay at home dad, nor does he have the desire to. On the flip side, it's a week that allowed Steve some very special time with his son, and I appreciate his willingness to stay at home for the week. Following that week, Jack was able to stay at home one week longer because my mom was so gracious and kind to take vacation for us and watch Jack for 1 week. She was amazing. With her taking care of him, it was the true test to see if Jack could go to our sitter's house or if I needed to go back home and stay with Jack until he was ready for the sitter's house. Of course, she was wonderful with him! Jack enjoyed his time with her as well! Without my mom's support, I wouldn't be able to do what I do! She is such a solid source of strength for me, and her willingness to take a week from her very busy schedule to be with us means more than we can share and express. Since Jack did so well with my mom, he went to the sitter's house this week for the first time. All reports have been good, and best of all, Jack seems happy there. I certainly wouldn't expect anything different because of the amazing woman/mom that Tracy, our sitter, is.
As for Jack, he's about 12 pounds and doing well. I still say stupid reflux about 10 times a day because it still sucks for Jack. It's been improved with his medication change, but I wish it were gone!! I'll post more later...but until then, I hope you enjoy the pics of Jack and Madeline.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Pictures of Jack
We had some photos taken of Jack several weeks ago. If you want to view them, feel free to peek.
They can be found at the following website:
www.lizpennington.com/proofs
password is : hartkejack
Enjoy them!
They can be found at the following website:
www.lizpennington.com/proofs
password is : hartkejack
Enjoy them!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
December 1, 2011
Hello! It's been a while since we have updated you all on Jack and his progress. Jack is gaining weight at a decent pace. He had a visit from a nurse this morning at our home so he could get his Synegis shot (RSV shot) and his weight was 9 lbs. 1 oz, and that was a naked weight, so he is doing very well. For almost 10 days now we have had him on the preemie formula, not fortified, and he is still gaining weight. Since I have last posted Jack has had lots of dr. visits because of his reflux issues. After his latest visit, the dr. decided to up his medication of Zantac to 3 times daily and to have him on in an incline when laying down. So, thankfully Steve is able to use a saw and some power tools and we rigged up an incline for his bassinet down stairs and we are using a wedge for his bed upstairs. This has helped us with his apneic episodes. They have decreased but have not been eliminated. We also have a monitor on his bed to help us with his apnea so if he were not breathing for 20 sec. an alarm would sound. It gives us piece of mind through the night....except for when we forget to turn the alarm off and take Jack out of bed....yeah....let's just say that it freaked Madeline out at 2 o'clock in the morning!
Once we get his reflux under control I think he will be much happier and more content throughout the day. He is doing much better, so we will continue to pray for progress in the right direction with his apnea.
This past weekend Jack was able to attend his sister's 6th birthday party and Madeline was thrilled for him to be here celebrating with us. I will post a picture soon!
Thanks for all of your continued prayers, support and thoughts. We continue to pray to God to help make each day easier for Jack, for him to guide us in parenting Jack and making sure we are doing what is best for him and his health and we thank God for the blessings he has given us in Jack, Madeline and everything else we are so fortunate to have, especially our health.
May God bless each of you!
Once we get his reflux under control I think he will be much happier and more content throughout the day. He is doing much better, so we will continue to pray for progress in the right direction with his apnea.
This past weekend Jack was able to attend his sister's 6th birthday party and Madeline was thrilled for him to be here celebrating with us. I will post a picture soon!
Thanks for all of your continued prayers, support and thoughts. We continue to pray to God to help make each day easier for Jack, for him to guide us in parenting Jack and making sure we are doing what is best for him and his health and we thank God for the blessings he has given us in Jack, Madeline and everything else we are so fortunate to have, especially our health.
May God bless each of you!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
WE ARE HOME ! !
Yes, the day finally came. It's Tuesday morning and Jack came home on Friday morning around 11 AM. It was a joyous day filled with so much happiness for all our family. I do believe that Madeline appreciates him being home so much more than I could have even imagined. She is IN LOVE with her brother. It's incredibly sweet and brings so much warmth to my heart. As for Jack and his progress, he is doing great. As inpatient as I was and how badly I wanted him home, I certainly learned that Children's would not allow him to be discharged until they were 100% sure that he was ready to be at home with us. That has been the case. We haven't had any scares since we have been on our own without monitors, doctors,nurses, or respiratory therapists within an arm's reach. He has his days and nights a bit confused so we are working on that, but it's hard to work on that with a baby who still REALLY likes to sleep. Of course, the past 4 nights he seems most awake around 1 AM. I must say, I AM NOT complaining.....I am just so happy that he is home. I am glad to sit with him awake rather than having to make our nightly phone call in the wee hours of the morning to get an update....now I can just walk in his room and stare at his beautiful face, cuddle with him, or just kiss him endlessly! As for sleeping in our room....that didn't last....Jack grunts like crazy through the night so we decided that at least 1 of us needs to sleep. Don't let that fool you though....we are both still very sleep deprived. After spending so much time at the hospital for the past month, we are physically and emotionally drained, and with adjusting to him at home we are trying to catch up but that will take time.
We continue to thank the Lord for all that he has done for our family, especially Jack. We wondered each day how we would get through it, and you just manage, but we were able to do that by the grace of God and all of the prayers that you have all sent for us. We really cannot thank you enough. We continue to pray for Jack everyday, and for all of the other 58 kids in the Cincinnati Children's NICU, and for all the sick babies and people in this world. May God bless each of you with good health.
Enjoy the pictures of our little munchkins!
We continue to thank the Lord for all that he has done for our family, especially Jack. We wondered each day how we would get through it, and you just manage, but we were able to do that by the grace of God and all of the prayers that you have all sent for us. We really cannot thank you enough. We continue to pray for Jack everyday, and for all of the other 58 kids in the Cincinnati Children's NICU, and for all the sick babies and people in this world. May God bless each of you with good health.
Enjoy the pictures of our little munchkins!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
November 3, 2011
After driving to the hospital for the past 24 days I can say that I am so over the drive to downtown Cincinnati from the "burbs" and never wish to be a Big Wig working in a downtown office! Traffic always stinks and I am convinced that the BMV has just given licenses to whoever walks through their doors! And don't get me started on the people that don't know how to drive in parking garages! Anyhow...on to our little guy Jack!
We are SO HAPPY to announce that Madeline will finally get to have a brother in the house with her starting TOMORROW! The Dr.'s have all confirmed that he is COMING HOME ON FRIDAY ! I was there today when they did their 24 hour discharge head-to-toe exam and Jack passed all parts. I must say that it felt so good to see a Dr. working with Jack in a calm state with no concern. We finally feel like he can be a "normal" baby. We have certainly learned how easy Madeline was bringing her home from the hospital in comparison to Jack, and we appreciate that now more than we ever did. These past 25 days in the NICU have been trying, exhausting, and emotional.....to name a few. We all realize how important the final trimester is while your pregnant, after having a son that missed out on almost half of it I was able to see just how important it was. The little things that he would have been doing while I was pregnant were so laboring for him to do out here on his own without my support. We are thankful for the Dr.'s, nurses, respiratory therapists, occupational therapists, dieticians and anyone else that may have had a hand in healing Jack at Cincinnati Children's. We certainly feel like we have been blessed.
A note to all of you reading this, THANK YOU! I will be sure to post pictures of our family in our home. These seem so long overdue for Steve and I, but here we are and Jack is doing amazing. I will continue to let you know how Jack is doing. I am convinced that he will thrive at home. The nurses are sad to see him go because they love his low-key personality and cute facial expressions, but pictures will have to work for them......he is ALL OURS NOW!
Blessings and good health to all of you!
Love,
Steve, Lorraine, Madeline and Jack Hartke
We are SO HAPPY to announce that Madeline will finally get to have a brother in the house with her starting TOMORROW! The Dr.'s have all confirmed that he is COMING HOME ON FRIDAY ! I was there today when they did their 24 hour discharge head-to-toe exam and Jack passed all parts. I must say that it felt so good to see a Dr. working with Jack in a calm state with no concern. We finally feel like he can be a "normal" baby. We have certainly learned how easy Madeline was bringing her home from the hospital in comparison to Jack, and we appreciate that now more than we ever did. These past 25 days in the NICU have been trying, exhausting, and emotional.....to name a few. We all realize how important the final trimester is while your pregnant, after having a son that missed out on almost half of it I was able to see just how important it was. The little things that he would have been doing while I was pregnant were so laboring for him to do out here on his own without my support. We are thankful for the Dr.'s, nurses, respiratory therapists, occupational therapists, dieticians and anyone else that may have had a hand in healing Jack at Cincinnati Children's. We certainly feel like we have been blessed.
A note to all of you reading this, THANK YOU! I will be sure to post pictures of our family in our home. These seem so long overdue for Steve and I, but here we are and Jack is doing amazing. I will continue to let you know how Jack is doing. I am convinced that he will thrive at home. The nurses are sad to see him go because they love his low-key personality and cute facial expressions, but pictures will have to work for them......he is ALL OURS NOW!
Blessings and good health to all of you!
Love,
Steve, Lorraine, Madeline and Jack Hartke
Monday, October 31, 2011
October 31, 2011
Happy Halloween! Madeline had a great time trick or treating and I can honestly say that she was acting completely like herself tonight. Not that she has been acting strange or indifferent, but with everything going on and how well she has handled the situation, it was so nice to see her enjoying the evening. I am guessing that she was enjoying her time walking with me. She is excited for Jack to be home. Tonight she said that she can't wait for all of us to be home again at the same time. It goes to show how important that time as a family really is to her. Steve and I cannot wait for those days!!!
Jack didn't have to dress up for Halloween....he was just himself, the Sleeping Beauty. Yes, Jack still thoroughly enjoys sleeping. He has it mastered. However, the great news is that he is eating by bottle more than his feeding tube. These past 2 days have been big days for Jack. He has officially been able to take full feedings from his bottle. He has made better progress using the side lying technique with feeds. He took 2 full bottles back to back today, which is an accomplishment for our little guy. This morning the Dr. decided that since Jack was able to eat 82% of his maximum the feeding tube could be removed. So, when I entered the room today, I was finally able to see my baby without ANY tubes anywhere on his face. I haven't seen him like this since he was born, since he was placed on CPAP shortly after he was born. Such a pleasant surprise, and if I may, he sure is one handsome little guy. He will be much cuter at home though. ;) A side note: Jack weighs 2970 grams (roughly 6 pounds 8 oz.).
As we are making great progress on his feeds we are getting more anxious to bring him home. On Sunday we were told that they would talk about when Jack could come home on Wednesday during rounds. We are hopeful that he will be home with us before the weekend begins! So, this is a big day for us. We are excited and continue to pray that maybe our baby can join us in our home.
I must say that we have been blessed with the most amazing support system. I do believe that the world is praying for Jack. So many have shared with me that schools, churches, prayer groups and other social groups from all over the world are praying for Jack, and for that we are thankful. Jack had an incredibly rough start to his life, but we are so happy with his progress, his fight to keep on going, and for the skilled hands that worked with him. Cincinnati Children's is a very special place to so many people, and I am proud to say the same about the hospital. If it weren't for the brilliant team that works with Jack on a daily basis, we wouldn't be where we are. We thank God for placing such great professionals in Jack's life to support him as he starts his life, and we believe without any doubt that Jack will grow up to be a normal, healthy boy. As for the wimpy white boy syndrome....we hope that term doesn't stick with him for too long.
Throughout this time we have also neglected our house and our dog. I must thank all of those that have helped us with Carmen so that she is given the love and attention that we cannot give to her now. Thank you! Thank you mom and dad for taking her and helping us with her for the week.....she'll appreciate the haircut and bath...especially since she'll be able to see again! ;) Thank you to our parents and siblings and their families who have all reached out and helped us in some manner. We cannot express how much gratitude we have for what you have done for us. You have dropped everything at times for us just to make life easier for us and we hope you know that we truly appreciate everything. We love you all!
As for Jack....we cannot wait to bring him home. I promise that when our little guy comes home that the world will know. It will be a day filled with emotions for us. We've been dreaming of this day since March 11, 2011 when I found out I was expecting, and the long road that we have traveled to get where we are has been filled with hills and curves. I'll continue to give updates through the week, but I certainly hope the next update says that we are coming home!
Jack didn't have to dress up for Halloween....he was just himself, the Sleeping Beauty. Yes, Jack still thoroughly enjoys sleeping. He has it mastered. However, the great news is that he is eating by bottle more than his feeding tube. These past 2 days have been big days for Jack. He has officially been able to take full feedings from his bottle. He has made better progress using the side lying technique with feeds. He took 2 full bottles back to back today, which is an accomplishment for our little guy. This morning the Dr. decided that since Jack was able to eat 82% of his maximum the feeding tube could be removed. So, when I entered the room today, I was finally able to see my baby without ANY tubes anywhere on his face. I haven't seen him like this since he was born, since he was placed on CPAP shortly after he was born. Such a pleasant surprise, and if I may, he sure is one handsome little guy. He will be much cuter at home though. ;) A side note: Jack weighs 2970 grams (roughly 6 pounds 8 oz.).
As we are making great progress on his feeds we are getting more anxious to bring him home. On Sunday we were told that they would talk about when Jack could come home on Wednesday during rounds. We are hopeful that he will be home with us before the weekend begins! So, this is a big day for us. We are excited and continue to pray that maybe our baby can join us in our home.
I must say that we have been blessed with the most amazing support system. I do believe that the world is praying for Jack. So many have shared with me that schools, churches, prayer groups and other social groups from all over the world are praying for Jack, and for that we are thankful. Jack had an incredibly rough start to his life, but we are so happy with his progress, his fight to keep on going, and for the skilled hands that worked with him. Cincinnati Children's is a very special place to so many people, and I am proud to say the same about the hospital. If it weren't for the brilliant team that works with Jack on a daily basis, we wouldn't be where we are. We thank God for placing such great professionals in Jack's life to support him as he starts his life, and we believe without any doubt that Jack will grow up to be a normal, healthy boy. As for the wimpy white boy syndrome....we hope that term doesn't stick with him for too long.
Throughout this time we have also neglected our house and our dog. I must thank all of those that have helped us with Carmen so that she is given the love and attention that we cannot give to her now. Thank you! Thank you mom and dad for taking her and helping us with her for the week.....she'll appreciate the haircut and bath...especially since she'll be able to see again! ;) Thank you to our parents and siblings and their families who have all reached out and helped us in some manner. We cannot express how much gratitude we have for what you have done for us. You have dropped everything at times for us just to make life easier for us and we hope you know that we truly appreciate everything. We love you all!
As for Jack....we cannot wait to bring him home. I promise that when our little guy comes home that the world will know. It will be a day filled with emotions for us. We've been dreaming of this day since March 11, 2011 when I found out I was expecting, and the long road that we have traveled to get where we are has been filled with hills and curves. I'll continue to give updates through the week, but I certainly hope the next update says that we are coming home!
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