Home Sweet Home

So today was the big day. Jack is finally home!!! He was episode free for 7 days (he got sent home with an apnea monitor anyhow, which helps us relax). We went in picked up his meds (vitamins & iron) that he gets once a day then hit the NICU to sign the papers and take our baby home. We are so excited to have him in his own house/room/crib/swing, etc. Sierra (our Lab)gave him a few good sniffs and I guess decided he was good to go she's just chilling & watching him. Sassy (Der wiener dog) just wants to lick hi face and is whining trying to get into the swing with him. He has had some food and is happily resting in the swing now, he seems to love it. I'll try to get a few more pics through the day since this is such a big day.

We really want to thank all the doctor, nurses, therapist, counsellors and staff at Kaiser Roseville. We owe our baby's life to you folks. Thanks for being patient, answering our questions (I'm sure most have been answered numerous times) and putting up with us stressed out parents. You made what was an unthinkable situation manageable, and got our son home to us. I hope at least one person that works at Kaiser Roseville will read this blog and forward our everlasting appreciation for the work you folks do day in and day out. It takes a special kind of person to do the work you do....Thanks.

Also thanks to all our friends and family that have been following Jack's Journey. It really gave us a place to release stress and keep everyone in the loop. Thanks for all your good thought and well wishes. Don't worry this is not goodbye from Internet world, is more like a new chapter. I'll still be updating this blog so stay tuned for news and pics from the World of Jack.

At home in the swing....he appears to be content.

It'a Slumber Party

Tonight we get to sleep over in the hospital parents room with Jack. He is hooked up to the apnea monitor that he is going home with, otherwise it's like a test drive. Hopefully all will go well overnight and we'll be that much more ready to have him home. We both figure that we will be a little sleep deprived but a lot more prepared. He is still episode free (knocking on wood as I type). He also gained some more weight and broke the 7 lb mark (now 7 lbs 0.2 oz yes the 0.2 counts). So we'll see how things progress. It's 7:49pm right now and we have him in the room. Mary is feeding him and he seems content. Depending on how I feel I may update through the night and give you all a status of our sanity... I know we haven't even had him by ourselves for an hour yet.

11:30pm--- Jack is awake for his first feeding of the night. He has been grunting and talking a lot with some gas pains. So far everything is going well, now hopefully for some sleep.

4:00am--- Well, all is still going well. Jack woke us up around 1:30, he was pretty hungry. I guess he didn't get as much milk from Mary as we thought he did. Now it's about 4:25 and he is hungry again.

8:00am--- Time for Jack to eat again. Wow we made it through the night. No episodes, we didn't end up rocking back and forth in a corner and Jack seems to be no worse for the experience. Mary and I are a little sleep deprived, but glad we got to spend the night with our son. We can't wait to get him home!

Scarface

So Jack decided he was tired of all the nurses saying how cute he was. He said, "I'll show you!!". Now he has a wonderful scratch right across his nose (Say hello to my little friend). We immediately cut his finger nails when we saw the damage he could inflict on himself. When he gets gas pains he grabs at his face, and I think that's when he scratched himself. Other that Jack is doing well. No episodes and he's still gaining the weight, now up to 6 lbs 14 oz. Tomorrow night we are rooming in the hospital. They turn us loose to take care of Jack by ourselves. Of course the nurses are right outside our room should we have questions. We are resting up tonight because when sense a little sleep deprivation coming tomorrow. Between worrying about Jack and him grunting with his gas it will be interesting (we're a little nervous too).

The plan that I've heard is that they are going to train us on the apnea monitor. Have us do a sleep in night and then Jack will go back to his nursery pod for one more night. If things all work out he could be coming home on Thursday. We will keep knocking on the wood and keep our fingers crossed that our little guy will be home this week.

Oh So Close

Just 18 hours from making it to the one week mark Jack had another apnea/bradycardia episode. We were getting ready to leave for the hospital when the doctor called us. It really took the wind out of our sails. We were getting used to the idea of having him home soon, and really happy he had an end in sight. Well, he will be in the NICU for at least another week. When he goes home they'll send him home with an apnea monitor. They aren't sure what could be causing him to have these episodes, hopefully he will just outgrow them, and soon. Other than that 1 episode he did fine. He is eating all his food and is now 6 lbs 8.6 oz. He is getting so big. Especially when compared to his first pictures. So, the timer starts over again, we fully expect him to make it the full week. We've had a talk with him. We are very glad it happened at the hospital and not at home, we probably would have panicked.

36 Weeks Old

Jack is still doing well, still episode free. Tomorrow we can talk to the doctor again, hopefully he will have some good news for us. We think that Jack might get his developmental discharge eval. He may also become a Kaiser star, the therapist wants to video him getting his bath, for instructional classes. We'll see what happens. He gained some weight also, now up to 6 lbs 6.5 oz (hard to believe he has tripled in size since being born at 2 lbs 1 oz). We are very excited that he is doing so well, but a little nervous about him coming home where we don't have nurses there to field our questions or check on him. We probably won't sleep for the first few nights (I have to get back to graveyard hours sometime). All that Jack needs now is to make it episode free for 2 more days, pass his car seat challenge (which should happen on Friday), and have his hearing test. Oh, that and we have to fill out all kinds of crazy discharge paper work, and double/triple/quadruple check that his room is ready.

Getting Closer

Hello, sorry for another late post, and lack of photos today. Jack is still doing well. He is episode free since last Friday. Still keeping our fingers crossed that he has outgrown that part of his stay at Kaiser. He tipped the scales today at 6 lbs 5 oz (well 4.9 oz, but we round up). He had another eye exam, which he passed with flying colors (no not the which line can you read on the chart type). He won't need to have his eyes checked for another year.

The doctor came in and checked out Jack, but we found out we are on the no talking list until Thursday. Not really a serious thing, it's all because that is when Jack will be re-assessed for going home, and the doctor jokingly put us on the silent treatment. Jack also played musical rooms today. He got switched twice, it more of a good sign because they tend to move the more stable babies. It also seems that all the nurses know who Jack is, he is very social for having no social skills.

Full Steam Ahead

Jack is still doing well. 3 days and counting since his last episode, we're hoping it just keeps on going. Today, they coaxed another poo out of him. He is still all blocked up, possibly due to all that iron (he gets extra in some formula and a special side dish of it as well). He did put on a little weight yesterday. Now up to 6 lbs 4 oz, Grandpa Dennis says he's an Italian eater. The nurse talked to the doctor today and they came up with a plan to re-evaluate his situation on Thursday to see how close he is to making it home. They moved him back into his big boy crib, he was in an infant warmer, because if he had an episode it was easier to work on him. They also took off the oxygen saturation monitor. So, everyone keep their fingers crossed that Jack behaves and can make it home very soon.

Finally a Poo

Jack is still chugging along and so far episode free. Last night after we left Jack had a nice poo, 4 diapers worth. It must have been a relief after about a day and a half of constipation. He weighed in this morning at 6 lbs 1 oz, that's up about 1 ounce from yesterday. We were surprised he gained at all after the poo he had. He did have a little choking incident while he was eating (per the nurse it doesn't count as an episode of apnea/bradycardia). He just tried to take too big a gulp of milk and started coughing. The nurse helped me out and told me how to correct it, now we know what to do when or if he does that at home.

So for those keeping track at home, it's almost been 3 days without incident. We are keeping are fingers crossed while we knock on wood, that this trend continues and he can come home very soon.

9 Weeks Old

I know I just told you he was 2 months yesterday, but today he is 9 weeks. He is also tipping the scales at 6 lbs (hooray!!!). I do apologize right now, but I forgot the new camera so we didn't get very good pics, only 1 to post (with a video). He is still doing very good eating his food, but still no pooping. The doctor didn't seem too concerned with that just yet. They gave him another suppository and hopefully all his system will clean out. Jack was also incident free yesterday. Hopefully, his big episodes of apnea and bradycardia and behind him.

I promise I'll remember the camera tomorrow.

2 Months and Doing Better

Hello all. Jack is 2 months old today, I guess. His birthday is the 5th of December, but he was eight weeks last Saturday. I'm just going to say he's 2 months today. He gained a tiny bit of weight yesterday (despite all his episodes). He is at 5 lbs 15.6 oz, he is just flirting with that 6 lbs mark. So far toady he is doing well. His last episode was around 3am and it was a smaller one. Nothing like the big ones he had during the morning yesterday. We are hoping it was all just a reaction to the vaccinations he had. He is still eating very well, and loving his bottle. He is still having some poo issues, hopefully he can get that under control.

Bad Day

Jack didn't have a very good day today. He had several bradycardia and apnea episodes. He had two in the morning while we were feeding him. Good thing is he had one while the doctor was in to look at him, so he now has witnessed what Jack does. We talked to the doctor and he isn't sure what would be causing Jack's episodes. He suggested that Jack maybe overly tired from his vacinations yesterday, or something unrelated. For now he recommended reattaching his monitor to see his oxygen saturation levels to give nurses a little pre-episode warning, and he is going to be laying on his belly for a while. We are hoping that all of this resolves by itself and quickly.

On the bright side of things Jack gained some more weight and is now up to 5 lbs 15 oz. He also took a couple of poo's without suppository assistance. Jack is still doing well eating all his food, he just needs to breath that air.

35 Weeks

Jack is 35 weeks old today. Another hurdle Jack has made it over. We talked to the doctor and the only thing keeping him from coming home is the apnea episodes. So, if all goes well (and we've talked to Jack about it) he could be coming home next Weds or Thurs. He is still doing well on his feedings, and usually sleeps about 4 hours in between his bottles. He is still having some pooping issues, but the doctor didn't seem that troubled by it. He suggested we get some suppositories from the drug store when we go home. The doctor seems pretty upbeat about his discharge. Jack also gained just over 1 once yesterday. Now back up to 5 lbs 14 oz, just 2 away from 6 lbs. He is looking more and more like what a new born would each day.

Sorry there aren't more photos posted today, but his overhead light was out. I'll try to get more tomorrow.

Another Month Behind Us

Well, it's the last day of January and all is going well. Jack gained some weight yesterday, now up to 5 lbs 11 oz. He is still doing good with his breathing and has kept his heart rate up. He had his first two feeding from a bottle this morning. He took just over half from his first and he devoured his entire second feeding. He wasn't too awake for the first feeding so we'll let it slide. Not much else going on which is a good thing for now.

It's Been 8 Weeks

That's right everyone, Jack is 8 weeks old today. He is still doing very good. He got his second full bath today, which he really seems to enjoy. No crying or fussing, he sits in the tub and relaxes while he gets clean. He did about one and a half feedings through his bottle today. He is doing a very good job with his eating & hopefully they will let him have more and more of his feedings through the bottle. Jack did lose about half on ounce yesterday, now at 5 lbs 9 oz. Also good news on the bradycardia & apnea episodes. He hasn't had a documented episode for 1 week. We are happy to hear that new and hope he keeps it up until come home time.

Yesterday, while at home, Mary and I practiced putting the car seat in. It was fairly painless and we're just going to leave it in. Sometime next week I'm going to go to AAA, they will check to see if I have it properly installed.