Double the Fun

Howdy, Jack officially reach double his birth weight today. He is 4 lbs 3 oz (1900 grams). We were surprised that he gained so much weight on back to back days. Hopefully it won't be an erroneous weighing and he'll show more gain. Today Jack stayed all day on his back all bundled up, also wearing his first preemie outfit. We were so excited, it's like he graduated up to the next grade. He is still on the antibiotics, probably for 1 or 2 more days, and still has his oxygen up at 4 liters per minute (though at last check they lowered the oxygen percentage to 22%).

Mary did about an hour and fifteen minutes of kangaroo care today. Jack's levels stayed up nice and high the entire time. He did have a couple minutes of fidgeting around, but was nice and relaxed until after that. The doctor came in and talked to us for a while. She said that Jack was doing well. They are still watching him to make sure he handles all his feeding amounts and doesn't have a repeat episode of Monday. She is going to monitor a little bit longer before decreasing his flow again. It was another nice day for the Passalaqua family.

5 Weeks Old

Today Jack turned 5 weeks old. He is still doing well, and we think he is getting better at his breathing. When I went in for his 8:30pm care time the nurse said he hadn't set off any of the alarms all shift. Hopefully he can keep this up. We know he's going to have some episodes, but we like them to be fewer as the days go on. There is no weight gain to report today, so looks like the plateau has hit. Hopefully it doesn't last for long and he'll start packing on the ounces again. Everything else is pretty much the same as yesterday.

I did some kangaroo time with him today. As you can see from the picture we tried to coordinate for a little father-son bonding. Jack also got a visit from our friend Ekota (we made her an honorary Aunt). Well, sorry again for this late post, but we're back out at the trailer tonight and somebody else (Mary) had the computer occupied watching a movie.

Cranky Jack

So folks, another day and another weight gain for little (getting bigger) Jack. He gained another 1.5 oz, and he is now up to 3 lbs 10 oz (I think it's more like 9.something and they're rounding up). No other changes were lined up for him. He is still eating the same amount and has his oxygen set up at the same levels. He was very cranky today during his care times. He must have wanted a little extra attention. Jack also tried to escape his bedding and almost wiggles his way out of his diaper. He had wiggled so much that when Mary went in for one of the care times he had a little plumber's crack showing.

Mary got to do the kangaroo time today. The nurses mentioned that we might try 2 times a day now that he is getting bigger. That would be fun for us, but we want Jack to get his rest a grow. On a Jack related not, we are one step closer to having his room done. We went and picked up a few frames for the custom art work Mary did for above his crib. I might be biased, but I think it looks fantastic.

Kangaroo Jack

Everyone has heard enough from me over the last week. Tonight I'm turning the reigns over to Mary, and she is going to give everyone the update, Curtis

I was a little sad that my mom had to fly home today but once I saw the baby I felt better. Jack is still on photo therapy and he looks like he's sunbathing. He rests very peacefully all sprawled out like he had a busy day at the beach. His oxygen was at 25% which is great. Once we woke him up for care time he was very fussy. He hated being disturbed and his crying was a lot louder today. He weighed 2 lbs, 2 oz or 970 grams. We had to change his diaper twice today one right after the other. I got the first changing and then he went poop (Curt got to change that one and it was quite big). Jack is doing well on the breast milk and I can't wait to see him get bigger. At his 12:30 care time I got to do Kangaroo care and the nurse laid him on my chest, tucking him under my shirt. He wasn't quite sure at first and fussed a little but then relaxed and went to sleep for 45 minutes. It was such a great feeling. At his 3:30 care time they changed his oxygen mask to one that should be easier on his face and not irritate his skin. So far it's been a great day.