Sorry folks, I've been slacking on the updates for a while now. Jack is still doing very well. He is just a few days away from the 7 month old mark. He has been getting a lot better about his tummy time and hold his head up to look around. He also loves to sit up in his baby big boy chair. Last week he had his hearing checked, just a follow up since he was in the incubator with the ventilator going. Things checked out all good. The nurse was surprised to learn that Jack was such an early preemie. She said you wouldn't know it to look at him now. As of yesterday Jack was about 17 pounds, but that was with a onesie and a diaper. So, he's probably around 16 pounds 13 ounces.

Last weekend he made another trip up to Covelo. He got to chill outside on the deck and took a nice walk. On his way back he got to meet a new friend, Silas Brown. He was born 1 day after Jack (but not preemie). They seemed to hit off. This weekend we're going to get a tiny inflatable pool so he can go in it and splash around. Nothing else planned for a bit, no doctors appointments so we'll just hang out at home for the immediate future.

A Week Without Mommy and Still OK

We made it! Jack and I survived an entire week without Mary (well, there was a lot of help from Grandparents). Mary was back in Oklahoma for her Sister's wedding, unfortunately I couldn't get time off from work so we stayed home. We had a good time, except for his visit to the doctor and the vaccinations he got. He sure doesn't like those needles! Jack is now over 2 feet long (24 3/4") and ,as per last night, weighs 16 pounds 5 ounces. He is getting to be little sack of potatoes.

Jack really enjoyed hanging out with the Grandparents, and I liked getting the extra rest. Yesterday his Auntie DeAnna came by a hung out with him. It's always good to get family to visit. This weekend Mary is taking the little guy to get some photos done. So all you family members can look forward to some professional style pics of Jack arriving soon.

End of May

Well as the title suggests we are now at the end of May. Hard to believe that Jack is almost 6 months old! Everything is going fairly smooth. He is sleeping anywhere from 7-10 hours through the night (Mary is getting some solid hours in) and he is becoming more and more aware of the things around him. He is especially fond of his hands. Baby hand must taste delicious because if he's not sleeping or eating he is usually gumming his tiny fists to death. Jack is still slowly but surely getting bigger. I weighed him a few days ago and he was up to 15 pounds.

This weekend he enjoyed his 3 day weekend up in Chico. He and Mary went up to visit Aunt DeAnna, Uncle John and Aunt Ekota. They were going to try to get him in the pool with Mary, but the water was to cold. Next week Mary is leaving for Aunt Katie's wedding and she will be without Jack for the entire week. Grandma and Grandpa Passalaqua are going to come over to help take care of the little guy while I'm at work. Should be fun, but I wish we could all take the trip out, I just couldn't get the time off work.

Kicking like a Chicken

Greeting to everyone in internet land. Jack continues to do very well and seems to be growing before our eyes everyday. As of today (on our unofficial scale) Jack was at 14 lbs 12 oz, hard to believe he started out 12 lbs 11 oz lighter than that almost 6 months ago. He is really starting to smile, and we swear that any second he is going to start laughing. Jack discovered that his hands taste delicious, almost as good as milk/formula. His new favorite thing to do is lay on his back in his play gym type thing, and kick at the rattles that hang down. He can just sit there and do it for hours and smile away. Boy does he like to kick his little legs and feet. Anytime he gets on his back he is kicking away. He has also started to use his hands a little more. No longer does he spend all waking hours with tiny fists clenched. Jack now opens up those tiny digits...if only to stick them in his mouth. Jack's tummy time is getting better now too. His neck muscles are building up slowly but surely, and he can get his head off the ground and hold it there for a while, even switching from side to side.

So, everything with the family is great. We are keeping our sanity and getting our sleep (Jack slept 11 hours straight the other night for Mary!). I think we are going to visit the Great Grandparents and possible Great Aunt and Great Uncle this weekend in Vallejo.

Hungry Jack

Made it back for another update. It's amazing how Jack is gaining his weight. He has packed on a full pound since his last update. Yesterday when Mary weighed him he was 10 lbs 14 oz.....that's almost 11 lbs. What a big boy. He is doing wonderfully in all other departments too, well perhaps he gets a little cranky in the afternoon but we can forgive that. With me back at work it's nice that Jack isn't crying through the night like he was a few weeks ago. We're hoping he's gotten himself a night time sleep schedule. Next week Mary goes back to work and we'll see how I cope when he wakes me up during the day (my graveyard sleep hours).

This week we have a couple therapists coming to check in on Jack. Since he was born so early and is considered high risk they come as a free service to make sure Jack gets all the help and assistance he needs. Hopefully they will tell us everything is good. We know he's not where a normal 3-4 month old would be developmentally, we just want him to be where a 1-2 month old would be.

Growth Spurt?

It been an eventful few day s in the Passalaqua household. Today Grandma Christi left to go back home to Oklahoma. So, Mary and I are getting are first few days alone with Jack. We had one last we but we don't count it. Jack had numerous visitors over the week, Janet and Amy Rohrbough and Cousin Pam stopped into say hello to Jack. Also, we don't have any other visitors on the schedule, so we are just all going to chill at home.

We also think Jack maybe hitting a big growth spurt. He has started getting fussy in the evenings to night-time, and has the need to eat every 1 to 3 hours. From everything I've read it sounds like a growth spurt. I did weigh him today and he's up to 8 lbs 1 oz, per our baby scale. Last week at the doctor he was 7 lbs 10 oz, so he is still gaining pretty good. It says that most growth spurts last about 3 days to 1 week so we are hoping Jack will get back to his normal routine, just a little bigger.

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!

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.

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.

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.