Just a Few Videos

Jack playing with his bull dozer.

Jack in his bedroom.

Jack getting a haircut.

 

Jack eating some ice cream.

Danicing to The Beatles

Big Boy

Well, it's been about 3 weeks since the last post.  Jack has been busy; took a trip to Covelo, went to the doctor, and is now hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa at our house.  We got a bit of good news on his last doctor trip.  The nurse told us that he was now big enough (almost 26 lbs) that he no longer need to get his Synagis shots for RSV.  That is great news, because we thought he would need the shots until at least May.  I suppose nobody is more happy than Jack since he doesn't have to get anymore of those stupid shots.

A couple of weeks ago Jack and I journeyed up to Covelo and stayed a couple days with Grandma and Grandma Passalaqua.  We just hung out and had a good time.  Jack got to go see some buffalo and a herd of elk.  Of course Grandma and Grandpa had a great time and spoiled the little guy the entire time.  Right now they are over at our house "helping us out" with some babysitting, because Mary is out in Oklahoma for her sister's baby shower.

Recovery

Welcome back to those who still check in with Jack....that is whenever I post new updates. Jack's chin has been healing nicely since they drained the infection and gave him the new antibiotics. He no longer looks like somebody glued a giant red extension on his face. The wound is now nothing more than a bump at the bottom of his chin, and the redness is pretty much all gone. He is also back to his normal happy self. It seems that the chinfection made him understandably cranky (I know I would be). Yesterday he went to stay with Cousin Penny up in Applegate. I'm sure they're both having a great time....it's been over a month since Penny has gotten to babysit him and I'm sure they have some catching up to do. We are just glad the infection is almost gone and Jack is almost back to 100% healthy. Also, for those interested I put a pic of his chinny chin chin in this group so you can get an idea of what it looked like.

Almost 1

Hi all, thanks for continuing to read all about Jack. Just a few weeks away from his first birthday, and boy are we all excited. He is still getting stronger and surprising us with some new activity each day. His newest is clapping, he especially likes to clap while eating. He is still working on getting up on his hands and knees to crawl, but he get around plenty good doing his combat crawl. Jack is also getting over his first small cold, he has been a little stuffy and coughing for about 2 weeks, but he hasn't complained too much.

Over the next month we have a bunch going on. A few doctor's appointments, Thanksgiving, a birthday party, Christmas pictures, then out to Oklahoma for Christmas. Jack is now above the 21 pound mark, don't really know how long because we haven't measured him for a while. We will probably have more information at the end of the week, after he has his follow up at the high risk infant clinic.

The Heat of Summer

I was kindly reminded yesterday that it had been 17 days since the last post here. I figured I better get on top of things and give all those interested an update. Jack is still doing very well. Almost to the 8 month old mark and just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Last week he made his first visit to the High Risk Infant Clinic. It is just a precautionary visit, to make sure he is meeting his milestones on time and making sure he doesn't fall behind in his early development. They weighed him (17 pounds 10 ounces) and measured him (25") and gave him a check up. Everything is looking very good. He is alert and doing all the normal things for a baby at his adjusted age (which would be about 4 months old). The only thing the doctor told us was that we need to do some exercises to help with Jack's flexibility. He is a little stiff in his shoulders/arms and hips/legs. They also want us to increase his tummy time to help strengthen his upper body more.

Yesterday we took Jack (along with his Aunt DeAnna and Uncle John) to the State Fair. We had a very good time walking around and checking things out, despite to 100+ temperature. Jack got to see the newborn piglets and some jungle reptiles that were on display. He didn't seem to have much of an opinion about them.

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.

6 Months Old

So it's now officially June and Jack is 6 months old. Height ,weight and mile stone wise he is about where a 3 moth old would be. All that is pretty much what we have expected. Mary has been gone all week long, and he's been having fun hanging out with me, Grandma and Grandpa. But, I'm sure he misses his Mommy and she miss her Jack.

Yesterday Jack went in for his 6 month check up. All systems are go! He was 15 pounds 10 ounces and 24 and a half inches long. All his measurements are is the low percentiles for 6 month olds (around 20th percentile), but in the high 90's for 3 month olds (which is his adjusted age). He has started holding his head up even higher when on tummy time, and is on the verge of a solid roll over.

So it's all ahead until his next check up in December.

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.

Check Up

Not much new going on. Just thought that I would let everyone know that Jack is doing very well. He had a couple vaccinations this week and will go back for the last 2 of his second dose next week. Jack also had his 2 months out of the hospital check up. He weighed in at 12 lbs 2.4 oz, the doctor said we need not worry about him gaining weight. Jack gained 40 oz in 30 days or about 1.3 oz per day. His doc said that 1/3 oz is the very least that is acceptable, so I'd say Jack knows his way around some food. He also gave us the results of his head ultra-sound Jack had 2 weeks ago. All the previous issues that Jack had regarding the ventricles and fluid have subsided and everything looks well and good in the brain/head department.

Tomorrow we will be getting a visit from Aunt Sharon, she is going to help out Mary on the night shift whilst I'm at work. Then next Wednesday Auntie Katie is stopping in from Oklamhoma. She's going to be staying a few days before jetting off somewhere. Sorry, only the one picture this time

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.