2-10

Mar 26 2012

Jack’s doing fantastic! Last night he weighed in at 2 lb 10 oz!
Friday he finished off his antibiotic course and so was able to have his PICC line removed -one less tube!
Jerry got to hold Jack for the first time, also on Friday.
Saturday Jack got to meet his Aunt Gweni (Jerry’s sister) and Uncle John.

He also got to make my Grandpa Dan’s day a little better…Grandma passed away on Wednesday night. Jack’s second 🙂 middle name is Daniel after Grandpa and my Dad.

Today big sister Olivia got to hold Jack for the first time and he stayed awake with wide eyes to gaze at her!

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Third Week (in pictures)

Mar 26 2012

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Twelve Milliliters and Half an Inch

Mar 17 2012

Finally recovering from a week long cold, I made it back in to the Neonatal ICU to see Jack. Breanna and I went with Kathi, Breanna’s mom. I really enjoyed seeing the change in how he looks. Jack’s putting on the baby fat and filling out. We’ll upload more pictures tomorrow.

The doctor told us he is now “feeding” on 12 milliliters of milk each day, with almost no residuals left in the stomach at the next feeding. They are adding extra calories to the milk to help with weight gain. Most of his nutrition comes from the milk now, and not the IV.

He had a second head scan and the bleeding they measured in the first scan has decreased and appears to be closing like expected. His heart murmur also is completely normal for his stage of development and should be closing.

Breanna changed his diaper, took his temperature, and measured him to be half an inch longer. Then she held him for a long while while both of us watching tried hard to stay awake.

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2 Weeks Old

Mar 15 2012

Today is Jack’s 2 Week Birthday! He weighs just over 1 kilo (2.2 pounds). He is being fed 10ml of breast milk every four hours (through that little stomach tube).

He had a PICC line put in, and his umbilical arterial line was removed (so now his umbilical lines are completely disconnected).

He will be on antibiotics for two weeks for cholangitus that was causing liver dysfunction.

He had his first “bath” yesterday, which made him very unhappy!

A friend from Jerry’s days in PNG took the other kids to the art museum, and we were able to go out for lunch and get a few things we needed.

We’re currently staying in a hotel near the hospital that provides two free nights a week for us. The older siblings get to swim in the pool and Isaiah loves to ride the hospital shuttle! We’ll put pictures up tomorrow when we get back to the other house.

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A little setback

Mar 13 2012

Jack’s doctor told me that his regular lab work came back. His numbers were high and showed some liver dysfunction. They will put him on antibiotics.

They also did an ultrasound of his liver and consulted with an infectious disease doctor.

We have really appreciated the communication from the medical staff here. If we don’t see Jack’s doctor each day, she will call us and give us his updates over the phone. We can also call in anytime and after verifying our identity, they tell us his status.

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Breanna Discharged

Mar 06 2012

I was told to expect to stay in the hospital after the c-section and Jack’s birth. I got two extra days in because my blood pressure was still high. But with Jack just around the corner in the NICU, I wasn’t too bummed about it. A bit of juggling with the meds, and the blood pressure stayed down enough to win my freedom. It’s great to be with the rest of the family, but was hard to leave Jack at the hospital! Thankfully, we’re provided with two free nights in a hotel around the corner from the hospital, since mom and dad’s house is almost an hour away.

 

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Off the ventilator

Mar 04 2012

Breanna gets to change Jack's diaper for the first time.

A day after he was born, Jack was taken off the ventilator and put on CPAP (a steady flow of pressurized air). His oxygen level remained solid, and the following day he was off of CPAP and breathing completely on his own!
Breanna, after getting the strength needed to be up and walking, participated in her first “hands on” time and change his diaper.

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Only stepping forward

Mar 03 2012

Everyone assured us that setbacks would happen immediately for a baby so small. We expected the first two or three days to be tough. But they weren’t

Thursday proved to be the hardest, probably the anticlimax, the sudden collapse of reality into our consciousness, and a bunch of other reasons. Breanna also had to deal with being in a bed, in a room, on a floor, apart from her baby.

I had the blessings of jet lag, and got up well before the sun to take a peek at Jack. I had mixed emotions looking at the little guy with small tubes and wires running everywhere. Small to me, but they appeared monstrously large on him. It felt strange to even try to talk to him.  But I could pray, and probably thousands others were praying for him as well.

He didn’t hit any setbacks. And, through God’s strength, he progressed quicker than we thought.

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Born

Feb 29 2012

After getting to see my first, long glimpse of Jack, the doctor told me his weight: 1 pound and 13 ounces.

I went back to the other room and showed Breanna the pictures of her new little man.

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C-Section

Feb 29 2012

Initially, the plan, after checking in on Tuesday, was to monitor Breanna and Jack’s condition and see how things settle. The kids went home with grandparents, and I spent the night with Breanna in the room.

jerry and breanna during the c-section

jerry and breanna during the c-section

However, Wednesday morning the doctor and staff were alarmed at the change in conditions between Tuesday and Wednesday. The same symptoms that were noticed on Monday in Nairobi had grown more alarming. The doctor looked at Breanna and said “You’ve reached your time.”

To avoid worrying us, he told us that Jack’s survival would be over 90%. It sounded great to us!

They planned a C-section for later in the afternoon. We called family and told them the news so they could hurry back to the hospital.

So Breanna and I prayed together alone in the room before it became busy. Once again we expressed our complete trust in Him.

After Breanna was prepped, I was allowed in, and stayed the whole time. The staff permitted me to take pictures, as long is they weren’t gory. The anesthesiologist told me to take a quick peek just as Jack was lifted out, and within seconds he was taken into the next door room.

After about five minutes, I did get to go next door and take pictures and the following video of him.

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