Almost Home!

We are almost home!!  The doctor said he plans to kick Jackson out of Bergan tomorrow!  He has one more test to pass - the infant car seat study (as seen on Grey's Anatomy :)  They are doing the test tonight and hopefully we get the all clear to take our little guy home tomorrow.  Scott and I are so anxious, nervous and excited!!  We have been in here six weeks, but that is behind us now and I am just so grateful to be able to take a healthy baby home.  I also can't wait for Oscar to meet Jackson and see how he accepts the new role of big brother!!

Almost 4 weeks!

It's been a few weeks since I have updated our blog on baby Jackson.  He is doing very well and currently weighs 5 lbs 13.5 oz!!  I think we will hit the 6lb mark on Tuesday.  He is still breathing a little heavy and they had to put him back on oxygen last Wednesday to help.  Hopefully we can wean him off of that again sometime this week.  He still has his feeding tube in and probably will for another week or so until he can start eating on his own.  They did a heart ultra sound this past week to make sure his heavy breathing wasn't caused by any serious heart problems.  Thankfully, the ultrasound results came back normal.  Now the doctors say he just needs a little time and his breathing will be normal once he gets a little older and gains a little more weight. 

He is such a strong little boy and I am amazed every time I look at him.  He is wonderful and we are truly blessed.  Scott and I can spend hours and hours just staring at him. 

We have had a lot of people ask when he will be able to come home - we are not sure and neither are the doctors.  We are just waiting for his breathing and for him to be eating on his own.  They think it could take a few more weeks.  We are ok for however long it takes to get our little guy healthy enough to bring home and will be here with him everyday.  We also want to thank everyone for the visits and all of the well wishes and prayers.  It's so amazing to know we have so many people who care about us.  Jackson is already loved by so many!!

New Pictures!

Well it's been over a week since our last post and the little man is doing good!  On saturday he was taken out of the inclosed and heated crib and put in a normal open crib.  Also his PICC line was taken out, which is basically an IV that can be left in for a long period of time, so that means he is getting all of his nutrients from milk and formula.  That also meant he finally gets to wear clothes, which is something Krystle was very excited about, she couldn't wait to play dress up. And he's growing!  About an ounce every day, which doesn't seem like much until you think about how small 4lbs is!  As of last night he was up to 4lbs 10 oz.  Other than that it's just been little steps in the right direction, no more oxygen, he's tolerating increases in his feeding, and he's starting to use a pacifier.  Tomorrow he will be two weeks old and it seems like the time has just flown by.  It will still be a few weeks before he gets to come home, and Krystle and I will be very glad when that day comes. 

Our wonderful weekend

Saturday started out to be a hard day as it was the day I was leaving the hospital, but we got great news and made me feel more at ease walking out those front doors to go home to sleep.  Jackson was taken off the ventilators, increased his feedings and they were weaning him from his assisted oxygen.  By Sunday, he was completely breathing on his own and his feedings were doubled (again!)  Now that Jackson is breathing on his own, we are having a few bradycardias, which is where his heart rate dips briefly, but comes right back up.  He is on caffeine to help with this.  The dr said this is pretty common with premmature babies and hopefully will not have anymore by next week. Sunday was also the first day that mom and dad got to hold him.  There are no words to explain the feeling of holding your child for the first time, especially after having to wait almost a week. 

Our neonatologist left our room last night with these words "We are moving in the right direction".  That is exactly how Scott and I are feeling.  Although it's a bumpy road, we are staying positive and making progress.  I just can't wait to take this little man home with us.

Special Thanks!

Gotta give an extra special thank you to Jeremy and Jaime Jones.  These two are awesome!  Over the past few weeks while Krystle has been in the hospital we've been able to count on them for anything we needed.  They've been taking care of Oscar most nights, and doing some really big things I just haven't had time for.  They did some painting in Jacksons room, and I was very surprised when I came home this morning to find that they had sanded and stained an old dresser of mine to match Jax's crib!  This was a project I'd been wanting to work on but hadn't had the time for.  It's really awesome to be able to relax a little bit knowing that some of the things I need to get done have already been done by our friends.

Busy Bone!

Big brother got an extra special treat today for being such a good boy while not getting much attention lately.  And thanks to Aunt Carm for giving Oscar a bath while she watched him Friday night! 

Chest tube is out!

We've had a pretty good day today, Jackson got his chest tube taken out this afternoon!  I have to say he didn't act as happy about it as his mom and I were, but I can't blame him for being upset, he did have a tube about the size of his finger pulled out the side of his chest.  He's made some improvements on his breathing today, he's requiring less and less assisted oxygen (not sure if that's what they call it, good enough for me) all the time.  He's still gonna have to be on the ventilator for another week or so it sounds like.  The above picture is Jackson wearing his "shades".  They had to turn some lights on him because he was showing a little bit of jaundice, but the doc said it's pretty common in the NICU, and should be gone in two or three days.

Dad's first post.

Here we are on day three of little Jackson's life, and what an experience it's been!  He's making progress little by little all the time.  This mornings x-rays of his chest brought good news, the doc says the hole in his lung is pretty much non-existent.  So that means his chest tube should be out soon, hopefully by Sunday.  Jackson also started on a feeding tube today.  There was some concern that his stomach wouldn't be ready and he would just spit up anything put in, but so far it's all stayed down!  This is pretty exciting because the milk should make him stronger and help him develop more than just the IV was.  That's all for now, keep checking in, Krystle and I will keep posting updates as we get them, and keep "The Champ" or "General Lee", whichever of the two nicknames you like better, in your prayers. 

Hello world, Jackson is here!

I started this blog Monday March 21 so I could update everyone on the pregnancy and my bed rest in the hospital.  We were planning on being in the hospital for a few more weeks.  Jackson had other plans....

I started having complications Feb 21 (our first visit to Labor and Delivery at Bergan)  Since then, we had been back and forth from home to Bergan 3 times.  Our latest visit was March 16 and the doctors told us we could be there until we deliver.  Although I was nervous and scared, I knew that we had the best doctors and they knew what was best for mom and baby.

March 22 - Happy Birthday Jackson Lee!  I woke up early not feeling well.  Little did I know, Jackson was ready to meet his mom and dad that afternoon.  He was born at 3:13pm by c-section.  We were just shy of 32 weeks, but he is a strong little man and weighed 4lbs 3 oz and was 17.5 inches long.  He is in NICU and will be there for awhile so he can grow and get strong enough to come home.  He is having some problems with his lungs being premature, but they are working on getting them stronger.  We had a little set back yesterday when they found a small hole in his left lung.  They had to put a tube in his side to release the air from the lung.  Today was a great day as we found out the hole is healing itself and they could barely see it on the xray.  We hope and pray for more good days!

It has been a crazy amazing week for both Scott and I.  We are truly blessed for this little miracle.  I have never felt so much love as I do for Jackson and can't wait for him to get strong enough to bring home.  He has a big brother that can't wait to meet him!

I will try to update this blog often so I can keep everyone up to date on his progress.  Please keep the well wishes and prayers going for Jackson!