Jack's Last Days

On Friday March 19th, Jack started acting sick. His heartrate speed up and he was very pale. Although initial bloodwork leaned toward viral they began him on antibiotics anyway. As the day progressed he continued to get sicker. Overnight, under the care of his favorite nurse, Jack rallied and seemed to get better. Saturday brought Mackenzie's birthday party and a devastating phone call from Jack's doctor. Jack had taken a turn for the worse and was in very critical condition. Additional bloodwork showed he did have a severe infection that had most likely spread to his brain causing seizures. DJ and I rushed to the hospital to be with him. Shortly before we arrived at the hospital Jack went into cardiac arrest. They were able to revive him and stablize his heartbeat for awhile. Just after 6:30pm Jack went into cardiac arrest again while the NICU was closed to parents. They were again able to bring him back. When they reopened the NICU, the doctors broke the news to us that despite their best efforts, they would not be able to bring Jack through this. Words cannot describe how we felt.

Jack passed away shortly after 11:30pm Saturday March 20th in the arms of his daddy. We will eternally be grateful for the time that we were able to spend with Jack and for the impact that he had in this world. Our hope for Jack's memory is not for the shortness of his life, but for the incredible miracle that Jack's life was. He was an amazing gift from God.

Thank you so very much to everyone who has poured out their support in the last couple months and especially over the last few days. We hope that Jack has inspired you and has shown you the awesome power of God our savior. Although our hearts mourn for Jack we take comfort in knowing God's promise for him and that we will be reunited one day in heaven.

~Jeny

Big Boy Bassinet

They have Jack in a bassinet now and out of the incubator!! He is doing well maintaining his temperature too and is still growing like a weed. It's so neat to be able to see him without all the plastic in the way! Now I can get some pictures of him that aren't as fuzzy :-) He is up to 1714 grams (roughly 3 lbs 12 1/2 oz) now. They are talking about trying to bottle feed him here in the next week or so. I can't believe that he is getting so big!
Post again soon,
~Jeny

2 Months!

Ok, so my kid is officially 2 months old today! Can't believe that it has gone so fast! He is doing well on the cannula and gaining weight quickly. He is up to 3 pounds 11 ounces, and he looks every ounce of it! They are hoping to move him out of the incubator and into a crib here in the next couple days. Then he'll start wearing clothes full time and start looking like a real baby. Hopefully then I can get some clear pictures of him without that funky plexi-glass in the way :-)
Post again soon,
~Jeny

1500 Grams!

Jack officially hit 1500 grams last night which is roughly 3 lbs 5 oz. He's getting so big so fast now. He is still doing well on his cannula and they have his oxygen around 30%. He looked so good when I was up there. I got to hold him like an actual baby, which is a lot more difficult than it sounds. Since he is so little it was touch to keep him propped up because his body doesn't reach all the way down my arm. Jack also decided that he didn't like this and we ended up putting him on my chest like usual. (Called Kangaroo Care)
Jack had another eye exam yesterday. He tolerated it better than the last one, and it looks like the ROP has not progressed any. Good news indeed!
Post again soon,
~Jeny

Pictures as Promised

Well, here are the pictures that I took of Jack without the nasty ventilator tube or CPAP. Some of them came out a little blurry, but you can still see that beautiful little face :)
Jack did well overnight on the cannula and is still maintaining his oxygen levels. We still have a few hurdles for him to overcome so that he can come home, but he is making incredible progress. Can't wait!
Post again soon,
~Jeny

Jack and the Cannula

Well, Jack has made it all day on the cannula and is doing very well. They have weaned him down to 35% on his oxygen and he is still maintaining O2 saturation. He looks great and it's so exciting to be able to see his face. I'll try to get pictures uploaded soon.
Post again soon,
~Jeny

Yay Jack!

Jack had a great night on the CPAP! He did very well keeping his oxygen up and they will put him on a canula today at some point. I can't wait to see his cute little face without any tubes! I'll try and get some pictures posted soon!
Post again soon,
~Jeny

Jack's Extubation cont.

So far so good! Jack continues to do well. They have weaned his oxygen down to 40% and he is still keeping his oxygen saturation high. He looks really good and I am so proud of him! Thank you so much to everyone for your prayers and words of encouragement. I'll continue to keep you updated.
Post again soon,
~Jeny

Jack vs the CPAP - Round 2

Well, so far so good. They extubated Jack this morning around 10am and he has been holding steady. They have his oxygen up to 50% but haven't had to adjust it since this morning. He was desating some at first, but they got him snuggled on his tummy and he was a little more comfortable and holding his oxygen steady.
***Just talked to his nurse and he is still doing well. They have weaned his oxygen down to 47% and he continues to keep his O2 saturation up. Mackenzie and I are going to check on him tonight and I'll continue to keep you guys posted.
I posted some pictures of him before and after his extubation.
Post again soon,
~Jeny

Ginormous Jack

Ok, so my kid is officially 3 pounds...3 pounds 3 1/2 ounces to be exact. He's gaining weight so quickly and has started chunking up. I can't believe that he is getting so big! They started the hydrocortisone today to help with the inflammation in his lungs and are still planning on extubating him tomorrow. Definately hoping this attempt goes better than the last.
He definately feels sturdier now. When I held him last night he felt more solid and he's definately longer. :-) I never thought I'd think of a 3 pound baby as "big", spending so much time in the NICU definately skews your perceptions.
He wore his first "outfit" the other night. I'd brought in a couple button up shirts for him to wear since they wouldn't need to go over his head (impossible with the ventilator tube in). It actually fits better than I thought it would.
Daddy got Jack his first Braves Spring Training ball. Luckily the nurse and I were able to convince him not to leave it in the incubator with him. He got a new bed last night too. He's still in an incubator, but it's a little smaller and designed for bigger babies.
Post again soon,
~Jeny

Jack's ROP

The results of Jack's eye exam came back. Jack tolerated the exam well, but was a little touchy last night. He does have slight ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). ROP is an eye disease that effects a large percentage of babies that are born before 31 weeks gestation. It is caused when the blood vessels in the eye develop abnormally. These vessels branch abnormally and can leak causing damage to the retina It is stage from I to V and can effect different zones (areas) of the retina. Severe ROP can result in blindness while less severe ROP can result in the need for glasses later in life or can even resolve on it's own.
Jack's ROP is considered a stage I, the least severe kind, and is located in the middle portion of zone 2. According to the National Eye Institute, "Many children who develop stage I improve with no treatment and eventually develop normal vision. The disease resolves on its own without further progression." This indeed is good news. They will continue to monitor his ROP and will perform another eye exam next Wednesday to see if it is progressing (bad) or regressing (good).
Sorry for the technical tone of today's blog, but considering how little I knew about it, I figured I would educate myself as well as the rest of you. :-) In the event that you would like to know more about they highly entertaining topic of ROP, here is the link to the National Eye Institute where I got my information: www.nei.nih.gov/health/rop/rop.asp
Other than that Jack continues to develop well. He is up to 1322 grams, translating to 2 lbs 15 oz. He is still on 28% oxygen and has moved up to 26mL on his feeds. He had another head ultrasound this morning so we should have the results of that tonight or tomorrow.
Post again soon,
~Jeny

Picture Post

Just wanted to get some pictures uploaded that have been stuck on my phone, including my absolute favorite of him with his eyes open.
Visited Jack today and got to kangaroo for a little over an hour. He was very awake today and very active. He has learned to turn his head over, normally a very exciting newborn milestone. However, when your baby is intubated and turning his head over blocks his airway, it can be terrifying. They have been trying to keep him still by putting this preemie pillow, called a Frog, around his head and over his chin to prevent him from turning over. It works most of the time but he still manages to wiggle himself free.
I talked to Dr Brown today. She said she's very happy with the progress Jack made while she was out of town. They have upped his feeds to 24mL and she said they will try again to extubate him in 5 or 6 days. Hopefully this next round goes better than the last. They have been weaning him down on his oxygen and currently have him on 28% where he is doing well.
Post again soon,
~Jeny

Thumbs Up!

Just wanted to post the latest picture of Jack. He has traded the binkie for his thumb and seems to be pretty happy. :)
Jack is getting stronger every day and growing so FAST!! He is up to 1280 grams (around 2 lbs 13 oz) They keep bumping up his feeds so hopefully he'll continue to put on weight quickly. He has his first eye exam on Wednesday morning. The nurses seem to agree that it is a less than pleasant procedure and he'll probably be a little testy Wednesday. Hopefully he'll do ok with it and they won't find anything wrong.
Post again soon,
~Jeny