Update: To Bring us through May 23

May 20th:

Molly got to meet Jack for the first time at about 5 AM. The nurses kept getting new admits and couldn't find enough time to bring her up until then. Jack is doing awesome. His blood pressure has been low, so they are medicating to get that up for now. They think his blood pressure is probably just low because of the magnesium in his system. At this point they are cautiously optimistic as they see a lot of premies have a 24 hour "honeymoon" phase.

May 21st:

Molly got to 'hold' Jack for the first time today (she always gets to do the fun stuff). Everything is still the same. Jack's blood pressure is back up with the medicine. They are scheduling a head scan for tomorrow, so probably more updates then.

May 22nd:

They did his brain scan this morning. There was a mild level 1 bleed which is very very common in premie babies. They said that the blood will reabsorb into his brain and that a bleed at this level is no concern for future developmental problems or brain damage. They expect the bleed to stop once his blood vessels grow stronger which may take a few weeks. For now, they do a weekly scan to make sure it doesn't grow.

In other news, Jack is now off his blood pressure medicine! This means they are going to start feeding him breast milk. They will be starting him off with 1/2 milliliter every 6 hours and move up from there to full feedings of 13 milliliters every 3 hours. The nurse also let Molly change Jack's diaper today. He has been urinating which makes the nurses and doctors happy. Jack was so excited to have Mom change his diaper that he tried to pee on her.

We also found out that they are releasing Molly from the hospital today (a day early). This is bitter/sweet news. Bitter because we will no longer be just down the hall from our baby (and we have to figure out how to live across the country), but sweet because it means Molly is healing well. It is a whole new whirlwind of emotions and reality will be setting in soon.

A few pictures to see in perspective how big he is:

May 23rd:

Jack is still doing great! He got a new Phoenix Nest (the little blankets they have him in. Chelsea and I decided it was a Phoenix Nest). They also put in a blanket that smells like Molly. Molly got to take his temperature again (she needs practice as she hasn't been successful yet) and she also got to change his diaper again (I also changed it earlier and let's be honest, I need the practice here). They are doing an Ecco on his heart today and if all looks good they will for sure start feeding him breast milk today. He is still rocking his oxygen levels and though the respirator is breathing for him, he is not needing additional levels of oxygen. They also turned his bili lights down as his jaundice levels are decreasing.

As unexpectedly living across the country with a baby in the NICU has its fair share of financial implications a fund has been set up to help us with medical, living, and transportation expenses. Any gift is very appreciated, but don't feel obligated to give; however, do feel obligated to pray for us and/or send positive thoughts our way.