12 Weeks Old....

Could there be a prouder Grandpa in this world??

Jay is at 1/2 a Liter on his nasal cannula and sits for most of the day at room air. He does seem to need a little bump up when he's taking a bottle or digesting. But other than that he's doing just fine.

He just needs to grow and gain weight. Once he does this he should be able to hold his temperature better. He's getting there though.

Jay had quite the day yesterday. First of all he took his whole feeding of almost an ounce by bottle!!! He was so tired after that he just slept but there was no spitting up.

And then last night the little man had his very first tub bath. He did so well. He cried when we first put him in but after that he was so relaxed and happy. I'm sure it must have felt good.

Heather, one of his primary nurses, told me not to be surprised if he gets moved to the big kids room in the back soon. I found out that all his primary nurses will follow him back there so as long as they are there they will have him. I am so grateful for that. For some lucky reason Jay has four wonderful nurses that signed up for him. Two in the day and two at night. In addition to taking care of our son they give me so much comfort and peace of mind. I will be forever grateful to them for the rest of my life.

Relaxing in the big boy tub

We have to wash the back too (he was so relaxed he was
falling asleep)

This is what Jay thinks about taking his medicine :)

The feet on his sleeper last night. Y

Today is Jayan's last day on the antibiotic (vencomyacin). With that he'll hopefully be IV free up to his leaving the hospital. IV's are just an extra way to get an infection so they are pleased he can now take his meds orally.

Jay's weight last night was 1660 grams. That's 1010 grams more than he weighed when he was born. I am eager for him to get to 4 pounds. This will be about 1800 grams.

After he gets the IV out Jay will be getting his first tub bath. And there is also talk about getting him ready to move to the "big kids" room. This is where the babies go to grow. Most of their issues have been worked out.

Gayatri Mantra:
As many of you know when I was pregnant I was in and out of the ER and hospital for my preeclampsia complications. There was this chant that I was taught as a child and I have sung it whenever I was nervous about something. So Jay must have heard it a lot in my belly. Last night while he was in my arms I said it over and over again in a very soft voice. He seemed really peaceful.

"Aum Bhoor Bhuwah Swaha,

Tat Savitur Varenyam,

Bhargo Devasaya Dheemahi,

Dhiyo Yo Naha Prachodayat"

Translation:
"O God, Thou art the giver of life, the remover of pain and sorrow, the bestower of happiness; O Creator of the Universe, may we receive Thy supreme, sin destroying light; may Thou guide our intellect in the right direction."

Jayan is truly a gift from God to us.

Sorry for not getting in here all weekend. It was a busy one. Jay is doing just fine. The one change they have made was reducing his calories a little bit. I think his little body couldn't digest what they were trying to give him so he'd spit up just a little after his feedings. But since the new change, he's been just fine. He gets a dose of vencomyacin 3 times a day for his infection from the Broviac.

He's been weaned down to 1L on the nasal cannula!

On most of the visits this weekend he was awake and alert. Yesterday Joe and I had a really nice visit.

We're hearing words like discharge... it's scary and exciting all at the same time. It won't be for at least another month I'm sure. Jay wasn't due until March 20th. If we take him home somewhere around then I'll be happy.

11 Weeks Old

Jay is 36 weeks gestation. I can't help but wonder what my belly would look like.
He got a bath tonight and his broviac line was also removed. He was so exhausted after his bath I held him and he slept so peacefully. He is still getting 28cc's every 3 hours and is at 1.5L on the nasal cannula. The picture above was taken right after his bath. He amazes me everyday.

We love you so much Jayan.

Jayan's still at room air but he was moved back to 2L instead of the 1.5L he was at on Monday. I can live with that. He took 14 cc's by bottle today and did fantastic! When I saw him this afternoon he was getting grumpy because it was getting close to his feeding time. :) He's turning into a regular little baby.

He is getting a dose of antibiotics because he has a small infection but other than that he's doing fantastic! *proud*

Tonight we're going to watch a video on RSV at the hospital during the visit.

When I went to see Jay yesterday afternoon his nurse had a wonderful surprise for me. A photo of my sweet baby boy drinking from his second bottle feeding. (His first was Friday)
Joe's already claimed it for his desk at work.

Last night while being held he was on room air (21%) this is a first for him since being on the cannula. They also lowered it from 1.5L down to 1L. He gained two more ounces, so he is now 3.6 pounds. And he is up to 28 cc's every 3 hours. That is almost one ounce!

His nurse also gave him two of his medications orally (they actually taste decent) He took them like a champ. And then sucked happily on his pacifier.

Yesterday when I went to visit Jay in the afternoon he was fast alseep. I woke him up for his diaper change and cares. This never makes him happy but he usually settles right back down after being swaddled back and cozy.

Kristen came to see him yesterday and he was wide awake when she showed up. Jay slept peacefully while we chatted.

Last night Joe and I went and Joe held Jay while I read next to them. He was getting his feeding at the time. Jay is up to 26cc's every 3 hours!

They've mentioned they'd like us to start watching some videos to prepare us for Jay coming home. (CPR, RSV etc.) So that will all be happening in the next few weeks. He still has spells here and there and needs to gain weight so that's what we're focussing on now. Yesterday's weight was 3.4 pounds. We're getting there.

So on Friday he was wide awake around his feeding time so they decided to try a bottle with just 5 cc's of milk and he did fantastic!! They will try again on Monday.

Today he's very peaceful and resting happily. He is not connected to any IV's and they are even thinking about taking out the Broviac Line this week!!

Jay's third eye exam shows no change from the last one. This is very good news. But the big news for tonight is that they are going to start bottle feeding him a small amount of milk on Monday to see how he tolerates it. He's now up to 18 cc's of milk every three hours.

We love days like this.

Happy Valentine's Day Baby Boy. We love you so much!!!

Jay is doing wonderful. The developmental therapist I met yesterday taught me to do a few exercises with him. She said he's coming along well.

His feeding are up to 17.5 cc's every three hours. This is with formula added to the milk for extra calories. And the great news is that he's tolerating it with no tummy trouble. The doctors and nurses say he should really start gaining weight now.

I also talked to Dr. Dar yesterday and he said that they are so happy with his progress and he's feeling good about Jay just focussing on getting bigger and growing. (then he knocked on wood) :)

Jay got Valentine's Day cards from his mom and dad and from Grandma Judy Y

Last night my Dad came to visit. He's been down with a cold and hadn't seen Jayan in a while so I'm glad he could come visit.

Jay's bodily functions are definitely working. He had a nice poopy diaper for me when I got there for his cares. I also put his first sleeper on him (full body suit with the feet) It's a little big on him but Kristin the day nurse suggested it to help keep him warm. They are trying to get him to hold his temperature so he can move to a big boy bed. Right now he is only at 25% heat so he's on his way.

This afternoon he has an appointment with the developmental therapist. I will be there for that and I am keen to hear what they have to say. His first one was one Tuesday and from what I hear they are quite pleased with where he is developmentally. Tomorrow he has his third eye exam.

When I went to see Jay this afternoon he was wide awake and very alert. I was told that yesterday they started "physical" therapy with him. It's to check his motor skills and reflexes. They say he's fine and seems to be right on target for where he is.

They lowered his nasal cannula from 2 liters to 1.5 liters. Another step forward. They've also started adding fortifier to my milk again to up his calories. I'm keen to know if he's tolerating that I'll find out when I go back tonight.

Today is a big day in my preemie world. My friend Niki and her husband Brian are taking home their beautiful baby girl Sydney. She was born t 26 weeks gestation and she is an amazing little girl. I'm so proud of all three of them.

So far so good on the cannula. I held him for about two hours tonight. And he did just fine. They were doing a blood gas only after I left so I'll call later and see how it went.

Yesterday one of Jay's nurses asked me if we started buying anything for him. We honestly haven't. She said we should start because if he keeps going in the direction he is he could be home around his due date!!

So we're going to start getting his room ready!!

Jay's back on the nasal cannula today. We had a great visit with him this afternoon. He has a nice restful day ahead of him. No tests other than a blood gas later tonight. He makes us so proud.

Video of Jay and Daddy

I visited Jay yesterday in the afternoon and the evening but didn't have a chance to get on here. He was doing well. He had his immunization shots yesterday so I didn't hold him because I didn't want to disturb him. They did give him a tiny bit of tylenol just to help with the pain from the shots.

Tonight I held him for about two hours. At one point he was awake and looking right at me. He's so sweet. I sang him a few nursery rhymes and he seemed to sleep pretty peacefully. Tonight he got a new bed. Since he doesn't need humidity anymore he's in an isolette that's more for mature preemies. It also doesn't have the weigh feature, so for his nightly weight check he will be put on the bigger baby scale. The next step is a crib and he just needs to hold his own body temperature to move into that. He already seems to be doing just fine at that.

Jay's having a good night tonight. I held him for a nice long time and I read a Dr. Seuss book to him. It's actually a book I used to read to him when he was in my tummy. Oh Baby the Places You'll Go (A book to be read in utero) :) Tasha and I bought it when I was about 8 weeks pregnant.

I think he enjoyed it. I know he's not in utero anymore but I figured he might recognize it.

I had a long chat with Dr. Dar one of his attending doctors. He said they are really pleased with Jay's progress and that the fluid retention doesn't have him worried right now. He said his liver and kidneys are still growing and they feel this is something that will be corrected on it's own.

Jayan is still on the CPAP but doing really well. He's going to move back to the nasal cannula on his own terms. Which is fine by me beause I'd rather him go back on and stay on. He's still got some extra fluid in him and they think that could be the reason he's just not ready to go back on the nasal cannula. No matter what I'm sure he's still happy to have the tube out of his throat from the ventilator.

Last night I helped give him a bath. Then I held him for a little bit. I hadn't held him in so long. I love just looking at his face. I am still so amazed this precious angel came out of my tummy. He slept the whole time. I think his little bath wore him out.

I guess he's also about ready for some of his immunization shots so I signed the consent for that yesterday also. He's such a big boy. We love you so much Jay.

I think Jay will be back on the nasal cannula tomorrow. He's doing great on the CPAP sitting on room air with no back up rate. His weight tonight was 1450 grams that's about 3.2 pounds. He's 15.3 inches long. Feeds are going well also.

I know I haven't taken pictures in a while so I got some today. :)

These are Jayan's hand me down NICU clothes from Heather and her son Connor. Y

We're back on the CPAP!!!! Jay got extubated at 11:00 am this morning. I saw him at 4:30pm and he looked great. And so happy to be off the ventilator. We have one more step to get back to the nasal cannula but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

I'm hoping he's still doing well by the time I get back there tonight because I'd really like to hold him. I haven't gotten to since Thursday.

Jay has still not been extubated but we are hoping he will be by tomorrow morning. He's at room air now and they are just working on getting his rate and pressure down.

His feedings have been restarted and so far he is doing well on that.
Tonight he was very peaceful and slept the whole time I was there.

I forgot to mention that on Friday he got a visit from his Aunt Dharshi and from Laurina. :)

Jay did really well through the surgery. It took only about 20 minutes and he's back in his little bed resting peacefully.

Since he's stable they did the surgery at St. Joseph's the main hospital next to CHOC. I was with him the whole way. He didn't even wake up while they wheeled him over there.

One of his main nurses has him today and I'm so grateful for that because she knows him so well. He's still intubated from the surgery but we're hoping he'll be extubated soon.

Thank you for all your prayers.

8 Weeks Old!!!!

I can't believe the little man has been in this world for 8 weeks. He's at 33 weeks gestation.

This afternoon he had a visit from the opthamologist. I spoke to him while I was there this afternoon and he said that the baby looks really good for his age. One of his eyes show a slight change from two weeks ago but he said it's nothing to be concerned about right now. So that's good news.

The surgery to put in the Broviac Line has been scheduled for tomorrow at 7:30am we have to be there at 6:30am.

I'll be going back tonight to hold Jay. And I'll post tomorrow to let everyone know how things go.
Thank you for keeping Jay in your prayers.