I’ll let these speak for themselves…
Thank you so much to Tracey Taylor of Taylor Made Portrait Studio for these amazing pictures!! www.taylormadeportraitstudios.com
God Bless,
Ethan
Getting Closer, Getting Prepared, Getting Stressed
Don’t let the pictures throw you off – no babies are home yet – but we seem to be getting closer every day to the first of five big homecomings. We do not have a definite date yet for any of the babies. The pictures above are of Jack and Brooklyn having their car seat test. They put the babies in the car seat for an hour with the monitors on to make sure the seat doesn’t cause any issues with their breathing and heart rate. All of the babies had this test yesterday and all passed! They have all also cleared their hearing exams!
There is talk of Jack coming home towards the end of next week, possibly along with Lila which would be awesome! But every time we think the course is set, there is a minor setback with one of the babies or one of them decides to make a push to be the first one home. Today’s setback – four out of five babies had spontaneous heart rate drops today, all except for Jack, but he continues to have them while feeding. And today’s push – Ryan is stepping it up with the feeds and if she continues, she will definitely compete for the first one home. Our hope is that they come home soon, but more importantly that they come home when we are 100% certain that all of their issues are resolved, of course!
Our other hope is that they all make it home as closely together as possible. As it is right now, Casey and I go to the NICU every afternoon together. However, once a baby is discharged from the NICU, they can no longer return. This means that Casey and I will have to start alternating when we go to the NICU so that one of us will be able to stay home with the homebound baby. Since it is certain that the babies will not all be ready to go at the same time, we are hopeful that their individual discharges all happen within about a week’s time of each other.
In preparation news, we had the first of two JonesLife Volunteer Orientations this past Saturday at our house. In all, 22 volunteers came to the house so we could meet them all, show them the house and baby care area, and go over all of the general guidelines for how all of this craziness is going to operate. We have organized several infant CPR classes for the volunteers so that most of them have now had some level of training. We are planning one more orientation for two weeks from now and we expect about twice the number of volunteers this time around. This Saturday’s group was very engaged in the discussion, came ready with questions, and seemed to be excited about the pending homecoming. Casey and I are very happy with the way things went and were quite impressed with the volunteer group!
In other preparation news, it looks like I’ll be trading in my truck this coming week for a Ford Expedition EL (the “EL” stands for Extra Long!). It’ll be a sad day to wave goodbye to the truck that has served me well for the last 5+ years, but what must be, must be. I’ve driven a truck since my sophomore year of college and hope to get back into one sooner than later, but we couldn’t make the numbers work this time around. I’ll be taking over Casey’s Tahoe for the next couple of years and Casey will take the reigns of the mini-bus…once the back up alarm has been installed. Please join me in a brief moment of silence as we say goodbye to my beautiful Betty Ford…
I’d be lying if I said the stress wasn’t getting to us…it is. Though it is not overwhelming and we are keeping a positive spirit as we look forward to life with five plus Eliot, please pray for us to continue to keep our heads straight and our focus clear. We are so thankful that the most dramatic life event that we have experienced in our lives to date has been and will continue to be overwhelmingly positive! Yet it doesn’t come without its share of questions and doubts about the future. And for those times when our vision is blurred by the weight of it all, we will continue to lean on our faith, our family, our friends, and our new-found extended support system that comes to us daily through blog comments, emails, Facebook posts, cards, and phone calls all offering love, support, and encouragement for the challenges that lie ahead. Thank you to all for pitching in and helping out, no matter what shape or form that help has taken, we are forever grateful!!!!!
Jack Pulls Ahead
Ok, race fans, it’s time to place your bets! It looks like this chase is coming to a close in the next few days so it’s time to commit! Big Bad Jack has pulled out to a late lead, bolstered by his night in with Mom and Dad, and may have this thing about wrapped up. But don’t count Little Lady Lila out of the hunt just yet. She continues to dominate the bottle, but her little heart skipped a beat just yesterday…was it nerves, was the bottle getting the best of her, or is she simply holding back so she can bring home victory with flair??
We’re still waiting on Unbridled Brooklyn to step up and fight that bottle to the finish…she won’t be coming home until she does. Radiant Ryan is taking the slow and steady approach and may have a surprise for us in the end, but time is running out for a daring dash to the finish. Don’t place your bets on Little Baby Britton as she has absolutely no chance…I’m pretty sure she’s decided that going home will cut into her social life so she’s going to hold out as long as she can with eyes wide open!!
As mentioned above, we got a night in with baby boy Jack on Wednesday night. The hospital has a room just down from the NICU for parents of preemies to come up and spend a night with their baby before they come home. This is an important night for many of the parents because their babies are coming home with different issues that may require more than your average baby care. With the baby still hooked up to the regular monitors and nurses just down the hall, the night in is a good practice run for these parents. Since we’ve been going to the NICU every day for nearly two months now and have been heavily involved with their care in the last couple of weeks, the night served us to just enjoy some alone time with our baby boy. Other than the lack of sleep because one of his sensors decided to be a little sensitive, it was a great time! I think the coolest thing was falling asleep to the sounds of a squeaky baby at our bedside…a sound we will no doubt get our fill of in the coming weeks!
Here are some updated weights on the Fab Five:
Brooklyn Faith – 4 pounds, 14.5 ounces
Britton Grace – 3 pounds, 10.1 ounces
Jack William – 5 pounds, 5.5 ounces
Lila Addison – 3 pounds, 15.2 ounces
Ryan Elizabeth – 4 pounds, 11.4 ounces
We had quite a day at the NICU this afternoon with lots of visitors. First, the group of ladies who knit blankets, caps, and booties for all of the NICU babies made a special trip up to make a special delivery – 5 little blankets with an angel knitted into them. Thought they couldn’t come in to see the babies, it was great for us to meet such a loving group of ladies who do so much good for all of the babies in need!
Next, we had Grandpa Bill came in to see the babies and he got to hold Jack for the first time. I think you can tell by the picture how he felt about his grandbaby boy!
Finally, the dean of Baylor’s business school, Dr. Gary Carini, came up to check in on his future students. What an awesome gesture from a man who could probably spend his time 1000 other ways, but instead decided to spend it spreading a little Green and Gold love! Thank you again, Gary and the rest of the Baylor group, for the incredible support you have given our family!!
All kidding aside, it looks like Jack will be coming home early next week, possibly with Lila by his side. Brooklyn and Ryan are a very close third and fourth. In other words, it is not outside the realm of possibilities that we’ll have four of five home with us next week…AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! Reality check is coming soon to the Jones household!!! Um, prayers please!!!!!!!!
God Bless,
Ethan
Down To The Wire
It appears we may have a photo finish as to which of the Fab Five gets to come home first. The lucky winner will enjoy an indeterminate number of days garnering all the attention that this former family of three has to offer!
As you all know, Brooklyn jumped out to an early lead only to have my main man Jack take her over in the 34th week. It appears now, however, that we’ve got a new challenger in the mix. That’s right, one of the Delivery Day Dainties, Lila Addison who weighed in at a daring 2 pounds, 3 ounces on her birthday, has mounted a late charge and threatens to dash Jack’s dreams! Oh, the drama!!!
As of yesterday afternoon, Jack was comfortably in the lead with the finish line coming into view. However, he tripped on the home stretch allowing Lila to pull up neck and neck beside him! Poor little guy held destiny in his hands before a spontaneous heart rate drop dropped out of nowhere and opened the door to all challengers. Little Lady Lila, weighing in at a full pound lighter than Big Bad Jack, seized the opportunity by continuing her dominance at the nipple resulting in the removal of her feeding tube! Having escaped the wrath of the dreaded heart rate drop for several days now, she may have snuck away with the title.
But don’t place your bet before Unbridled Brooklyn has her last say! She proved herself to be strong out of the gates, but will she have what it takes to finish with flair?? No heart rate drops for her either, but the nipple has been her nemesis! She approaches the bottle work with gusto, but her gale of glee too quickly flees long before the bottle has bowed in submission. The nurses say she could turn it on like a light and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat…and don’t we all know better than to nay-say a nurse’s knowledge?
Radiant Ryan and Little Baby Britton (with whom all are sure to be smitten) have little chance to challenge for the charmed chariot ride to their new castle, but both have made their mark on the JonesLife marquee! Ryan, the youngest of the crew, is a quiet little charmer who selflessly chose to allow her older sisters and brother fight for the glory…this time. Beautiful Britton, with her big, bright eyes (which seem to always be open, by the way!), still prefers the quiet solitude of her isolette to the bright lights of the big stage. With her tiny, little face, big, bright, beautiful eyes, and melt your heart charm the nurses are certain she’ll have more than her fair share of the spotlight.
Who will pull it out? Who will make the final push? Is Big Bad Jack baby boy enough to break free from this estuary of estrogen and stake an early claim to family dominance?? Will Big Sister Brooklyn redeem herself after such a promising start and subsequent fall from grace? Does Lila have enough left in the tank to shock the world? Will Britton ever close those big, bright, beautiful eyes and go to sleep? And what about Ryan – will our sleepy little siren ever wake up long enough to show us what she’s made of?? No one can say, but there are sure to be more twists and turns along the way. Tune in to see who comes out of this baby scrap fight with the coveted title – First Home Arrival!!!!!
God Bless,
Ethan
http://www.joneslife.net/
They Must Be Twins or Something…
Ok, one more thing. I had to add this picture we got today of Jack and Brooklyn because it is the first time we have been able to hold them next to each other. We discovered something when we did – they look exactly alike!! Ryan has a strong resemblance to them both as well. We think Britton and Lila probably look a lot like each other, but it’s too early to tell. Anyway, just wanted to share.
God Bless,
Ethan
Five at a Time…Priceless!!!!
We got a very cool surprise today in the NICU today as Casey was holding Britton and I was holding Jack. I’m not even sure what started it, but one minute we’re just sitting there chatting with the nurses and the next thing you know, we’ve got nurses bringing us the other three babies for a quick photo op!! It was really cool to have them all side by side and the pictures we got are absolutely PRICELESS!!!! The babies are in birth order in the picture from left to right – Brooklyn, Britton, Jack, Lila, and Ryan.
To be honest, I got a little nervous doing this because it meant that Brooklyn, Lila, and Ryan were disconnected from all of their monitors to make this happen, but we were surrounded by nurses and we only got to do this for a few quick minutes. Don’t let my nerves fool you however, the babies all continue to do very, very well. They each still have their own little issues that they need to overcome before they are allowed to come home. Brooklyn needs to get better at eating, Britton needs to grow, Jack needs to stop having heart rate drops, Lila had a pretty big setback today, and Ryan just needs to eat, eat, eat!
Lila’s setback was a really scary episode that quickly reminds us how important it is for the babies to be so closely monitored. For some reason she had a major heart rate drop coupled with a prolonged episode of very low oxygen saturation that required her nurse to artificially breathe for her for about four minutes. She never completely stopped breathing, but her oxygen saturation was too low to allow her to work through the problem on her own. This was out of character for her, but apparently isn’t an uncommon event for preemies to experience. She’s ok, but this little episode means that she will be in the NICU for a minimum of seven more days, probably longer.
One other quick note – Jack had his circumcision performed this evening. Casey’s ob/gyn, Dr. Stephanie Reich performed the operation and reported that all went well and Jack did not make a peep. Atta boy, Jack!
It is possible that one or two of the babies will be coming home in the next 7-10 days, but it’s really unclear at the moment. They are all doing very well, but these lingering issues with eating and breathing have to go away entirely and stay away for a good seven days or so before they can think about sending them home with us. Please continue to pray for their growth and maturity with eating and breathing!!!
God Bless,
Ethan
P.S. Eliot is really into calendars and loves keeping track of the passing days on the calendar in her room. She gives us daily updates of lunar events (“Daddy, it’s a full moon tonight!”), holidays, and other notes listed on the calendar. I only mention this because she just ran out of her room to inform us some important news – tomorrow is Flag Day in Mexico…very exciting stuff!!
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