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Welcome Home, Jack Jones!!

8 Comments 17 March 2009

And the winner is Jack William, standing alone on the winner’s podium!! As late as 9:30 this morning, we thought Radiant Ryan was coming home today with Jack, but a phone call from the NICU quickly dashed those dreams. Ryan had a significant heart rate drop at some point last night which means she won’t be coming home for at least five more days. Of course, we were disappointed, but at the same time I must admit that we were pulling for Jack all along. The girls will soon be ruling this roost so it’s only fair that our only boy should get some quiet time alone with the three of us before the girls take over!

At this point, however, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will be next. It appears that Ryan is now at the back of the line with Britton, but who knows? Lila is out until the weekend, at least, because of her heart rate drop just two days ago. And Brooklyn? Well, the little girl who was the biggest on delivery day isn’t real fond of the bottle. Until she decides to start working a little harder at eating, she’ll be a Seton resident along with her sisters. I can’t remember the last time Britton had a heart rate drop, but she’s not taking the bottle real well either. So the race for second place will continue…

Despite the setback with Ryan, it was a pretty good day for the Jones family! We picked Jack up around 2:00 at the NICU and headed for the house, picking Eliot up from school along the way. I ran out to get some work done on a remodel project I started yesterday while Casey and Eliot got the little guy settled in. Eliot did AWESOME!! She was little miss helper with anything Jack needed. If Jack was sleeping, she was giving us status updates about every ten minutes or so…”Mama, he’s squeaking!!” She helped prepare bottles, she held the bottle a while during one of the feeds, she helped rock him in the swing, and she also held him for a bit. To top it off, she even read him a bedtime story complete with showing him the pictures…too cute!!!!

We’re looking forward to getting the girls home – it’s going to be a bit challenging to manage the NICU schedule until they do – but we’re very happy to have our boy home and all to ourselves for the time being!

God Bless,

Ethan

http://www.joneslife.net/

P.S. Big Bad Jack definitely lived up to his name, coming home at a healthy and hefty, by NICU standards, 6 pounds, 13 ounces!

The Fab Five

Jack Pulls Ahead

6 Comments 05 March 2009

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

http://www.joneslife.net/

The Fab Five

No Wimpy White Boys!!

3 Comments 17 February 2009

As we’ve come to find out, white males typically do not perform very well in the NICU. They don’t eat well, they don’t grow very well and are generally outperformed by their female counterparts. White males have apparently done so poorly in their NICU stays that they have earned themselves a nickname – Wimpy White Boys. Well, I am proud to say that my boy, Jack William, is an exception to the rule! Not only is he doing well, he is outperforming all four of the girls. He is the first four pounder, weighing in at 4 pounds, 2.5 ounces, he is the first one to be moved out of an isolette and into a regular crib, and if he keeps it up, he is likely to be the first one we get to bring home! Go Jack!!

Though she is nowhere near as well off as Jack, Brooklyn is doing the best of all the girls. Ok, I may have exaggerated just a bit with that statement. Truth be told, Brooklyn is a close second to Jack’s supremacy. She was moved out of her isolette today and will stay in a crib if she can do well with the change. She weighs in now at 3 pounds, 12.6 ounces.

Britton continues to be the baby of the bunch weighing in at only 2 pounds 12.3 ounces. The doctors are a little concerned that she hasn’t been gaining much weight so they are increasing her calories and monitoring her red blood cell and platelet count. It probably doesn’t help her weight gain that she is still the diva of the bunch. She spends much more time than the rest letting the nurses know about every little discomfort she experiences, of which there are many! I do not believe it will be necessary, but if she does not start picking up the pace, they are considering doing a blood transfusion to get her red blood cell count to pick up. Other than that, she is doing very well in all categories. Please pray for her to respond to the increase in calories and to begin growing faster! A bit of good news on Britton is that she is no longer on any oxygen support which means one less cord strapped to her face…yeah!

We have wonderful news on Lila’s and Ryan’s hearts – they double checked the PDA’s that they had with great results! Lila’s PDA was completely gone and Ryan’s was classified as “trivial.” Thank you to all who prayed for their little hearts to be healed!!! Both are growing well – Lila weighs 3 pounds, 2.4 ounces and Ryan weighs 3 pounds, 8.2 ounces. Lila has been removed from oxygen support, but Ryan will be on it for a few more days at least.

Four of the babies can now be held by grandparents as they can now maintain a good body temperature while bundled outside of their isolettes. Britton still can only be held skin-to-skin by me or Casey. Eliot has now held Jack and Britton while Grandma Stevie has held Ryan, Jack, and Brooklyn (that is Jack that Eliot is holding and Ryan that Grandma Stevie is holding in the pictures). All of the babies had a second cerebral ultrasound to check for problems with their brains and they found no issues whatsoever!! They will all undergo an MRI before they go home as one last check for any complications that may lead to long term developmental problems.

As of yesterday, the babies are one month old and continue to impress all of the doctors and nurses in the NICU. We expect that Jack will come home in the next 2-3 weeks and the rest will be home shortly after that. Then the real fun will begin!

God Bless,
Ethan
http://www.joneslife.net/

Oh, one more thing. Someone asked why Eliot was allowed to go into the NICU. Seton allows siblings of any age to go into the NICU once they have been checked by the nurses to be certain they do not have any sniffling, coughs, etc. We are so grateful that Eliot has been able to experience the NICU with us!!

The Fab Five

Jack Gets Some Nana Time

4 Comments 08 February 2009

We got a great surprise when we showed up to the NICU with my dad on Saturday. Jeannie, one of the nurse superstars, said to us, “So, it looks like we’ve got three holders.” Huh? Say that again? Did you say THREE holders?? Up to this point, Casey and I have been the only “holders” – we were the only people allowed to hold any of the babies. Jeannie, however, had a little surprise for us – Brooklyn and Jack had grown big enough to be bundled and held. Apparently, when the babies’ weight gets to 1500 grams (somewhere around 3 pounds, 6 ounces) they can maintain their body temperature well enough that they can be held without being skin to skin with their holder.

My dad, or “Bapa” as the grandkids know him, chose to relinquish his chance to be the third holder, however. My mom, “Nana,” wasn’t with us at the time and my dad wanted her to be the first to have the opportunity to hold one of these little bundles. So after church on Sunday, we made an unplanned visit to the NICU for the express purpose of getting Jack some well earned Nana time! My dad had to bow out again because the girls (Eliot and the two adopted little additions to the Jones family, Angel and Summer) couldn’t come into the NICU and time was limited, but I imagine he’ll get his fill of baby holding in the coming days, weeks, and months. To say the least, I think the visit went well and we are very happy to have new holders in the mix!

God Bless,

Ethan

http://www.joneslife.net/

P.S. Check out the website when you get a chance…we’ve updated the front page and I think it turned out really cool!!

The Fab Five

Perspective…Quick Note

2 Comments 03 February 2009

Several have asked why Jack and Brooklyn can’t be held together so I thought I’d clarify. The only reason is that Britton’s bed is between theirs and the cords that they remain tethered to will not reach far enough for them to be held together. The unfortunate thing about holding a baby in the NICU is that they are hooked up to a feeding tube, a heart monitor, a temperature monitor, a C-Pap or other breathing device, or any number of other little cords and tubes at any given time. Because of this they can’t venture too far from their little incubators.

God Bless,
Ethan
www.JonesLife.net

The Fab Five

First Contact – Jack William

4 Comments 21 January 2009

Casey got to hold one of the babies for the first time last night and guess who the lucky baby was? My main man, Jack William…what an experience! They took him out of his isolette and placed him on Casey’s chest, skin-to-skin, for about 30 minutes of good cuddle time. He just settled right in and stayed perfectly content for the entire time. As you can imagine, Casey had a hard time giving him back!!

The nurses call this kind of contact “kangaroo care” and once all of the babies are healthy enough, they will all get the same treatment. Jack is the healthiest so far with Lila and Brooklyn in competition for the next spot. The goal is to hold each baby for 30 minutes to an hour every day as it has been proven to be beneficial to both baby and mama’s health. I know, shocking news, right? Thank God they did a study to tell us that it is healthy for a mom to hold her baby!!

There will be a few more pictures uploaded to the media tab of the website later today.

God Bless,

Ethan

www.JonesLife.net

« Newer Entries

Welcome Home, Jack Jones!!

Jack Pulls Ahead

No Wimpy White Boys!!

Jack Gets Some Nana Time

Perspective…Quick Note

First Contact – Jack William

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