Tag archive for "the race home"

The Fab Five

The Home Stretch

4 Comments 15 March 2009

Here are a couple of quick notes before we get to the action. The two babies with Casey and I are Ryan and Jack. Can you guess which one is BIG Bad Jack?? The baby getting a bath is Jack – he went straight to the tub after a serious daddy diaper dilemma! And the two cuties who look nearly identical are Ryan and Brooklyn. We think these two look the most alike and Jack looks a lot like them as well. As far as we can tell, Lila and Britton have their own look about them, but it seems to change quite a bit as they put on weight so who knows? Now, let’s get down to business…

And here they come, race fans! Around the final bend and into the home stretch, we’ve got a tight field! All bets are in, the atmosphere is electric, and all eyes are on the Fab Five as they make their final push for the coveted solo ride home from the NICU!!
As we entered the final turn, it looked like Big Bad Jack and Little Lady Lila had this thing sewn up, competing solely with each other for first prize. Hot on their heels, however was Unbridled Brooklyn bounding boldly in this baby battle. But wait a minute, who’s that closing in fast?? Is that…no it couldn’t be…that must be Radiant Ryan running ragged to reclaim the race!
Where did she come from? How did she get here? Radiant Ryan was almost renamed Written Off Ryan just three days ago. But as the others prepared their podium platitudes (a bit prematurely, don’t you think?), Radiant Ryan rightly remembered…the turtle? Yes, the turtle! Slow and steady won the race…and ran the rabbit right into retirement!
The doctors’ doubts have subsided so dutifully they’ve decided, one of these babies simply must go…or will it be two, maybe more? By the end of the week, it could even be four! While Baby Bright Eyes Britton is still biding the by (I hope she makes it home by the end of July!), her brother and sisters are putting on a show and have everyone in JonesLife on the tips of their toes! Who will it be? Who has the right stride? To the victor the spoils and time alone with the pride! Stay tuned folks, for the end is at hand, only two days more ’til the first baby will land!
And then, the real fun begins…
God Bless,
Ethan

The Fab Five

Getting Closer, Getting Prepared, Getting Stressed

4 Comments 08 March 2009

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!!!!!

God Bless,
Ethan

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

The Fab Five

Down To The Wire

5 Comments 01 March 2009

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/


© 2013 JonesLife. Powered by Wordpress.

Daily Edition Theme by WooThemes - Premium Wordpress Themes