Two weeks ago today Jackson made his appearance. His first weeks have been filled with every possible test you could imagine. As Daniel mentioned before, he passed his hearing and eye tests with flying colors. Jackson also had a MRI done along with a Lower GI last week. Both tests came back normal. His doctors have wanted to rule out the possibility of any other connected conditions to his cleft lip and palate, thus the vast array of tests.
Jackson is gaining weight, weighing in at 7 lbs. 3 oz. on Saturday. We have been waiting for him to eat better from his special bottle (Pigeon Nipple and Bottle) and digest what he's eating, and poop on his own. It's amazing how poop becomes a common topic of conversation once you have a baby. J As of today, Jackson is pooping consistently on his own! Yay! And he has had low to no residuals (undigested food) the past few days. His bilirubin levels (jaundice) are finally going down (primarily due to the fact that he is now digesting and pooping), so he is no longer under the lights. We are making definite progress! Hopefully that means it'll be sooner than later that Jackson will be able to come home. We sure are hoping; it has been hard to be home without him.
I am doing much better, recovering slowly but surely. I had my two week post-op appointment today and everything seems to be healing really well. I can't believe I've already lost over 40 pounds, and am only 5 pounds off my original weight!
We have greatly appreciated all your prayers and support of us over the past months. We will continue to update you with any news and progress. Please continue to pray for Jackson, that he eats and poops and gets to come home to us soon. We love you.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
One Week Old
It's been one week since Jackson appeared in the world. Halle is now back home and healing really well. She's still on pain meds, but will hopefully be done with them by next week. We've been working out schedules to visit Jackson in the hospital each day. Takes some maneuvering, but it's working out.
Jackson is doing great. He's progressed from eating 2mls of fluid every 3 hours to now eating a little over 2 oz every 3 hours. He's slowly starting to gain back some weight as well. We've been learning how to feed him with a special nipple that makes it easier for him. He's rocking it like a star.
The Magnesium is finally starting to wear off, and he's waking up, and as of right now he's got really dark blue eyes. We'll see if it sticks. ;)
He's had hearing and eye tests so far, and all of them have come back with 5 stars. No problems at all.
That's it for now. We'll keep shooting the updates out until he gets home, then there will probably be a break for a bit.
Jackson is doing great. He's progressed from eating 2mls of fluid every 3 hours to now eating a little over 2 oz every 3 hours. He's slowly starting to gain back some weight as well. We've been learning how to feed him with a special nipple that makes it easier for him. He's rocking it like a star.
The Magnesium is finally starting to wear off, and he's waking up, and as of right now he's got really dark blue eyes. We'll see if it sticks. ;)
He's had hearing and eye tests so far, and all of them have come back with 5 stars. No problems at all.
That's it for now. We'll keep shooting the updates out until he gets home, then there will probably be a break for a bit.
Monday, January 7, 2008
He's Here!
Well he's here. ;)
They took Halle and I in at 12pm, and the pulled him out at 12:30. 6lbs 6oz, and 19 and 1/2 inches. And he's a howler.
For those who are keeping track of record breaking, they pulled almost 5 liters of fluid from Halle plus another liter (at least) that ran out when they cut her open. Nasty, I know, but holy shit man, let's give credit where credit is due. Halle is a trooper.
Halle is in recovery right now. Jackson is doing fine. They haven't even needed to give him an oxygen mask. He's breathing on his own with a little help from a "blow by" oxygen machine that basically just puts it in the air around him, and that's enough.
In a few hours, we'll be able to go in and see him, and take in visitors to see him one at a time. Halle will be hanging out in room 203 until at least Friday, and will be WAY more comfortable. Visitors are still welcome (but maybe starting tomorrow)!
Thanks for all your visits and prayers. We have amazing family and friends.
They took Halle and I in at 12pm, and the pulled him out at 12:30. 6lbs 6oz, and 19 and 1/2 inches. And he's a howler.
For those who are keeping track of record breaking, they pulled almost 5 liters of fluid from Halle plus another liter (at least) that ran out when they cut her open. Nasty, I know, but holy shit man, let's give credit where credit is due. Halle is a trooper.
Halle is in recovery right now. Jackson is doing fine. They haven't even needed to give him an oxygen mask. He's breathing on his own with a little help from a "blow by" oxygen machine that basically just puts it in the air around him, and that's enough.
In a few hours, we'll be able to go in and see him, and take in visitors to see him one at a time. Halle will be hanging out in room 203 until at least Friday, and will be WAY more comfortable. Visitors are still welcome (but maybe starting tomorrow)!
Thanks for all your visits and prayers. We have amazing family and friends.
Today's The Day
Halle just called, and they can't stop her contractions again, and it looks like her cervix is changing as well. They don't want to risk natural child birth because of Jackson's position, so they're moving up the c-section to today. So I'm off to the hospital.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Game Plan
Well we finally have real news and a plan. Halle kicked into hardcore contractions (30 sec to 1 minute apart) last night. They managed to knock her out for only about 2 hours with pain meds, and she was back awake and in pain again. So Dr. Yin decided to put her back on Magnesium. So that kept Halle up most of last night but it did manage to mellow things out. It turns out that Halle is measuring how a woman having triplets would normally be measuring at this point. Sweet.
Dr. Yin came in this morning about 9am after talking with the NICU staff and had a game plan. As of right now (because of space issues, and the hospitals policy on keeping planned c-sections to 2 a day) we are scheduling a c-section for Wednesday around noon or so. In the meantime they are going to wean her off the Mag starting tomorrow morning. If she ends up in actual labor and delivers early, then that's great too. Or if she goes into labor and then requires an emergency c-section, then all bets are off, and they'll do it immediately.
So Jackson will be here by Wednesday at the latest. Since Halle will most likely have a c-section, she's going to be in the hospital for a bit longer, but we're both happier knowing we have an end to the craziness ahead of us.
Thanks again for everyone's prayers and visits. It's been getting us through this one day at a time. I'll let you know when the next milestone is hit or when Jackson decides he's on the way.
Dr. Yin came in this morning about 9am after talking with the NICU staff and had a game plan. As of right now (because of space issues, and the hospitals policy on keeping planned c-sections to 2 a day) we are scheduling a c-section for Wednesday around noon or so. In the meantime they are going to wean her off the Mag starting tomorrow morning. If she ends up in actual labor and delivers early, then that's great too. Or if she goes into labor and then requires an emergency c-section, then all bets are off, and they'll do it immediately.
So Jackson will be here by Wednesday at the latest. Since Halle will most likely have a c-section, she's going to be in the hospital for a bit longer, but we're both happier knowing we have an end to the craziness ahead of us.
Thanks again for everyone's prayers and visits. It's been getting us through this one day at a time. I'll let you know when the next milestone is hit or when Jackson decides he's on the way.
Friday, January 4, 2008
No New News
Not much news really, but in here's what we got. Halle is still having contractions 2 to 3 minutes apart, but not progressing into labor. They've got her drugged up like crazy, which makes her pain less so now she's just really uncomfortable and slowly going insane ;-)
I've got my mac sitting in her room with a stack of dvd's (thanks Jenn!), and she's had a lot of visitors (thanks all!). At night they give her pain medication that is pretty gnarly, so she's usually down for the count by 9pm or so. She's been resting better.
They have now decided if nothing is happening they will let her go home on Monday. Not exactly sure what the hell they think we're supposed to do at home.
This has been my interaction with the nurse:
Nurse: She can go home on monday if she's not in labor.
Me: So..... How will we know when to come back? She's already having contractions 2 minutes apart....
Nurse: Well.. They would be more intense.
Me: I wouldn't say that within arms reach of Halle if I were you.
So we'll see what happens. Either she'll go into labor before then, or after we "go home". It could get interesting.
I know that Halle doesn't know what she would do at home, or how she would handle it without the pain meds, but she also wants to do anything she can to get out of the hospital. We'll see.
I've got my mac sitting in her room with a stack of dvd's (thanks Jenn!), and she's had a lot of visitors (thanks all!). At night they give her pain medication that is pretty gnarly, so she's usually down for the count by 9pm or so. She's been resting better.
They have now decided if nothing is happening they will let her go home on Monday. Not exactly sure what the hell they think we're supposed to do at home.
This has been my interaction with the nurse:
Nurse: She can go home on monday if she's not in labor.
Me: So..... How will we know when to come back? She's already having contractions 2 minutes apart....
Nurse: Well.. They would be more intense.
Me: I wouldn't say that within arms reach of Halle if I were you.
So we'll see what happens. Either she'll go into labor before then, or after we "go home". It could get interesting.
I know that Halle doesn't know what she would do at home, or how she would handle it without the pain meds, but she also wants to do anything she can to get out of the hospital. We'll see.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Limbo
So Halle spent the first half of yesterday in major pain. They stopped all medication (since it wasn't doing jack-squat anyway) and by noon she was having a contraction every minute or so, and they were getting to be unbearable. So about 4pm they decided to give her Morphine again since there's no change, and it doesn't look like she's any closer to delivery. They did it again last night so she could sleep.
Dr. Yin came in this morning and let us know that they were basically just going to do nothing except help with the pain. She wants Halle to get to at least 34 weeks (which would be January 6th) before she thinks about inducing or anything like that. Plus, evidently there are no beds in the NICU which is where Jackson will definitely be when he first shows up.
So now we're just kinda killing time till then. I'm going to try to track down some more dvd's for Halle to watch, and get her non-hospital food as much as possible. I think she'd be up for visitors during the day. She's in room 309 on the 3rd floor. She feels like crap and feels like she looks like crap (even though it's far from the truth) so she's self-conscious about having visitors, but I think it would be good if you could stop by. I'm stuck at work during the day so unless her mom or sister are there, she's just watching tv.
I'll let you know if anything major happens, otherwise it's business as usual until Jan. 6th
Dr. Yin came in this morning and let us know that they were basically just going to do nothing except help with the pain. She wants Halle to get to at least 34 weeks (which would be January 6th) before she thinks about inducing or anything like that. Plus, evidently there are no beds in the NICU which is where Jackson will definitely be when he first shows up.
So now we're just kinda killing time till then. I'm going to try to track down some more dvd's for Halle to watch, and get her non-hospital food as much as possible. I think she'd be up for visitors during the day. She's in room 309 on the 3rd floor. She feels like crap and feels like she looks like crap (even though it's far from the truth) so she's self-conscious about having visitors, but I think it would be good if you could stop by. I'm stuck at work during the day so unless her mom or sister are there, she's just watching tv.
I'll let you know if anything major happens, otherwise it's business as usual until Jan. 6th
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
On The Move
Alright. As of this morning Halle is 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced. She's having contractions 2 minutes apart. They've switched her to a delivery bed, and we're on the move. Who knows how long from here, but it could be today sometime.
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