Updates

Just a quick reminder that if you would like to stay updated on Jackson's progress and any current news, you can subscribe to receive email notifications each time our journal is updated on his CaringBridge website or subscribe to our RSS feed here on our blog. We will be updating both regularly.

Thanks again for being such an amazing support to us during this process. Feel free to pass these sites on to anyone you like who might be interested in Jackson's progress.

NAM

Jackson was fitted with the NAM yesterday. This was the first step in the process. Next week he will be getting fit with the nasal portion of the device. The process of getting the NAM to fit well without irritating Jackson’s mouth was fairly long and tedious. We arrived at the clinic at 1:00pm and didn’t leave the hospital till around 4:30pm. But Jackson was a rock star, barely crying throughout the whole procedure (meanwhile, we were hearing the screams of the other babies in neighboring rooms). He was complimented by the doctor, saying that he is a very adaptable baby.

It has been a fairly long day today trying to get Jackson to eat as he is not used to the changes. And he can’t seem to stay awake. Yesterday must have worn him out. We were advised that learning how to eat with the NAM could be a process, so we’ll see how this goes. Hopefully our ‘adaptable’ baby will adapt very soon. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

NAM Donations

Many of you have been asking about how to go about donating to Jackson's NAM procedure (because it isn't covered by insurance). Here's what we're doing:

• If you would like to give a tax-deductible donation benefitting Jackson, Mountainbrook Community Church has agreed to process donations taken for Jackson's smile. The church will make out a check to the Craniofacial Team at CHLA. If more than $4000 is collected, that money will be donated to Operation Smile. Make your check out to 'Mountainbrook Community Church' and in the memo please write 'Operation Smile'. You can mail the check directly to: Mountainbrook Community Church, 4251 S. Higuera Ste. 200, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401.
  
• If you are interested in helping us out directly, you can mail us at: 410 Foothill Road, Shell Beach, CA 93449.
  

Again, we greatly appreciate your prayers and support. We will continue to keep you updated with Jackson's progress.

MIA

Sorry if we've been a little MIA the past couple weeks. Our lives have consisted of late nights, little sleep, plenty of poopy diapers and way too many tears, but we're making it through. At least, we hope we are. :)

To let you in on the latest happenings with Jackson... We are currently making weekly trips down to LA Childrens for a procedure called NAM (nasal alveolar molding). This past Thursday, a molding of Jackson's mouth was taken. This Thursday, he gets fitted with the mold. Every Thursday (for a few months) afterward, this device will be adjusted, helping to bring together Jackson's gums, lip and nasal cavaties prior to his surgeries. This procedure is $4000 and not covered by insurance, but we believe it to be the best possible option for Jackson. Because Daniel is unable to take this much time off for the weekly LA trips, my mom and I are traveling by train once a week. This allows me to take care of Jackson on the way and not have to fight LA traffic with a newborn. And thanks to Aunt Mary Trine, The Great for getting us to and from the Glendale Train station to LA Childrens - you are a tremendous blessing!

We are constantly updating our Flickr site with new pictures so make sure to stop by.

Home At Last

He's home! After almost 5 weeks in the NICU, we finally have our son home. We are so thrilled and excited to start our lives together as a family. We are planning Jackson's Homecoming Party for next Sunday, February 17th. We will post the details again as we did last time. In the meantime, check out our Flickr site as we've posted some new pics.

We can't wait for you to meet our little guy!

False Alarm

After getting everything set to bring Jackson home today, it didn't happen. For the past few days Jackson has been taking every feeding like a pro, eating anywhere from 65-85 cc's every 3-4 hours, thus giving the doctors the confidence to send him home. Today, however, was a different story. He struggled through his 9am feeding and didn't wake up for his noon feeding, so they put the feeding tube back in. After getting some much needed rest, he rocked his 3pm feeding today and ate 85 cc's again. Because of today's events, the hospital staff want to take a bit more time to observe him and make sure he's really ready to come home.

Obviously, we are a bit disheartened and discouraged, especially because we were gearing up to have our boy come home with us today. We don't honestly know when he'll be able to come home. It could be in a couple days or a couple more weeks - we really have no idea. In the meantime, we're postponing "Jackson's Homecoming Party" until further notice. When we know more information, we'll let you know.

Almost Four Weeks Old

Has it really been four weeks since our little man entered the world?! Not much has changed since our last update. Jackson is continuing to improve each day. In the past couple days he has been taking his full feedings from the bottle. This is the main thing we have been waiting for. We have a Family Conference scheduled for 2:00pm on Tuesday with his doctor, the physical therapist, nurses, and social worker to discuss what needs to happen in order to bring him home. Hopefully this means he'll be home by Tuesday or Wednesday.

If everything continues as hoped, we are planning a "Homecoming" Party for Sunday, February 10th, so anyone who can make it can come meet our little guy. Look for more details in this next week.