One thing that we were told over and over again in the NICU was that because Jaxon was born early, we have to judge his milestones by his adjusted age and not by his actual age.
Today he is 6 weeks old or his adjusted age is 5 days old. Which means that any milestones that he has would be those of a baby that is 5 days old. I hadn't really thought much about his adjusted age and how his milestones are affected because at this point, all the milestone lists we've received Jax has done awesome at.
I get weekly/daily/monthly emails from different sources ~ parenting magazine, the hospital, etc. and they list different information (sometimes helpful, sometimes not). Today I got an email that said that one of the 6 week milestones is recognizing parents faces and smiling on purpose. It makes me kind of sad that, technically, we have to wait another 6ish weeks for this when he seems like a "normal" 6 week old baby in all other aspects. I guess it gives me something to look forward to and I don't look at him as being behind other babies his age, but it's not like we hang out with other babies that are the same age as Jax either.
It's kind of frustrating then, that with all the weekly helpful emails out there, that there isn't one geared towards parents of preemies. I know Jaxon is normal and it's not like I think him to be anything but perfect, we just have to be patient. More patience. Yuck.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
8 pounds!
As of today, Jax weighs 8 pounds, 1.8 ounces.
That's my story for today. People are always asking what he weighs now and so now you know! ;)
Oh....and on Tuesday, June 9th (if I remember and we're there before 2) Jax will be part of a marketing photo shoot for Innovis with a bunch of other babies. He'll be famous (or something).
That's my story for today. People are always asking what he weighs now and so now you know! ;)
Oh....and on Tuesday, June 9th (if I remember and we're there before 2) Jax will be part of a marketing photo shoot for Innovis with a bunch of other babies. He'll be famous (or something).
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Trip to the Lake
On Sunday we went to the lake for the day ~ we got lucky too, the weather was beautiful. (Much nicer than today, all cloudy and rainy!) Jax made his first official trip to the beach, though he was covered up cuz the sun was so bright and it was windy! After the walk down to the beach, he spent the rest of the day in the cabin relaxing and cuddling.
Trying on Josh's hat. It sort of makes him look tough ;)
Tanner imitating how Jax sleeps
Love the ducktail hair in the back! :)
Sleeping. Again.
Tanner and I playing with the camera. This is just one of a series that we took.
Some kid got in the way of my taking pictures....
Even Fidget was relaxing ~ she sniffed around Jax and then kept her distance. She, like Crunch, gets sort of frantic when Jaxon cries, moves or breathes. She is much better about it than Crunch is though, at least she doesn't follow you around and howl at you until you check on the baby yourself. ;)
Jax and Grandpa talking about I don't remember what...
The cabin :) (And my brothers playing some game I don't know the name of)
I have no clue who these people are.
The path to the beach!
Trying on Josh's hat. It sort of makes him look tough ;)
Tanner imitating how Jax sleeps
Love the ducktail hair in the back! :)
Sleeping. Again.
Tanner and I playing with the camera. This is just one of a series that we took.
Some kid got in the way of my taking pictures....
Even Fidget was relaxing ~ she sniffed around Jax and then kept her distance. She, like Crunch, gets sort of frantic when Jaxon cries, moves or breathes. She is much better about it than Crunch is though, at least she doesn't follow you around and howl at you until you check on the baby yourself. ;)
Jax and Grandpa talking about I don't remember what...
The cabin :) (And my brothers playing some game I don't know the name of)
I have no clue who these people are.
The path to the beach!All in all, a lovely day.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
40 weeks and 1 day
Today we are officially one day past our due date. Which means that when I take Jax in for his appointments when it comes to figuring out his gestational age we will get to add weeks instead of subtract them! (I hate that I have to try and keep track of 3 different "ages" for him, especially since I can never remember the name of the 3rd one.)
It's been a busy sort of week. Sunday we went to Lisbon to see Dale, Dorothy, Dannie, Sharon, LouAnn, Shelby and Rory. Monday, I was tie-dying tshirts at school with the kids so my mom babysat all day. Tuesday was more tie-dying, but Jax came to school for that to help supervise the messiness. Wednesday was the last day of preschool classes, so Jax came to school in the morning and at the end of the day so the kids could say goodbye (even though we had the farewell picnic the next night, but this was just in case it was much too cold for him to go with us). Thursday, we picked up our pictures that were taken on Mother's Day and did some last minute stuff for the graduation picnic. That night we picnicked in the park ~ Jax came with us, and we had Mary on call in case we needed a babysitter. Turns out though, we had about 30+ babysitters just waiting for us! It's a good thing everyone likes Jax so much! ;) The picnic was fun, the weather was perfect.
Friday, we ended the busyness. I woke up with a migraine and so Jax and I spent the whole day (well...until 6:30pm) in bed. I wondered how he would sleep last night after we'd spent all day sleeping, but he slept from 11pm until almost 7am. (Too bad I was up at 6, wondering if he was ever going to wake up!) He even went back to sleep for a couple more hours with me. I have no clue how either of us could want to sleep more after all the sleep yesterday, but I hadn't quite gotten rid of the migraine yet so I'm guessing that's why.
It's been a busy sort of week. Sunday we went to Lisbon to see Dale, Dorothy, Dannie, Sharon, LouAnn, Shelby and Rory. Monday, I was tie-dying tshirts at school with the kids so my mom babysat all day. Tuesday was more tie-dying, but Jax came to school for that to help supervise the messiness. Wednesday was the last day of preschool classes, so Jax came to school in the morning and at the end of the day so the kids could say goodbye (even though we had the farewell picnic the next night, but this was just in case it was much too cold for him to go with us). Thursday, we picked up our pictures that were taken on Mother's Day and did some last minute stuff for the graduation picnic. That night we picnicked in the park ~ Jax came with us, and we had Mary on call in case we needed a babysitter. Turns out though, we had about 30+ babysitters just waiting for us! It's a good thing everyone likes Jax so much! ;) The picnic was fun, the weather was perfect.
Friday, we ended the busyness. I woke up with a migraine and so Jax and I spent the whole day (well...until 6:30pm) in bed. I wondered how he would sleep last night after we'd spent all day sleeping, but he slept from 11pm until almost 7am. (Too bad I was up at 6, wondering if he was ever going to wake up!) He even went back to sleep for a couple more hours with me. I have no clue how either of us could want to sleep more after all the sleep yesterday, but I hadn't quite gotten rid of the migraine yet so I'm guessing that's why.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
A boy and his dog
Crunch often checks to make sure that Jax is still breathing. Thankfully, he is. If he's not moving or happens to make a sound though, Crunch is sure to let us know.
Apparently, they've graduated to taking naps together. We didn't need to worry about Crunch adjusting to Jax. If Jax cries, moves, breathes, or anything like that, Crunch comes running to alert us to what is going on. If we don't move fast enough to check out a situation that he thinks is a possible emergency, he runs back and forth from where we are to where Jaxon is until we finally check it out.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Us. Mother's Day 2009
Sorry the vertical pictures won't show vertically, like they should...
Today, just swinging...
Taking a nap on his first day home
Apparently, he wasn't as asleep as he looked in the earlier picture!
With his hat on...they did his eye test and dilated his eyes and we were told to keep them covered more or less for the rest of the day.
Today, just swinging...
Taking a nap on his first day home
Apparently, he wasn't as asleep as he looked in the earlier picture!
With his hat on...they did his eye test and dilated his eyes and we were told to keep them covered more or less for the rest of the day.One Week
I've been meaning to update long before now, but to be honest with you it's more fun to cuddle with Jax now that we're wire free and home! So here's our last week or so of life...
A week ago on Saturday, Jax was well on his way to finishing the 8 bottles. By that night, he was on the last bottle that needed to be drank in order for him to come home. I'm not going to lie...we made sure we weren't there for the 8th bottle because I'm pretty sure neither of us wanted the pressure of trying to coax him through those 60 mLs. He was 14 mL short of finishing the eighth bottle.
On Sunday afternoon, my parents and brother were in town so Tanner could see Jaxon. While Tanner and I were in the nursery, the nurse pulled out his feeding tube. I was surprised that she did, since we were told that he had to keep it in until he had finished the 8 bottles. My mom came in for a bit and we left when they were starting his car seat test (sitting strapped into his car seat for 90 minutes to make sure there are no respiratory problems, etc). This was another thing that confused me since we were told he couldn't do that either until the 8 bottle thing had been completed.
On Monday, Josh called the NICU over his lunch break to check and see how Jax was doing (he wasn't feeling very good, so he couldn't go to visit). The nurse told him Jaxon would be going home on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on how his PKU scan went that night. By the time I got there after school, they had already hooked him up to the machine and taped on his plastic mustache to measure his breathing. If he "failed" the scan, he wouldn't come home until Wednesday because Tuesday night we would have to room in at the hospital with him to learn how to work the monitor. He would also be hooked up to that monitor 24 hours a day for who knows how long (one nurse said most are 3 to 6 months, but it could be just for one month too). If he passed the scan, he would be coming home on Tuesday. The lady that set up the monitors had told me that she would pick up the machine early on Tuesday morning and we would have results later in the day.
Tuesday morning (10am), I got a phone call from the hospital. The nurse told me they had the results from his scan and asked me when we wanted to pick up Jax to take him home. Since I was at school until 11:30 and Josh's lunch break wasn't until 12:30 I told them we'd be there over his lunch break. When I got off the phone, the kids wanted to know if I had been talking to Josh or the hospital (apparently those are the only 2 people that call my cell phone?). I told them that I would be getting to pick up Jax after school that day and we all did a happy dance. ;) One of the kids that has been particularly interested and worried about Jaxon stopped mid-dance and asked me if he had passed the "backpack test." I had told them about the scan on Monday and that if he failed the test, he would come home with a backpack with a computer in it and would still have to wear the stickers on his belly. He looked pretty relieved when I told him Jax had passed the test ~ he told me he had been praying that Jaxon would pass the backpack test and would be able to come home soon.
They weren't kidding when they said Jaxon was ready to go ~ when we got there, he was all packed up and ready to go. We signed the paperwork and walked through those lovely doors for the last time. (Not really the LAST time, since we have to go back for preemie clinic and other appointments, but you know what I mean.)
Since that day, it hasn't been too bad ~ Jax is pretty mellow (now, anyways). It is SO nice to have him home. I am glad to be away from the NICU. The nurses were amazing, but it's nice to be able to cuddle him without things beeping at you or nurses asking you questions. Plus...our cars are so much happier...I did the math, we put on over 800 miles between home and hospital in the 20 days that he was there.
We are so glad to have him home. He's kind of nice to have around. And cuddle. Or just watch sleep, I'm not picky. We kind of like him a little bit.
A week ago on Saturday, Jax was well on his way to finishing the 8 bottles. By that night, he was on the last bottle that needed to be drank in order for him to come home. I'm not going to lie...we made sure we weren't there for the 8th bottle because I'm pretty sure neither of us wanted the pressure of trying to coax him through those 60 mLs. He was 14 mL short of finishing the eighth bottle.
On Sunday afternoon, my parents and brother were in town so Tanner could see Jaxon. While Tanner and I were in the nursery, the nurse pulled out his feeding tube. I was surprised that she did, since we were told that he had to keep it in until he had finished the 8 bottles. My mom came in for a bit and we left when they were starting his car seat test (sitting strapped into his car seat for 90 minutes to make sure there are no respiratory problems, etc). This was another thing that confused me since we were told he couldn't do that either until the 8 bottle thing had been completed.
On Monday, Josh called the NICU over his lunch break to check and see how Jax was doing (he wasn't feeling very good, so he couldn't go to visit). The nurse told him Jaxon would be going home on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on how his PKU scan went that night. By the time I got there after school, they had already hooked him up to the machine and taped on his plastic mustache to measure his breathing. If he "failed" the scan, he wouldn't come home until Wednesday because Tuesday night we would have to room in at the hospital with him to learn how to work the monitor. He would also be hooked up to that monitor 24 hours a day for who knows how long (one nurse said most are 3 to 6 months, but it could be just for one month too). If he passed the scan, he would be coming home on Tuesday. The lady that set up the monitors had told me that she would pick up the machine early on Tuesday morning and we would have results later in the day.
Tuesday morning (10am), I got a phone call from the hospital. The nurse told me they had the results from his scan and asked me when we wanted to pick up Jax to take him home. Since I was at school until 11:30 and Josh's lunch break wasn't until 12:30 I told them we'd be there over his lunch break. When I got off the phone, the kids wanted to know if I had been talking to Josh or the hospital (apparently those are the only 2 people that call my cell phone?). I told them that I would be getting to pick up Jax after school that day and we all did a happy dance. ;) One of the kids that has been particularly interested and worried about Jaxon stopped mid-dance and asked me if he had passed the "backpack test." I had told them about the scan on Monday and that if he failed the test, he would come home with a backpack with a computer in it and would still have to wear the stickers on his belly. He looked pretty relieved when I told him Jax had passed the test ~ he told me he had been praying that Jaxon would pass the backpack test and would be able to come home soon.
They weren't kidding when they said Jaxon was ready to go ~ when we got there, he was all packed up and ready to go. We signed the paperwork and walked through those lovely doors for the last time. (Not really the LAST time, since we have to go back for preemie clinic and other appointments, but you know what I mean.)
Since that day, it hasn't been too bad ~ Jax is pretty mellow (now, anyways). It is SO nice to have him home. I am glad to be away from the NICU. The nurses were amazing, but it's nice to be able to cuddle him without things beeping at you or nurses asking you questions. Plus...our cars are so much happier...I did the math, we put on over 800 miles between home and hospital in the 20 days that he was there.
We are so glad to have him home. He's kind of nice to have around. And cuddle. Or just watch sleep, I'm not picky. We kind of like him a little bit.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Pictures from Saturday and Sunday
Seriously, mom....no more pictures!
Car seat test - 90 minutes of sitting there strapped in to make sure that he doesn't have any respiratory problems while being upright.
Let the 90 minutes begin!
His first feeding tubeless picture!!!!! Yay!
Feeding time :)
Making faces at Dad.....Saturday, May 2, 2009
At the zoo (sort of)
We've sort of hit a roadblock with the 8 bottles thing.
Yesterday, the feeding schedule got off by an hour because the nurses had to put an IV in another baby. So, the 7am feeding was at 8, and now the schedule has been shifted an hour later. This means that between feeds, because Jaxon has to wait longer to eat and has actually started crying when it's after his normal feeding time, they've been giving him his pacifier. It's good practice, but also wears him out if he's doing it for an hour before they feed him and then is expected to take all of what's in the bottle. Generally, in the last 24 hours, he's had a good feed and then a not so good one because he is too tired to suck on a bottle.
I can't decide if I like that he's in the "normal" nursery now, because of the overflow in the NICU or not. I like that he's in there so that when family, etc. come to visit they can at least see him through the windows. On the other hand, you kind of feel like you're on display while you're in there with people looking at you, the baby, and what you're doing like you're an exhibit at the zoo. At least when we attempt to nurse, there are screens! (Though it takes about 20 minutes of placement to arrange them, your chair, yourself, and the baby so you're not flashing the world and not all claustrophobic because the screens are sitting practically on top of you!)
Yesterday, the feeding schedule got off by an hour because the nurses had to put an IV in another baby. So, the 7am feeding was at 8, and now the schedule has been shifted an hour later. This means that between feeds, because Jaxon has to wait longer to eat and has actually started crying when it's after his normal feeding time, they've been giving him his pacifier. It's good practice, but also wears him out if he's doing it for an hour before they feed him and then is expected to take all of what's in the bottle. Generally, in the last 24 hours, he's had a good feed and then a not so good one because he is too tired to suck on a bottle.
I can't decide if I like that he's in the "normal" nursery now, because of the overflow in the NICU or not. I like that he's in there so that when family, etc. come to visit they can at least see him through the windows. On the other hand, you kind of feel like you're on display while you're in there with people looking at you, the baby, and what you're doing like you're an exhibit at the zoo. At least when we attempt to nurse, there are screens! (Though it takes about 20 minutes of placement to arrange them, your chair, yourself, and the baby so you're not flashing the world and not all claustrophobic because the screens are sitting practically on top of you!)
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