DOL (Day of Life) 1

HELLO!!!! Hi there! Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm Jack! I'm Dinean and Mike's son. I'm a little early, but (like my mom and dad) I'm a little anxious, and I just couldn't wait to get out and get started livin'! Today is my first day on the job, but I'm looking forward to the experience...let me tell you little about myself. I'm 2 lbs., 6 oz. and 15 1/4 inches tall. I may not be the biggest kid in the schoolyard, but I'm all heart!

I am 27 weeks of gestation today. Most us kids stick around until 40 weeks, but I just couldn't wait...I had to get out and meet everyone. I'm a born writer (literally! ha!) (and I must share my dad's dry sense of humor...but I digress), so I figured that I'd keep this journal to keep everyone informed of what I'm up to.

I came along tonight at about 5:38pm. What a hulabaloo! Everyone was poking, prodding and touching me all over. I'm glad that's all through! I didn't even get a chance to really say hello to mom and dad. All the doctors rushed me off to this new house. I'm hanging out in a new neighborhood called the NICU. It's like my old house, but there are a lot more people hanging around. Now, I'm just relaxing under the warm glow of the lights in the isolette (some people call these incubators). It's nice and warm in here. Pretty boring, but warm. I have this dumb thing up my nose. I heard the nurses call it a CPAP, but all I know is that I hate it. It looks like scuba gear and it's really cramping my style. In fact, any chance I get, I'm pulling that thing out of my nostrils!! They also have this tube in my mouth that helps me breathe. I hate that too. In fact, later tonight...that sucker's comin' out! Other than that, there are a couple odds and ends (feeding tube, monitoring/IV lines) that they have me hooked up to. All this stuff is a pain, but I suppose I'll deal with it for now.

So, here I am! I am early, but I'm in pretty good shape. I met my mom and dad...they seem nice. I look forward to testing many boundaries with them. Oh, and I met a few close family members, too. If I was a betting man, I'd guess that they'll give me what ever I want...I'll have to keep that in mind for later. So, my first day draws to a close. I am pretty tired, so I'm signing off. But, I can't think of a better way to summarize my first day than with a verse from a little poem that I heard once

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

I'll get through these dark woods. I've got a lot of unfulfilled hopes, dreams and aspirations (ha! a little medical joke for my nurses) ahead of me. I can't wait until tomorrow...