DOL 79

Hey there everyone! It's been a few days since my last post, but I wanted to update you on my progress. I'm getting really big now. I'm up to 7 lbs., 8 oz. That's a long way from 2 lbs., 6 oz.! Let me tell you...it's been a lot of work. I've been trying to get used to taking my bottles, but it's tough to stay awake for the whole thing when it's so warm in here...with a full belly...and it's dark and (sometimes) quiet...YAWN...I'm getting sleepy just thinking of it!

The doctors have mentioned that my blood pressure is a little high...so they're going to do some tests. Maybe that's what's making me tired!?! I think it's just because I like to grunt and groan all the time and that little cuff on my leg makes me mad so I squirm and kick when it inflates! We'll see in time, but don't worry about me; I'm a tough cookie...(I can't wait to eat cookies).

Here are some pics and video of me!

DOL 76

Guess what folks?!? I'm 7 lbs!!! I have tripled my birth weight! I can't even believe it! It's great! As you can probably tell from my previous photos, I've put on a little weight since I came along 74 days ago...I'm looking a lot more like a chubby baby now. No more chicken-legs on this little man! Now I've got a few extra chins for good measure!

7 lbs! I'm excited! Here are a bunch of photos of me looking husky!

DOL 71

Hey there folks! It's been a few days since I updated you...I have been busy trying to get the hang of this bottle feeding thing. I have a little acid reflux, so every time I finish eating, I tend to spit up a little and it doesn't exactly feel or taste too nice. So, the nurses have been trying all sorts of tricks to try to minimize this. It doesn't help that I have this tube in my throat that prevents me from completely closing off the path from my little stomach. But, I can't lose the tube until I can take all my feeds through the bottle.

All of this reflux business keeps me awake when I'm supposed to be sleeping and growing. I am eager to grow out of this or for something else to make it go away! I can get pretty uncomfortable when this happens (not to mention the gas pains) and when I'm uncomfortable, I yell. I don't mean to, I just yell at the nearest person. "HEY, THIS HURTS! COME PICK ME UP AND RUB MY BACK!" That usually gets their attention, but I hate to keep yelling...so hopefully this will get better soon. After all, I can't wait to go home!

Even with this issue, I still keep eating and growing...I'm up to 6 lbs., 12 oz. I'm one of the biggest kids in this place now! Hopefully, at this rate, I'll get to go home sooner than later!

DOL 68

I'm creeping up on DOL 70 folks! I'm almost to 38 weeks (corrected gestational age)! I can't believe it! I've been here for over two months now and I'm rarin' to get home. I got weighed tonight and I'm inching closer to that next big mile-marker. I'm 6 lbs., 10 oz. and change! When I hit 7 lbs., I'll have tripled my birthweight (of 2 lbs., 6 oz.). It was a great day today, I got to hang out with mom and dad, at the same time tonight. Most days, they come up at different times to visit with me. It was the whole family at once, today! It was great. I was so excited that I took 56 mL. of my bottle. I'm taking upwards of 75 mLs for a "full feed", but I get tuckered out quickly and usually get a good chunk of it down that tube in my nose. Oh yeah, I pulled that darn thing out again tonight too.

So, all in all, not a bad day for this little man! I'm dreading tomorrow, though. Another eye exam. I hate those. They usually throw me for a loop for a day or two. Hopefully, it'll be over quickly and it doesn't cause me to have any spells...

I'm feeling really great and I'm hoping that I keep this pace with the bottle feeds. Before you know it, I'll be heading home! My mom brought in a little baby swing for me to hang out in...it helps with the reflux, and it beats just laying around in the crib...

So, wish me luck with my eye exam, and I'm counting down the days until my next blood 'crit test...that should be on the 26th. I feel like my 'crit level is rising, since I'm taking more and more of my bottles without issue. Hopefully, this remains the case and the blood test confirms this! Then I'll be well on my way home!

Here are some more photos and videos of me!

DOL 66

Hey everyone! I weighed in at 6 lbs., 8 oz. overnight! I'm getting big now and I'm really tired of this nursery. Don't get me wrong, the nurses here are great...but, I'd love to go home. My folks told me all about my room and it sounds great! I can't wait to go. I'm still working on getting my 'crit numbers up, but I won't have another test for about another week. I look and feel pretty good though, so I'm hoping this means that my 'crit is up where it's supposed to be.

I am still trying to get the hang of the bottle thing. I can take a good amount, but a good portion of it ends up dribbling onto the lucky person feeding me! One of these days I'll figure it out...

The nurses keep saying that one of these days it's just going to "click" and I'll be taking down bottles like it's my job! Right now, it's still pretty tiring. Oh, and the reflux doesn't help. You see, they have to keep this tube in my throat to give me the rest of my bottles, once I'm through. That tube doesn't allow me to close off my throat when I lie down. So, I often get some stomach acid reflux. I hate when that happens. I usually make faces and sometimes I even cry (don't tell anyone). I look forward to when that tube is history. That day is coming sooner than later, I hope!

Here are some pics and videos of yours truly!

DOL 63

Hey out there! I'm 6 lbs, 3 oz.! Ha! I am the incredible growing boy! As you can see my cheeks have filled out...I decided that I had to put on some winter baby weight. No sense being cold! I'm doing so well in the growing department that they decided to drop my calories a little. That's okay. It's actually nice not to have to force those really thick shakes down the hatch! Now my feeds are going down much easier...and I'm still putting on weight.

I took a full bottle for the first time early this morning. This is good news! I'm still pretty wiped out these days because I'm working on getting my 'crit levels up. This is tiring work, you know! I'm working on taking full bottles at every feed, but I'm not quite there yet! Cut me some slack here, remember that if I had been full-term, you wouldn't have seen what I look like for another 4 weeks from today! It is amazing that I am here and doing so well, so early!

I heard that my parents went to a party in my honor today. That's nice...maybe next time they'll save me some cake?!? I'm excited about all my new stuff that everyone got me! I can't wait to drool on them! I am looking forward to going home now...I've been in this hospital for long enough! They tell me that I have a little while longer, but I just can't wait to see my new room!

I'll update you all soon on how I'm doing. For now, I'm going to get back to snoozing!

Here's a couple pictures and videos of me from today and yesterday...oh and I posted an old picture to illustrate (big word for a little guy, huh?) just how far I've come since I made my debut...

DOL 60

Hey everyone! It's been a few days since I stopped by to say hello, but I've been busy growing! I'm a hefty 5 lbs., 14.8 oz. I'm really packin' it on now. Things are going well...except that I had another spell. The nurses caught me...I get a little acid reflux these days (you would too if you had to eat so much, so many times a day) and today I spit up a little through my nose. It really hurt and I couldn't breathe. It was awful. Thankfully, my nice nurse ran over and suctioned all of that spit out of my airway and I settled back down. I will undoubtedly outgrow this in time, but remember, I'm still only 35 5/7 weeks corrected gestational age. I still have a month before my due date comes...so I'm still doing really well, all things considered. "So I got that goin' for me...which is nice."

I'm recovering from a long day which included a big multi-vitamin dose and another big blood test. My hematocrit level has dipped a bit, but that's not uncommon. I'm on the "preemie rollercoaster" until I get to be about 40 weeks corrected gestational age. Oh well. On the bright side, the nurses said told me that this is quite normal and that my retic' levels are still up where they need to be to make more hematocrit cells. They tell me that by the next time they do a blood draw, my 'crit levels ought to reflect this. Thank goodness. Honestly, all this work (swallowing, breathing, not-choking, and preening for the camera) is tiring considering that I'm anemic. I can't wait until I'm back to normal levels! I'm beat!

DOL 56

Whoa. What a day. I had a rough one yesterday. I had my second eye exam done. I don't care for those. They gave me good results so far, but honestly, I could think of a number of things I'd rather do than get my eyes tested. It's pretty traumatic. After they are done, I am pretty much wiped out for the day, due to all of the stress this causes me. I was so tired that I hardly took any of my bottle last night...and when I did try to take a few mLs, I had a spell. I took the rest of it through the tube.... I'm glad that DOL 55 is over and done with. Yuk. Here are some pics and videos of me from last night. You can see that I'm really tired. Stick a fork in me!! I'm done!

Well, despite this trauma, I've still been able to courageously choke down more and more food. Every time I grow, they increase the volume of my feeds...It's working too; I'm up to a healthy 5 lbs., 7.7 ozs. Oh yeah, and they weighed me last night too...I'm 17 1/4 inches tall. I've grown two whole inches since I was born! Not too shabby for someone who turned 35 weeks (corrected gestational age), huh?!? Pretty amazing that if I had been full-term, I wouldn't have made my debut for another 5 weeks! That means I wouldn't have started this blog yet! What a shame that would have been!

I'm really excited about today, too. Mom is finally able to come and see me again. She's been sick and ordered not to come to the nursery. I can't wait to see her. It's going to be a great day...

DOL 54

Happy new year folks! I'm ringin' in the new year with good news...despite the massive amounts of snow we've been getting, dad (mom's been sick) has been able to get to the nursery to give me bottles and I've been happy to oblige him! I'm getting pretty good at sucking down those delicious little shakes. I took 30 mLs of the 60 mLs that they give me. The rest goes down to my belly via that ridiculous tube in my nose. They tell me that those tubes are supposed to last for a month, but I don't agree. I pulled mine out again last night. HA! That'll teach you to leave me unrestrained!

I'm happy to report that I'm feeling much better than the other day, after that little spell. I know I should concentrate on one thing at a time, but I just got carried away. From now on, one bodily function at a time for this 5 pounder!

Oh, and more good news, I passed my hearing test "with flying colors"!! That's fantastic! By the way, I really appreciate all of your comments, so if you have anything to say, I'm all ears. Ha!

I decided to put a little banner on my blog so that people might be able to find me on google at some point. I know that when I started this blog, I took great comfort in many other similar (but somewhat less entertaining) blogs from other folks, so I hope I can assure other families in need of an encouraging word. Thanks for checking in on me!

DOL 52

Well, my streak is over. I went six days without a spell. That's great. Last night I gave myself a little scare. I was straining to....well, you know...and I spit up at the same time. Talk about multi-tasking. Well, this was just too much for the Jackster. I was down for the count. Luckily, my nurse was watching and she gave me some Oxygen and got me back to normal. With all that commotion, I just didn't have it in me to pose for pictures, so you'll have to wait until the next post.

I thought this was all bad news, and that I was taking a turn for the worse. Turns out, that this is completely normal. What's not normal, is that I have gone 6 days without having a spell. I am only 34 3/7 weeks of gestation. So, on balance, I'm doin' alright. That's good to hear...

Oh, and to end on an up-note, I hit the magic 5 lb. mark! I am 5 lbs., 3.7 ozs. Awesome!