Slow day...

Hey all...

Sorry for the lack of blog update....it was a somewhat slow day so I really have no excuse except for being tired. :) Hehe. They are continuing to wean Jackson off of his versed (sedative), morphine, and blood pressure medication slowly from his whole ordeal and surgery. That will be a gradual process throughout our stay. So far Jack has done well with the weaning process- some babies can have very severe reactions of withdrawal, he is handling it quite well thus far and his weaning scores have been minimal. Please pray that continues to be the case. :) I feel so awful for the little babies going through serious withdrawal with the vomiting, and shakes, etc. Poor little things. But we are hoping the weaning goes well and he can get rid of more tubes and wires- it is always quite the ordeal to hold him and I know all those tubes from his head can't be comfy for the poor little guy. I am always scared to death of pulling them out or hurting him if I catch one the wrong way, he has so many.

They have increased the rate of oxygen they are giving him as his saturation levels have been lower the past few days- they don't seem extremely concerned with it, but if you could pray those would increase and that he would be able to come back down on a lower setting, that would be wonderful. :)

We did have a minor "setback" of sorts. Occupational therapy stopped by and is concerned with continuing the bottle feeding as Jackson is still having a lot of difficulty sucking, swallowing, and coughing. He was choking quite a bit when they were attempting to feed him yesterday. In addition to that, his vocal cords are still swollen and they want to make sure that they heal properly without causing other problems in the meantime. He hasn't made a peep as of yet, which they say is normal for a baby who has gone through what he has and for babies who have been intubated so long. He just has to relearn a lot of remedial things. He is doing okay but they just want to be cautious rather than cause a serious setback or aspiration. We are thankful for their wisdom and will just take it one day at a time. So tomorrow (and the next days following) we will be working with O.T. on exercises to help him learn to cough and swallow and just kind of let Jack's progress guide us as to when he is ready to attempt a bottle again. His poor little lungs are still congested and we certainly don't want to subject them to something else if he is unable to cough it up. So we are taking it slow. I worked on little stimulation exercises today and tonight with his little lips and cheeks and he did pretty well. Hopefully this is a temporary thing and he will continue to progress as we are getting anxious to have our little guy home. I posted a picture to the left of the O.T. gal working with him and showing us exercises we can do with him especially during his feedings. He looked like such a little boy all stretched out. The nurses have a difficult time keeping him swaddled as he is such a tall little guy, the blankets that they have aren't quite long enough for him. He sort of likes sprawling out, though, so usually he is okay with his feet hanging out. :)

We spent more time holding our little boy today. :) He is pretty stinkin' cute and cuddly! (of course I am biased!) I (Melissa) am feeling a bit better...every day is a little better and I am trying to get more rest. It is so hard to be away from little Jackson, though. I really struggle with saying goodbye to him and going home every night wishing he could just be home with us and living life with us. The lack of sleep really doesn't bother me, I am just longing to have him with us safe and sound. But in the Lord's timing and when little Jack is ready. Joe and I were talking tonight about contentment and thankfulness. We are very aware that we have much to be thankful for.

I have to say, though, it has been such a blessing just to be able to hold him and talk to him. I read him his first book yesterday and he stayed awake for most of it. :) The picture I posted here is towards the end as he was getting progressively cozier. :) Everyone keeps stopping by to see him and how he has progressed. He loves to be sung to as well, so Joe and I have been singing songs that we used to sing to him in utero. He digs it. :)

Anyway, we made it an earlier night tonight and actually had sort of a "date" night and just spent some time together and talked. Jackson was napping at the NICU anyway, and we needed a couple hours refreshment and to get some things done at the house. And now, with more things to do and it being 12:30 a.m., I will bid you all farewell. Please continue to pray for Jackson and that it won't be long before he can come home where he belongs. :)

Love you all!!
Joe, Miss, and Jack :)