Life in the NICU

January 22- Jack gets to hold JT for the first time today.  JT finally leaves his billi lights behind today.  We watched them go one by one.

January 24-My mom goes to see JT today.  He pees on his linens again.  She gets to pick him this time, so that his linens can be changed!  She finds out that JT gets to start wearing clothes today!  The nurse tells me that I can bring him clothes from home to wear if I would like.  I immediately decide I have to go to Goodwill!  I find this tiny onesie.  It is so small!

We go see JT and one of the nurses think it is too small for him, but he can wear it!

This onesie got lost in the NICU.  It makes me sad, but I am glad that some other little preemie baby will be able to wear this onesie.

We get to hold JT for a long time today.  He only made his monitor beep twice while we are there.  I am so proud of him!  He remembers to breathe while we are holding him.  He is almost back to his birth weight today too.  He weighs 3 lbs and 8oz.  They gave him formula a couple of times because he ran out of breast milk.  I choose to skip a day of bringing it to him, so I can catch up to him.  He spits up every time he has the formula.  The nurse that he has doesn't see the correlation between the two until I mention it.

January 25-I contact Andria that I went to school with and tell her I want a Yoda hat for JT (Hookin' It Forward),and I am curious how much it will cost.  She contacts me back and lets me know that she will have it ready for me on Sunday.

January 26-JT weighs 3 lbs and 11oz today!  He is over his birth weight!  We thought he had left his canula in the dust, but he has it back in his nose today.  His oxygen saturation was dropping too low, so they gave it back to him.  They tell us that they don't want him to burn calories trying to breathe.  He needs to gain weight.  I tell JT that I had some sweet tea earlier in the day, and he just smiles.  I am sure it is gas, but it is nice to pretend that he understands.  I go home

January 27- I should be 32 weeks pregnant today.  I pick up JT's Yoda hat!  It is so cute!

January 28-Today is my birthday!  We go visit JT.  He has gained 3 oz!  We try his Yoda hat on and take pictures.  I change his diaper, and his little belly button stump falls off!  I hold JT as long as the nurse will let me.  He cries when she takes him back and puts him in his isolette.  My heart is broken.  He wants his Mama!  I walk over to the Tower, since Jack is at Zanies.  I cannot be in the NICU between 6:30 and 7:30.  I grab something to eat (Happy Birthday to me!) and go back to see JT until Jack gets back.  When we get home, I check the mail.  We have the cutest little onesie from Jack's cousin Todd!

January 30- JT is moved up to the 8th floor!  This is the last floor he will be on before he goes home.  He is no longer a "sick" baby.  He is a grower and feeder!  He just needs to grow, grow, grow.  Everyone constantly asks us when he is coming home.  He has so many more steps to go through before coming home.  He has to learn to take a bottle, start to nurse, gain weight, remember to breathe, and regulate his body temperature  not particularly in that order.  He weighs 4 lbs and 4 oz today.  I cannot believe how fast he is growing!