Jacob's Big News

Note Bene: This post is old. I wrote it when we were in transit and sans internet. A more current update is forthcoming. -Bethany

As of his Tuesday night (6/23) weighing, Jacob is 6 pounds, 1 ounce! I also measured him and he was 18 1/2 inches long--the boy is growing!

The other news comes from a conversation I had with the doctor yesterday morning. It seems that he will be able to come home in about 2 weeks--much sooner than I was expecting!

This of course, is just an estimate based on his progress so far. But we expect him to continue to grow and gain strength, and continue to eat well (which is the main determining factor for when he can come home).

Also, I am continuing to gain strength and recover, both from Jacob's birth and from my sore throat. I have recently been re-instructed by my doctor not to lift anything--including Nathanael! This has been a huge challenge for both of us, but we are sticking it out for the full 6 weeks. :)

We successfully moved into our new house this past weekend thanks to many, many earthly angels. Two of those came over this morning and transformed my kitchen from a mountain of towering cardboard into a beautiful horizon of counter top. I cannot begin to express the boost this gave my spirits!

And Nathanael continues to adjust to all the changes in his life and astound us with his creativity and his energy. He loves his new (windowless!) bedroom and all the space for playing.

We are also all adapting to another addition to our family: Rachel! Michael's younger sister volunteered to nanny for us for a few months after Jacob surprised us. We love her and are so grateful for everything she is doing for our family.

Love,
Bethany

Email Update

Hi everyone,

I have time just for a quick update. Jacob is out of the NICU and in the special care nursery. He is doing great and has recently passed the 5 pound milestone!

This is one of my favorite pictures of him--of shows his handsome eyes!

Thank you for all your prayers and love. It is helping him heal.

Love,
Bethany

Your Prayers are Working!

We had a great surprise when we came to visit Jacob on Monday--he is breathing on his own! He is also back on his "feeds," meaning that he is able to digest the breastmilk we give him in that tube in his nose. This is good news. It means we are one step closer to nursing!

Other updates as of Tuesday: He will be getting a picc line tonight which is a special type of IV to keep him hydrated until he is eating all on his own. This is exciting; it means that his umbilical IV will come out and then we can hold him skin to skin. (Which we can't do yet because of the risk of infection with the umbilical IV.)

He is also off the photo-therapy because his biliruben levels are down. Translation: his liver is doing a great job keeping his blood clean, so now he doesn't have to wear his little sunglasses. Hooray!

We are just in love with this little angel. Michael took these pictures with his phone from the inside of the isolette. Jacob seemed really curious about what Dad was doing with his arm. We enjoyed seeing him so alert and cute, cute, cute!



While I (Mom) was holding him, he relaxed and fell asleep. I am so grateful and excited for that experience to repeat itself many more times.

Today Nathanael came with us to visit Jacob. We didn't take any pictures, but he (Nathanael) got to scrub in at the big sinks with Dad, ride on Mom's lap in the wheelchair, and touch Jacob's knee. He seems to be getting a firmer idea about this baby we've been talking so much about. He even said, "Jacob" at dinner time without being prompted.

He also got to play in the family room outside the NICU with Dad while Mom spent a few more minutes with Jacob. Then he was very grown-up and went out to lunch with Mom and Dad. He ordered french fries (an old favorite) and discovered ketchup (and licking instead of biting)!

We are glad that our boys got to meet today. It was great to be all together as a family! Thank you all for your love, support and prayers. I could not have made it through this week without all the food, cleaning, Nathanael-watching, hugs, phone calls, emails, and prayers. I can truly feel the hand of God through each of you.

Jacob Day 4

This was our second time holding Jacob. Michael let me hold him for a long time, and then I passed him over. It was love at first sight.

It's funny, the nurses at the NICU say "this is our big baby." We like the nurses a lot; they are angels. Angels with Hand Sanitizer.