And it's off!

If you have been following the video updates on FB or G+, then you already know that CJ has been taken off the nasal canula.



While this is a significant step toward his going home, there is still quite a bit of improvement that is needed before he can come home. The biggest hurdle that needs to be cleared is his feedings.

Currently, he is only being allowed to nipple - feed from a bottle - once a day. Every nurse, so far, has said that he is ready for that frequency to increase; however, those orders haven't changed in several days.

That being said, Jess has had a couple of fruitful conversations with some nurses. One of the nurses even told her that because she is the mom, she has a certain level of authority when it comes to CJ and CJ's orders. Having had to exercise this authority already, we already knew this; but it was reassuring to Jess to hear this from a nurse that we both trust and respect.

Somewhat emboldened, Jess has since broached the topic of his feedings with CJ's nurse and the suggestion has been received favorably. His nurse tonight said that if the Dr calls in tonight, she will ask him whether those orders can be changed. If he doesn't call in before she leaves, she will leave a note with the next nurse letting her know that CJ is ready to nipple more than once a day and to let the Dr know. Since we know that the Dr is heavily influenced by the input from the nurses, this is definitely a good sign that his orders will soon change. In the even the nurses fail to speak with the Dr, we fully intend to bring our concerns up to him the moment we see him tomorrow.

Now that you know where he stands, here are some photos and a couple of videos.



Here is the first video of CJ. He is wearing a dinosaur sleeper that kinda' looks like it is camouflage.

From Cj's Videos

This next video is a video of when Franky and Sissy were able to see him. While this wasn't the first time that they had seen him, they were tickled nonetheless to see "their" baby CJ...

From Cj's Videos

Twelve Days and Counting...

Well, it's been twelve days since Baby CJ was born and lots of things have happened in the interim.

Since my last post, Baby CJ has improved by leaps and bounds. It was only a few days ago that they first start feeding him breast milk, and today he is already being fed 50MLs at each feeding!

Not only has he started to feed really well, the only kind of respiratory assistance he has is the nasal canula. When he came off the vent, he went straight to the C Pap, and from there he was placed on the nasal canula. At some point after he had been put on the nasal canula a nurse made the call to put him back on the C Pap; but after further review, it was determined that the difficulty in breathing had stemmed from a rather stuffy nose. So, so long as he keeps his nose clean - pun intended - we will not be seeing him on the C Pap again any time soon.

Another good improvement that our little guy has seen is that he is no longer on the Billy light. They have been checking his Billy levels every time they run his labs and while it did go back up a little yesterday, the levels had not risen sufficiently enough to warrant being placed back under the light.

While the pictures and video in this post don't reflect it, CJ no longer has all his IVs! In the event he did not hit 50Mls for his feedings, they were going to be putting in a PIC line; however, since he hit that threshold this afternoon, he is no longer in need of the PIC line. Praise the LORD! :)

As for the rest of the family, we are all doing well. While we know how things run around here, things are a bit different this time around. This time around I have had to work throughout the week, only being able to spend time here on my days off, while Jess' and the girls have been staying here in Marquette in the Beacon House. Speaking of which, I'd like to take this time publicly thank my father in law for making it possible for Jess' mom and sister to be up here. It has been a tremendous blessing and a great help. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't be able to go in and see Baby CJ together. I'd also like to thank my parents as they, too, have been a great help! If it weren't for them, who knows what I would have done with the girls while I Was at work...

That being said, I know that you all did not come here to be bored to death, so without any further adieu, here are some pictures and a video! :)

From Cj's Videos