Today is the day!!!!!!!!

WOAH. Let's just say that preparing for discharge could possibly be more overwhelming and stressful than being admitted. Although nothing compares to that very first day Jett and I were separated the day he was born.

So far....

Jett has passed:

-newborn hearing test
-oxygen test
-car seat trial
-eating 100% by bottle (working with an LC for breastfeeding at home)

Mom & Dad has passed:

-Giving all 5 medications including 1 shot properly and on time. (Yes, the shot sucks!)
-CPR/First Aid and the Heimlich Maneuver for infants.
-How to properly install car seats and adjust car seat according to Jett's growth.
-Shaken Baby Syndrome and avoiding it at all costs (what to do when baby won't stop crying)
-Have oxygen tanks installed at home and know how to use them
-Stretching Jett's neck and shoulder muscles everyday as a part of his Physical Therapy

And lastly,

-We passed our 4 month long NICU journey!

Diaper bag and oxygen is packed so bring on the baby! 

Tomorrow shall be a bittersweet day, but it cannot come soon enough...

I came home from my last night of work last night and came home to a little surprise in Jett's room.

Thanks Grandma Wilson 

News

We have made it! The light at the end of our long dark tunnel is in site! We are preparing for discharge and our NICU journey will be done as we leave for home this Sunday! 

HAPPY DANCE!!!! 

Oh Happy Days :)

June 13th

Happy four months to our baby boy (on the 12th)!

We have some great news! Jett has officially moved to the NPCU or Newborn(neonatal) Progression Care Unit on the 7th floor of Children's. This is where he will work on going home! Right now Jett is currently practicing on eating from a bottle. He must drink at least 75-100% of his bottle and to be gaining weight appropriately in order to come home. We are so close! Last night he drank 100% of his bottle for momma perfectly! It was an exciting experience!

Jett is still breathing with a nasal cannula on the lowest amount of oxygen, but doctors believe he will go home with it. Both of us (mom & dad) will be specifically trained in dealing with a infant on breathing assistance. Although it is a very, very little amount, it is just enough for Jett. Both I and Travis feel very comfortable with it and have no worries. Jett breaths wonderfully even without the assistance but feel it would be necessary for home until he can do fine completely without.

We are thinking Jett will be able to come home within a week. He is doing so well and making us so proud! Thanks for all the prayers, wishes, thoughts and love! We are so excited and awaiting "that phone call" everyday 

*posted pictures of Jett's new twin sized room, equipped with beds for mom and dad to stay the nights before he comes home and get it some practice.

-6lbs 1.9oz. 17inches long
-dark brown hair is growing back
-broken arm has healed
-loves his bouncy seat & going for walks around the care unit.

June 7th

Remember when I said that Jett has Chronic Lung disease? And that it may take him some weeks (even months!) to learn to breath without any assistance? Well guess what?

Jett showed up everyone and decided he wanted to breath on his own without any help! (they keep a regular nasal cannula on him in case he forgets to breath, it's only been one day, give him a break, lol)! 

And you know what that means right??
It means Jett can start oral feedings! Woot! Yesterday we tried breastfeeding and bottle feeding for the first time. It went better than expected! The therapist said he is an "eager eater" and gets very excited to find that when he sucks, milk comes with it! With that being said sometimes Jett is too eager and swallows too quickly and gags on the milk. This is okay because it's his VERY FIRST time eating this way and he is learning the ropes.

A therapist will come by 3-5 times a week to monitor his progress. This is really the only deciding factor if and when Jett can come home. Once he gets sucking, swallowing and breathing down at the same time....he's coming home! (Can't believe I'm really saying that!)

Jett is now on the "waiting list" to go to the upstairs NICU or a step down nursery. Which means he is preparing for home while both parents and baby are learning and teaching each other. This gives parents and other family members the opportunity to ask any last minute questions or concerns, and baby must pass a car seat trial (parents have to pass tests too!) before leaving the hospital.

Holy schmooks! I never thought we would EVER see this day. Our homecoming is in the very close future and we are ecstatic!

What are YOUR guesses? When will Jett come home?

Daddy's guess: June 16th
Mommy's guess: June 25th

Asking for some last minute prayers to help with Jett's feedings. We are praying that Jett can effectively eat by breast and/or bottle without an problems. We also pray that he will learn easily to multitask the sucking, swallowing & breathing.

June 1st

Jett moved out of his heated incubator and into a big boy crib! He can keep his temperature without a heater and can wear clothes!

Still working on his breathing and continues to feed with a feeding tube.

Making lots of progress and we are getting so close!

Thanks everyone for all the thoughts and prayers!
They are working 

May 29th

We have been having a TON of friends and family asking us when Jett gets to come home and we have always been replying with, "we don't know yet, time will tell". Which is partially true. For a while we were never given exact times or days on when Jett could come home. Why? Well because he's a baby and baby's do things on their own time. Meaning, Jett could get sick again or something could come up which would keep him from coming home. Jett is driving the plane at this point and really, only he will tell us when he is ready.
BUT-yesterday, we had something called a "Care Conference" with all of Jett's doctors and nurses and we sat down and talked about where Jett is at health wise, what we for see happening in the following days/weeks and of course, when he can come home.
So far, Jett continues to be tolerating his full feeds and is still breathing with assistance from the nasal cannula. He is not eating from a bottle yet and is still being fed by a tube through his mouth or nose. We haven't moved to oral feedings because of ONE, yes ONE issue. That issue is his breathing. As you all know, Jett is now considered a full term baby or an ex-preemie. But he had been intubated (breathing with a ventilator) for majority of his life. When an infant is finally able to breath on his own it can be somewhat difficult to transition because of the damage the tube can cause to his lungs. A baby that is considered full term at 36/37 weeks plus and is still in need of breathing assistance, means that they have something called Chronic Lung Disease. Unfortunately, Jett does have this. This is not something that is life threatening and will not cause life long issues. It simply means, he's been intubated for too long and that damage from that is making it more difficult for him to breath without any assistance. Obviously, there is nothing that can solve this problem except growth and time. This can take up to weeks and/or months to go away.
In order to eat from a bottle or breastfeed you must be able to show the ability to breath without little to no assistance. If we were to start breastfeeding, Jett could aspirate and the milk could get inside his lungs. This happens when baby's do not know how to multitask while breathing, sucking and swallowing.

So what do we do now?

We wait. Everyday Jett is being weaned from his nasal cannula and is gradually learning to breath without it. Once he gets the breathing down, we can start feeding from bottles and breast. This is SUPER exciting news because we now know that Jett is in really good health and these are just the last minor things that he needs to learn how to do. In our eyes, there are no health problems with our little dude and that makes us SO HAPPY!

So when can he come home?
Doctors suspect that he can come home anywhere from 4-6 weeks! (This is no longer happy dancing, it's leaping through the air like we are 3 years old)

Jett's now 6lbs. 3oz. and 17 inches long. He stays awake for 3-6 hours throughout the day at a time and loves being cuddled by momma and daddy. He flirts with his favorite nurses, enjoys bath time, but dislikes having his diaper changed 

Keep praying for us! Our NICU journey is almost done and I know Jett needs a few extra prayers to help him get through this very last hurdle!