8th Day in the NICU

Well today was a great day again!  Jack's levels are down to 6.1. Which means fingers crossed they will remove the lights tomorrow.  Jack has an awesome nurse Candy and she said she will beg the doctors for Jack to have them removed so we can take the shades away.  I did skin to skin with Jack for the first time today.  It's an amazing feeling holding your bare skined child to your bare skined chest.  It's just amazing.  Jack is still having a few heart rate drops but Candy said that as the days go on and he gets stronger and more mature he should stop those.  It's so hard leaving each time, but it's a good feeling knowing that the nurses are there and they are so caring.  Jack was up to 28 cc's of breast milk.  Almost one whole ounce.  In one week he went from 2 cc's to 28!  :)  What a big boy! Today Aunt Bev came to the hospital with me.

ONE WEEK OLD!!!

Well it's hard to believe that Jack has already been born for one week!  It feels like just yesterday.  The days kind of run into each other.  Brian and I got to see Jack today because Brian was off work.  I held Jack for about 30 minutes.  He is up to 23 cc's of food.  His blood levels are down to 7.1.  The doctor didn't write orders for him to be removed from the lights.  I can't wait until they take them away.  Jack has the prettiest eyes and I know he hates those shades.  He is always pulling at them.  He is such a wiggle worm.  It's so cute to watch him stretch out real big.  He has such long limbs.  Tomorrow I'm going to start skin to skin with him.  I can't wait to feel my handsome boy against me.  I also got to kiss Jack for the first time today.  Brian was going to hold Jack, but he woke up with a little cough so we wanted to be safe than sorry so he is going to wait until Thursday to hold.  If he is over the cough.  All in all it's been a great day.  I can't wait until tomorrow.  Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.

6th Day in the NICU

Sorry I didn't update yesterday!  My grandmother was rushed to the ER.  She is doing much better.  Jack weights 4 pounds today.  He is doing really well.  His blood levels went down to 7.8.  They needed to be below 8 to be taken off the lamps but they still have them under the low level ones just to make sure he is going to continue to go down.  Hopefully by tomorrow they will be gone.  Jack is up to 20 cc's of food.  My little boy will be a week old tomorrow.  I held Jack for about 30 minutes.  Daddy got to come up from Athens and see Jack.  Mommy changed her first poopoo diaper today.  Plenty more of those to come!  I love that Jack is so calm.  It breaks my heart to think of him crying and me not there.  The nurses say he hardly evers cries.  Just when he wants something or needs to be changed.  Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.

5th Day in the NICU

Well today was a great day.  I held Jack for about 40 minutes!  He is wonderful.  I find myself asking how can I love someone so much that I just met five days ago.  He is my everything.  Jack's picc line started to irritate his leg so they had to remove it and put a temporary IV in his left hand.  They put another picc line in around 6 today in his right arm.  The nurse said that he did great and they got it in one stick and the x-ray showed that it went to the right spot all in the first try.  Praise the Lord for that.  I hate to see my little guy cry or upset.  He is up to 17 cc's of food.  That's a little over half an ounce.  The nurse said that as of 10:30 when I left the hospital he had not had any brady's.  The caffiene seems to be doing it's job.  We are praying that by tomorrow his bili levels will be down so we can remove the last light and he wont have to wear his eye shades anymore.  Also when he gets out from under the lights we can start dressing him and wrapping him in blankets, which the nurse said that the babies love that.  Best news of all today...JACK is up to 4 POUNDS.  He gained 4 ounces in one day.  The nurse said that he might lose an ounce or two by tomorrow but that just makes my night!  When I let the hospital my little guy was sound asleep with his legs and arms stretched way out.  I love to watch him sleep.  God is so great!  Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.
Jack's visitors:
Aunt Amanda
Papaw Norman
Mamaw Norman
Nana Coffey
Papaw Coffey
Plus Cousin Dakota and Cousin Dani who couldn't go back to see him but really wanted to :)

Fourth Day in the NICU

Well today was a wonderful day.  I got to hold Jack for the first time today.  It was truly the best feeling in the whole world.  He is so perfect in every way.  He has the best eyes in the world.  He is still wearing the little shades because he is still under one lamp so when the nurse took the shades off for me to hold him his eyes just shown.  He looks around at everything.  It is so amazing to see him look at everything.  He just sat there in my arms for thirty minutes and just slept and looked at me.  It was something that I will never forget until the day I die!  I also got to change his diaper for the first time today.  I was so nervous and the nurse had to help me.  I am still a little timid to move his little legs and arms.  The more I'm around him the better I'll be though.  His blood levels are down to 9.1.  They were able to remove the big lamp so he still just has the one small one.  He is up to 13 cc's.  By noon tomorrow he will be getting 1/2 an ounce a food.  They started him on fats which will help him gain weight and lower his IV fluids which is also a good thing.  He had a few brady's which is where his heart rate drops a little so they started him on caffeine.  The nurse that this is nothing to be too alarmed over and she was surprised that he made it this far without having them.  Hopefully this will correct itself soon as he gets older and stronger.  He hasn't had a bowel movement in 48 hours so they are going to give him a suppository around 11:00 p.m. The nurse said that his belly looked good and that there wasn't a problem but that he had had enough food that he probably needed to release something.  Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes!  I'll post again tomorrow with updates!  I hope to have pictures up soon! 
P.S.
Today Jack had bunches of visitors:
Mamaw Norman
Papaw Norman
Nana Coffey
Papaw Coffey
Grandma Coffey
Aunt Amanda
Godmother Traci
Godfather Joel
I couldn't be more blessed with people that love my son!  I thank God for all the love he has!

Day 4 in the NICU

Today is day 4 in the NICU.  I can't hardly believe that Jack has already been here for four days.  His blood levels are down to 13.8.  They need to reach around 8 for them to take him off the lamps.  He was a little fussey this morning.  He loves his pacifier.  The nurse said that they have to put him on pacifier time out at times because he gets to sucking on it and he forgets to breath.  He is so good though. The nurses say that he is really good at regulating himself.  If his oxgyen goes down he takes a big breath and he fixes the problem himself.  Also they say that he isn't a crier.  They say that he cries when they move him or change his diaper but as soon as they are done he calms himself down and he is fine.  What a big boy he is.  They are increasing his feeding by 1 cc every 6 hours.  The nurse said that that would lower his IV fluids which is what we want.  Also this will hopefully help him gain wieght which is what we want.  Jack had a cranial ultrasound done and it came back negative which measures for brain bleeding.  Praise the Lord.  They will do another one November 26th, which is pretty routine I was told.  God is just watching over him and taking care of him and letting him grow strong enough so we can take him home.  The nurse also stated that he was almost big enough to be in an open crib but we have to wait until they remove the lamps and his blood levels get down to 8.  The Lord is so good!  Thanks for all the thoughts and Prayers! 

Day Three in the NICU

Jack lost another three ounces he is down to 3 pounds and 12 ounces.  The nurses still say this is nothing to be concerned about.  Jack is under the lamps because he has developed jaundice.  He looks so sweet laying there with his little eyes covered.  He keeps trying to pull his shades off.  I think he is just flirting with his nurse.  His levels got up to 17.8 and if they reach 18 they will have to give Jack a blood transfusion.  Praise the Lord when we went back late last night the levels had dropped to 15.8.  Brian watched them take blood from Jack and daddy was not a happy camper.  He was not pleased that they had to squeeze little Jack's foot to get the blood out.  Daddy is already protecting little guy.  Jack got 7 cc's of food last night via his feeding tube.  He isn't strong enough to feed yet from my breast of bottle but he will soon.  He is a little fighter and mommy and daddy are so proud of him!

Day 2 in the NICU

Jack has been in the NICU for two days now.  The nurses say he is doing very well.  He is not on oxgyen which is such a blessing from God.  They have started giving him my breast milk mixed with formula since my milk hasn't completely come in yet.  He lost three ounces today but they nurses say that is completely normal even for fully term babies.  They lose thier water weight.  Jack had X-rays done today and they came back normal.  Praise the Lord.  Jack's Godmother Traci came to see Jack today.  He already has her wrapped around his little finger, but then again he already has his mommy and daddy too!  He is such a little fighter.  The nurses here are so wonderful.  We have to two that we just love.  They are truly angles. 

Birthday

Jack Edward Coffey was born Tuesday November 16th at 6:15 a.m.  He was exactly 32 weeks.  I started having contractions Sunday evening and my husband, Brian, took me to the hospital.  The doctors tried for two days to stop the contractions with different sorts of medications but they did not work.  Jack weighted 4 pounds 2.5 ounces and was 16 and 3/4 inches long.