Happy New Years from IC NICU!

Jackson is now being fed 6 ounces of milk every 3 hours – they are fortifying it to give him more calories to help him gain weight. He is currently 1 lbs 13.3 oz. As he tolerates these feeds well they will increase the amount by about an ounce a day. Once he reaches about 10 ounces every 3 hours they can stop giving him supplemental nutrition through his IV fluids.

The urologist came in on Friday and was pleased with the output through his catheter. The drain continues to have very little to no output – this could mean that the rupture around his bladder is healing. Once he consistently has no output through his drain they will be able to remove it! An ultrasound on his kidneys will be performed sometime in the next few days to see their status.

Jackson has continues to do well on his ventilator. If all goes well, within a week or so they may try to extubate him (breathing tube being removed) and simply use a constant pressure ventilator in his nose.

Annie was able to hold Jackson again on Thursday night. He handled it very well, and was able to stay out of his bed for around 45 minutes. We are limited on the total time we can keep him out because his body is still not able to keep it’s body temperature up. We hope to hold him again in a few days.

We were told tonight that Jackson is now the “first out” baby in Bay 1. This means that if they get a new baby in that needs to be in Bay 1, Jackson will be moved to Bay 2 to make room for him/her. Bay 1 is used for the sick-est/smallest babies and Bay 2 for the less-sick babies, so Jackson being able to move to Bay 2 is a good sign that he is continuing to grow and develop as he should.

Annie and I are going back to Pella this coming week. It will be hard to be away from Jackson for a few days but it is good to know that he is continuing to do well. Thank you for all of your continued support and prayers. Happy New Years everyone!