Austin

Late Saturday night Jack and I (Merissa) decided to go to Austin to visit some of our favorite relatives. We are staying at Mini's house which is awesome for both of us because I get to have some much needed rest while Mini stays up all night feeding her favorite grandson! For the first tome on three weeks I feel somewhat human. My mother is exhausted ( I dont know why...).

On Sunday we went to Jack Bueide's awesome 6th birthday party and were able to play with all the kids, we then went to Aunt Leslie and Uncle Chris's house for a cook-out. Grandpa Jim was there as well as Mini, Creepy Uncle Jonnie and Aunt Amanda. It was a lot of fun being passed around and held by everyone.

Today we relaxed all day and rested up for our photo shoot. By our I mean Jacks. I am attaching a couple of the poses he had, the pictures are from Mini's camera. When we get the professional ones I will be sure to post them. Baby pictures are always fun and even more fun when the babies are naked! Which makes for an interesting 3 hours, he tinkled on 3 blankets and only pooped on me once. We took pictures all over the house and in the garden some of my favorite are in his tonka truck.

I am not sure I want to leave Austin, my mother has been a huge help and I am getting spoiled. I think I would acctually consider staying for the rest of my maternity leave if it were for Mark not being able to see his baby.

Beware of the Shark

Yesterday we gave Jack a bath.  Evidently he really hates baths.  It combines all the things he hates most.  Being undressed, Being wet, and Bright lights.  Other than that, I don't know what his problem was. We followed it up by further torturing him by wrapping him in his really cool shark towel.  

We had lots of guests again.  Alysia, JR, and Joan came over Friday and brought dinner. Mmmmm.  And yesterday Pat and Andy came over to visit with Jack.  The guests are wonderful, especially since we really don't leave the house much. 

Jack is doing a little better at sleeping, but he still just decides that he is going to be awake in the middle of the night.  Perhaps he is nocturnal?? 

Merissa is doing well.  We have been going for walks everyday and she is really feeling much better.  She is a champ when  it comes to not getting sleep. I know I couldn't function with the amount of sleep she has been getting.  

We are getting our routine down a little better everyday.  It's tough, but worth it.  Thanks again for all the support.  

Jack Pictures

Here are some pictures from today.  I'll write more later. Gotta go watch March Madness.

Off to the Doctor

Jack went to the Pediatrician today.  He is now 20 3/4", and 7lb 4oz.  What a growing boy! Sorry we havn't blogged much, it turs out that keeping up with the kiddo is quite the job.  Jack is doing great though.  He is a little fussy from time to time, but I guess it all comes with the territory.  Yesterday was great, we got to dress him in his St. Patrick's Day outfit(Thanks Leslie!).  Today Grammy and Grandpa Jim here to help out. 

I will try to do better at updating.  Sorry Sara, I know you made Jack's blog your homepage.  Jack appreciates all the love.  

Youth is Wasted on the Young.

Today was great...Jack and I sat around and watched golf for 4 hours...It was really good Daddy Jack time.  We had Colin, Melissa, David and Stacey over for dinner, and it was a good time.  We reminisced about how just a few years ago it seemed that all of our friends were getting married, and now everyone is either pregnant, or has a rug rat around.  Next thing you know we will all be getting minivans and sweatpants and we will be having dinner at 4:30.  What happened to our youth??  

Eh, who cares...I have a beautiful family and wouldn't change anything.  Everything is great at the Maclaine residence this evening.  Merissa is recovering nicely, and Jack is still the man!  I just can't get enough of him....Even if he does sound funny!

The Young and the Restless

The Young and the Restless should not be a soap opera, but rather a reality show about two twenty something parents trying desperately to keep up with a 7 pound baby!   I seriously feel like we are out numbered.....

Give Jack his Zantac...Change his diaper.....Give him his Reglan... Feed Jack...Pump....Oh and change Jack's diaper AGAIN( I think this must be some sort of game for him).....And when we are done, Clean everything up and get ready to repeat.  And of course night time brings no relief.  Pat, I have no clue how you guys did this times two.  unbelievable. You guys are my heroes. 

We have had a steady stream of visitors.  We love having people over.  It helps break up the afore mentioned seemingly endless cycle.  This morning Jack's great grandparents Memaw and Pepaw came to visit.  Jack was wonderful for them.  If anyone wants to come visit, just come on by. We are not going anywhere anytime soon and would love to have you.  

Jack is Home!!!

Today at 2:00p Jack came home!!! He passed all the tests, and kept all his food down. He was a model patient and an all around ICU rock star.  Now comes the next phase of worrying.  Luckly we have an aptnia monitor so all we have to do is look at the blinking lights and we know all is well.  We are really tired but I guess we will be for the next 18 years...

The Pictures and updates will continue.  I am sure everyone is going to want to keep up with the coolest baby ever.... I figure I can either write it here where I have some control, or read about it on TMZ. :) 

Well gotta go stare at our baby!

Hungry Baby = Angry Baby!!

Today Merissa and I spent a little less time with Jack than we have been.  We went and got trained on his monitor they are sending home with him, and while we were there, they started his OCRG(breathing assessment).  That took the better part of 6 hours, and during the test we were not allowed to touch or hold him. The results will be analyzed tomorrow, and if we get good news, he can come home.  We just hope they come back early enough.  

We also took an infant CPR class.  This was not optional, but yet another requirement before we can take the baby home.  It was moderately informative, but could have been shortened from 90 minutes to about 15.  It told us about the compressions, the breathing,  exc.  It's kind of unnerving that it was required before we can have our baby.  I am sure they are just covering themselves and being over cautious.  

Tomorrow we are going to do a "car seat assessment".  Just another of the hospitals ridiculous requirements before we can take Jack home.  They say it is to make sure he can handle the ride home in the car seat.  They put him in it for 30 minutes and monitor him.  The car ride is 8 minutes long!! Ridiculous. Oh well he has passed every test they have given him so far, and I am sure he will do fine, but it is annoying. It's like they are trying to find reasons to keep him there.

They can't hold Jack down! He's a rock star.  He is still doing great.  We love him sooo much, and can't wait for him to come home.

Jack is a Superstar!

Jack did great today.  He ate 55+ml of milk all day, except tonight.  He only had 32ml but we think it was just because he wasn't that hungry.  Jack has obtained quite the reputation around the nursery for being a big eater, but when he doesn't eat he is VERY grouchy.  He has thrown some serious food related temper tantrums.  But as soon as you give him his bottle, all is better.  Jack is still doing great. No IV.  No heat lamp. No feeding tube. 

He will likely be moved to a regular crib this evening when they weigh him and feed him at midnight. This is good because that is just one more step he had to take before he could leave.  Now we are just waiting on the sleep analysis test that we hope will take place tomorrow.  The results will follow in 24-48hrs,  and then we should be able to leave....Fingers crossed. 

Thanks for all the well wishes.  It is great to see how many people are following.  It makes it so much easier to get accurate information out to everyone when we are not relying on a chain of telephone calls.  We love you guys, and will write more tomorrow!

Go Jack!!

Rub a Dub Dub

Jack is due for his first bath tonight at midnight.  Merissa and I just got back from the hospital visiting him, and they had just removed his IV!! Yay!! And they told us to bring some clothes up so after his bath, he can wear some cute jammies to bed.  We are really excited, and can't wait to see him in some clothes.  He is gonna be so cute.  He is now eating 1.5oz per feeding, and tomorrow they will let him eat as much as he can.  All we are waiting on now, is a breathing study and he can come home.....kinda. It will likely be a couple of days still but everything was good today.  He made great progress.

This picture was from this morning. He is so wonderful.

Merissa's Discharge

Yesterday I was discharged from the hospital. It was hard for us to pack up and leave with Jack still in the NICU. My ride to the hospital seemed extremely long, then we had to leave and that was even longer. It didn't help that when we were leaving a few blocks from the hospital a million Jonahs Brothers fans were trying to leave the rodeo. 

Mark and I spent a couple of hours with jack before we left, we were able to feed him, burp him and change his diaper! He had another test done yesterday that involved barium and radiology. They were looking at the way he swallows and what his stomach does after he has food. This confirmed what doctors already told us that he does have acid reflux. They put him on two medications for this that we will have to continue to give him once he leaves the hospital.  

His first two feedings yesterday were a little slow considering he only had 1/2 oz to drink. Now that he has figured out how much he loves to eat it takes less than 30 seconds to complete the bottle. He has also stopped spitting up. The doctor was so happy with his eating progress yesterday that she upped his meals to 1 oz this morning. 

No news on when they are going to let him leave, I think they are extremely cautious and do not want to get our hopes up. The ENT should be coming by today to check on him and see his progress.  He is no scheduled for any more tests at this time, they are just monitoring his breathing, eating, weight, and everything else. 

I can't get the pictures to upload right now... ill keep trying

Yummy Yummy for Jack's Tummy!!!!

Jack had his first feeding since the diagnosis.  1/2oz !! woo hoo!

He took the bottle, and sucked it right down.  Now it's time to wait and see how he does.

Go Jack!

Diagnosis

We spoke with the pediatric ENT (ear nose and throat) specialist and it is indeed Laryngomalacia. Jack has started acid reflux medication that should help him hold down his food. We will go visit him at 6:00am and help with his first feeding. While they are feeding him liquids for the next 48-72 hours they will observe him to determine which category his condition falls into. The ranges are Mild, Moderate, and Severe. The Doctor feels fairly certain that Jack is in the moderate category but wants to take the next two days to see how he does.  

Mild-Moderate = 9 - 18 months of growing and getting fat, and everything should work its self out.

Severe = Will require a trip over to Texas Children's for further testing, and possible surgery.  

Once again the doctor has thus far indicated that he is in the Moderate category but warned not to get too worked up.  His condition, while it presents its self at birth, can't really be properly categorized for a few more days.  He could start showing improvement, and get into the "mild" category, or things could progress and put him into the severe category.  He really hesitated to guess about where he would end up, but just said "right now" he is in the Moderate category.  

Here are the numbers:

85% chance of being in Mild- Moderate

15% chance of developing into severe.

  

We are of course optimistic. He looks great, and has been spending some time awake with us when we visit.  Merissa has really been getting some good mommy time with him, and is considerably happier because of it.  Merissa will be going home tomorrow, but we will probably only spend a few hours there before running back up here.

Well....off to the ICU....They are going to weigh him at Midnight.  Go JACK!!!! 

It has a name!

Laryngomalacia... Now what is it??  Laryngomalacia is a condition where the tissue around the vocal cords is soft and collapses when the baby inhales creating some noise, and difficulty breathing. Laryngomalacia can also create difficulty with swallowing and eating. The breathing is a problem for obvious reasons but tissue around the vocal cords will naturally strengthen and get more rigid over time. They will send us home with a monitor so we can watch him...yay!  Unfortunately Jack is having complications eating as well, which as you can see from the description, is one of the symptoms of this condition.  Jack still hasn't really kept any milk down yet.  He is being fed by IV right now, but for us to take him home, he has to eat on his own for 24 hours.  So at this point I think the eating is going to be what determines when he gets to come home.  He will be on anti-biotics until Sun. and once he is off those, we just wait for him to start eating.... We are still waiting for the Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor to confirm all this, but for now this seems to fit everything.  

Jack is going to be fine.  He just needed some extra attention before he could come home!!!

We will write more when we hear from the Ear Nose and Throat Dr. 

Merissa's Update

I thought I would give this a try, Mark always writes the posts. Jack is doing well, we went to visit him this morning around 8:00, he was moved from the NICU admitting room, to a more permanent nursery. The pediatrician was there when we arrived, she updated us on the status which is the same. He is having labored breathing (i think he sound like Kate when she sleeps) but is receiving the correct amount oxygen and his blood pressure and heart rate are fine. An ear nose and throat specialist will be visiting him this morning as well as a neonatologist to double check everything. So far all testing and exams have turned up nothing, they just want to be sure he is fine before they send him home with us. I will be released tomorrow and if Jack passes all of his tests he should be coming home Sunday or Monday. 

This morning I was able to hold him and am going to back there now to hold him again.  I think he enjoys the NICU because they leave a heat lamp on him and he lies around in his diaper like a turtle on a rock. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers, they are extremely helpful during this tough time.

Good Morning All

Merissa and I just got back from visiting little baby Jack.  He was actually awake when we got there which was very exciting!  He is hanging in there like a real trooper.  We were up there at 4:00 for his 1 day birthday, but he didn't really seam to understand what we were celebrating. We spoke to the ICU nurse a little about what was going on and she said they would reaccess this morning when the pediatrician comes in

They have started him on some antibiotics and plan to keep him on them for at least two days. His breathing is still a bit labored. When he breathes, you can hear him sort of struggling a little.  His O2 stats and heart beat are strong though, and he seems to enjoy is nice little toasty bed.   We should know more after Dr. Wanebo gets here this morning.  

We hope Jack gets home soon.

P.S. Jack is the first official "Native Texan" in Merissa's family... Thanks Grandpa Jim

Long Day

Well day one is over, and what a day it was.  This afternoon at 2:30 one of the nurses decided to take a second look at the baby and upon second review, the nursery decided that Jack's breathing was a bit labored, and he needed to be more closely watched.  After monitoring him closely for an hour and trying to get him to eat, three doctors were consulted and the decision to put jack into the NICU.  Now jack is in the ICU with a bunch of wires hanging off of him. There is no worse feeling than looking at your baby and knowing there is nothing you can do for him... :( luckly I think he is only going to be there for 6 hours, then it's back to our room.  I can't wait for him to come back.  Hopefully tomorrow is a little bettter.  We are going to try to get some sleep now. Thanks for all the well wishes they really do mean alot to us.  

Jack Austin Maclaine

3:56am March 5th 2009 Jack Austin Maclaine was born.  He has ten little fingers and toes! He was 6lb 12.5oz and is absolutly perfect. More to follow...we are VERY tired. Thanks for all the well wishes.  We love you guys!

Its Go Time Baby!!!

Merissa is about 1 hours from having the baby now.  She is 8cm dialated and ready to go. It's almost time to push!

Go Merissa!!!!

We are at the hospital

Contractions at 3 minutes.  we are waiting for them to clean a room, and then Jack will be here.... probably shortly after midnight.  I check back later

We Have Contractions!!!!

Well Merissa has officially had her first contraction!!  They are roughly 10 minutes apart when they come, but they are still inconsistent.  The contractions will come 10 minutes apart for three or four in a row, then disappear for 30 or 40 minutes.  Until they are steadily 5 minutes apart, we stay at home.  I will update when time to go to the hospital!

YAY!!!

Practice Makes Perfect

Today we went to the hospital!!! Then we went home.... :(  

After experiencing mysterious moisture all morning Merissa called the doctor and he told us to go to the hospital and get it checked out. We found out it probably isn't amniotic fluid, so no baby today.  But on a positive note, we found out that our retarded doctor didn't know that due to her medical history the Merissa's induction Friday is definitely a go.. So Friday is the day, unless he comes earlier! 

YAY!!!!

Public Enemy #1

Well another week has passed, and we have officially arrived at Jack's "Due Date".  Let me tell you what that means......Jack squat!!!  Merissa went to Dr. Lloyd (PE#1) on Friday with extreem back pain hoping he would help her out of her misery and induce her, and what did he do???  He sent her for a massage and told her to come back Monday.  This made for a long weekend of waiting and trying to stay comfortable.  

  So after a weekend of waiting Monday finally got here and we got to go back for another trip to PE#1's office for a check-up.  After examining Merissa, he told us that she could be induced today(Tuesday).  He warned though that she was a low priority and had a pretty high chance of getting bumped off the schedule.  We were excited at the chance that we would be delivering today even if it was slim.  Oh if only we had known....

When being induced the patient(Merissa) can't have anything by mouth after midnight the night before, which for a 9 month pregnant woman SUCKS.  We were told to call at 6:00am to see how the schedule was looking.  5:59 We called them, and we were told they couldn't tell us anything and to wait until 9:30am and call back. So at 9:30 Merissa called the hospital again and got more of the same.... call back at 11:30.  Keep in mind she still couldn't have anything by mouth, not even water. And of course when she talked to the hopsital at 11:30 they told her it would be more convienant for the doctor (PE#1) if they rescheduled for Friday.  So we are moderatley certain that she could have been admitted today but it wasn't "Convienant" for PE#1 so we needed to reschedule for Friday.  Keep in mind all the "nothing by mouth" stuff will apply again Friday, and being a low priority will also apply so she might not even get to deliver then....  

Needless to say we are a little frustrated with the way things went today, but another week or so and this will all be behind us.  Bah Humbug!  

Come Out JACK!!!! We want to play with you!!

Anyone else think he could have played Ferris Beuller's Principal???