More Recent Pictures of Jaxson....by the way Blogspot..this new picture format SUCKS!!

Recent Pictures of Jaxson

Moving Up.....Again!

Jaxson is doing great. He weighs 7 lbs. 3 oz. and was moved to yet another bay for babies who require even less attention by the staff. I like it better, more space...more quiet.

He looks and feels like a term newborn baby. He's almost the size I was when I was born!

He is completely off breathing assistance and doing great. He still has a bit of Apnea, but the doctors say that he'll still have it until he's 40 weeks. Sometimes babies do go home on monitors....and Jaxson might, but his episodes are so few and far between, I don't think he will.

The only thing left now is feeding. For the past 2 weeks the nurses have been increasing his nipple feeds. He has been doing well with nipple, gavage, nipple, gavage.....As of tomorrow, he'll be increased to nipple, nipple, gavage (tube feed). He is fed every three hours, so that's 6 nipple feedings and two gavage. He's just got to prove that he can still gain weight. I figure he'll be about ready by his due date....maybe a little past. We'll just have to see how he does.

Once he is feeding solely on nipple, and can still gain weight, he can come home. It takes a lot out of the little ones to nipple feed, especially breastfeeding because they have to work hard to get the milk. So, building stamina plays a big role in his success.

We have everything ready for him to come home, I think.....scary!!

I will be trying co-sleeping for sure for myself and for him. I'll be too paranoid to leave him in another room anyway. Plus, it will be easier for feeding every 2-3 hours.

I feel kind of fortunate on that front because when I get to bring my baby home, I will already know so much. I already know how to change diapers, swaddle, feed, burp, his stress cues and he is already on a schedule....which he'll put us on when he gets here....so, hey, there's another ray to the brightside! I think it will be a whole lot less stressful for us....and we deserve it after all of this!!!

He fits in all his newborn clothes....and I'm thinking he'll outgrow them before he gets home. The kid is going to be 8 lbs before he even comes home, I think. He'll be in 3 month clothes in no time!!! CRAZY!!

I think if I had given birth to him on his due date, July 4th, I would have had to get a C-Section. The kid is going to be big!

Jaxson is 38.4 weeks gestation, and 84 days old. So, his adjusted age is now -12 days old corrected age. I would still be pregnant for 12 more days!!!!!

So, he was born 96 days early. Wild. I mean, that I can do that math. Ha!

On a side note, I know how much everyone wants to see Jaxson once he gets to come home! I want everyone to meet him too! BUT, we are going to have to wait to introduce him to everyone for a while. I'm not sure exactly how long it will be, but I'm guessing about a month. His primary neonatal doctor has been clear that we need to get him adjusted to the home before introducing him to a lot of folks. This makes us sad, but it's what we have to do for Jaxson.

The first week will be Jeff and I all alone with him. Jeff is taking off and we want to get adjusted to having a baby in the house so we can figure everything out...because in the end, it will just be the two of us taking care of him....Then, we'll have our immediate family, grandparents and Uncle Mikey....

I promise, as soon as Jaxson is given the green light for visitors, we'll be so excited to get him introduced to all of you! We can't wait for that day!!! YAY! We are almost there!!!! He's going to have more love than he'll know what to do with! And he deserves it!!!

Enjoy the pictures!!!!!

Love Love,

JEFF & SHEREE + JAXSON

Our Shower in Brownwood

Here are some pictures from the baby shower my good friends from back home threw for me on Saturday.


Ann, Ashli, Ronda, Michele, Farrell:

Thanks again for the beautiful shower. The food was great, the flowers were pretty, the cakes were delicious, the gifts were thoughtful!

...but the best thing about it were all the wonderful people who helped celebrate Jaxson's life with us! Thanks to you all. It meant so much to us!

I want to also thank dear sweet Amanda Jackson Borens who has been come back into my life like a ray of sunshine and who, even through her own tribulations of late, managed to be there in spirit....and sending the adorable bee hive hat for Jaxson didn't hurt either!

I have to say, one of my favorite things about the shower were the kids. Abbi, Ava, Dylan, Cora and Major: Thanks for making me laugh! Sweet sweet kiddos!!

Also, we lost a friend that day...Henry, you were a good dog. I really really liked you a lot. I'm very sad you are gone.

I will follow up with a post about Jaxson.

Bottle and Breast Feeding

Yesterday I got to bottle feed my son for the first time ever. It was amazing. He was a champ. He didn't have any problems breathing at all....didn't drop his heart rate and didn't gulp or choke. He did everything right.

His Doctor called late in the afternoon to discuss what we will do today and I went to bat for getting Jaxson on the breast asap. I don't want him getting used to the bottle. I want him to know that his mother is number 1!~~~~

and he said OK, let's try tomorrow at 12:30pm. I'm gearing up for that now, but just wanted to say that yesterday was the most special day of my life, besides the day Jaxson was born and I've never been more proud or in love with another human
being !!

Here are the pics from Jaxson's feed yesterday. He was concentrating so hard. It was wonderful!!!!

Big Boy Beds and Bottles

Hi Everyone,

I apologize for not updating the blog sooner. It's been hectic around the house. There wasn't a lot to report in the last few weeks. Jaxson was just growing!

He's 6 lbs. now and 17+ inches long. A huge leap from the 2 lb. 5 oz., 13.4" on March 31st!!

The last time I updated, he was on the nasal canula, but only for about 2 days. He was not tolerating it well, so his Doctor put him back on CPAP. He lost a few ounces over that. They wanted to try again about a week later....and did....and he's been on it ever since and has been doing remarkably well. Very few A's and B's and pretty far between. They also moved him to a smaller bay with babies who need less attention. He's been there for several weeks.

The two weeks (35 to 36 weeks gestational age; he's 69 days old today) have been very exciting. He's been more alert, eating more, gaining weight, rooting sucking on his passi, smiling, opening his eyes and looking at things, and tooting up a storm. I never knew babies could rip like that! It's quite funny.

THE TUBES ARE OUT OF HIS MOUTH AS OF TWO NIGHTS AGO!!!!! HIS FEEDING TUBE IS NOW GOING THROUGH THE NOSE, SO HIS CHIN IS NOT TAPED ANYMORE AND I CAN SEE HIS MOUTH!!!! BEST THING EVER! Weeeeeeeee!!!!

I gave him a bath last night.... He likes it (I can't wait to give him a bath in the cool tub I picked out...someone please get that for him!!!). He gets all frisky after a bath!!

Afterwards, I changed his diaper and got him a clean outfit, then swaddled him...he was flailing and stressed after all that action and it was time to eat. The nurse hooked up his feed and I gave him his passi (a move the speech therapists want me to do when I'm there to encourage him to learn that sucking on something can make him feel full). He went to town on the passi like I've never seen him do and I've been noticing that when I hold him near my chest that he kind of makes a half-hearted root motion. I noticed that he was doing something with his hand, so I moved the blanket down a bit and he was holding the passi in his mouth with his hand! It was such a great thing to see....a new milestone.

His night nurse was wondering why he hadn't been moved to a crib and I mentioned that it was talked about a couple of weeks ago and someone was supposed to be getting him one, but nothing ever came of it. She said there were some newly cleaned ones sitting in the hallway, so she went and got one and we moved him over. I was so happy. It was a good night for the boy.

This morning, I was home getting ready to go to see him when his primary nurse called and said he was doing great and that they had bottle fed him for 10 minutes. She said he had done pretty well....just a couple of dips in heart rate, and some gulping, but otherwise it went fine.

I'm going to bottle feed him tomorrow at 12:30!!! I'm so excited. This is the beginning of the end of his hospital stay. I am feeling really optimistic that he'll be coming home on or before his due date. We'll see!!

I will update again tomorrow after the feed. I haven't spoken with the speech therapist who will be working with me tomorrow...so I'll get the feeding plan and post that too. I do know that as of now, the plan is to bottle feed for a short time once a day, so we don't wear him out and then move up from there....I'm the speed at which we move on that will be totally up to him and how well he tolerates the feeds. So, cross your fingers (and toes), pray, meditate, whatever, that he gets it quickly and can come home soon!

Jeff and I would like to thank Miss Jessica K.W.W. Kraybill for the incredibly gorgeous and perfect HERB THEMED shower she pulled off, herself. It was a feat of feats. I really could not have asked for better! She made my favorite, RIBS, potato salad, cole slaw, deviled eggs, lemon and cucumber water, lemon-thyme cakes, herbed almonds and the most gorgeous POOFS a girl could ever dream on! It was all delicious and beautiful!! She truly thought of every detail.

AND>>>ASHLI and her family showed up to surprise me! I still feel tingles!!!!
Pickle and his Lady Pickle ( I need more cow bell!), Ann, Bill and Kathy, Randall and Jo, for making the journey from Brownwood and Dallas

Jenny Bond for providing the fun activity of customizing onesies for Jaxson....they are so funny!!

And to everyone for the lovely gifts...although your presence was the best gift of all!


Thanks to all of you who came out and celebrated with us! It means more to us than any thank you card could ever say! We feel so loved and in turn love you all right back!!!



Enjoy the pics of the party and of Jaxson.

LOVE, LERVE, LUFF