Week 1

Jackson Patrick Walters has been a surprise from conception so his birth should have been no less of a surprise I guess. On Wednesday, November 11, my water broke at 3:30PM and Jackson was born at 12:42 AM on November 12, 2009. He weighed 5 lbs 15 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. He was born at 34 weeks so his lungs were not ready to work on their own.

Jackson had to be put on several different respiratory machines. We are finally on what I call "old man oxygen" because I can never remember the name. He is breathing on his own and is just getting a little flow to help him keep his lungs open.

The latest "surprise" was jaundice. So, he is on a bili blanket and has two bili lights. His level had decreased from 17 to 10 in less than 24 hours so we expect that he will be off the lights by Wednesday morning.

He is getting 6 mL of mommy milk every 3 hours and is tolerating the feedings better now that the ventilator is not down his throat. These are considered "trophy feedings." We are just trying to get his digestive tract to function on its own. Hopefully, we will start bottle feedings in the next two to three days.

Drew let Jackson have Drew's very first Auburn T-shirt to use as a blanket. It is so holey that I can not wash it anymore for fear of disintegration. I bet it will become Jackson's security blanket.

We got to hold Jackson for the first time on Monday night. It was precious. We both slept a lot better. He loves to have his butt patted. It calms him right down. We read to him each morning and evening. We cannot wait to have our little man at home!