6 weeks old

Sorry for the delay between postings but I'm sure you have an idea of why I might not have too much time on my hands these days :)

Jackson is 6 weeks old today and is doing pretty well overall - he weighed 6 lbs 14 oz at his doctor's visit on Tuesday which is just awesome. However, he is still anemic and is bordering on having severe anemia at this point. Basically, he has two things going on - anemia of prematurity (which anemia is common in babies in general but usually their numbers begin to level off and go back up by 6-8 weeks of age) and he also is dealing with hemolytic disease of the newborn .. which is just a fancy way of saying that he and I have different blood types. When he was born, some antibodies that I made because of this passed on to him and basically attacked his red blood cells. So these two things together are causing his red blood cell count to continue to decline. They did another blood test on Tuesday and his numbers had dropped to 7.5 and 22 (they like them to be around 11 and high 20's at the least).

Even though he hasn't had any major symptoms, he will need a blood transfusion regardless if his second number gets to a 20 or below. They also did another blood test (they had to draw it from his little arm) and they should be calling with the results of that hopefully today. That test will tell them if the iron drops, multivitamins and formula with iron are actually working in terms of helping his anemia even though his numbers aren't indicating anything yet. We want his number to be high on this test .. either the doctor or the nurse will call with the results once they are in. I'm praying it's today.

Jackson has been a little bit more fussy, hasn't eaten as much as he has been (just since yesterday afternoon and he's been eating like a champ) and he's been quite sleepy, all of which are symptoms of anemia. BUT it's really hard to tell if it's just him being him or if it's related to the anemia directly. I'm trying really hard not to make symptoms up :) I don't want to be paranoid, but at the same time if he is exhibiting any symptoms, he'll also get the transfusion regardless.

So if you would, please pray for him and for us. That his numbers will plateau and then begin to increase again over the coming weeks and for us that we'll be wise in discerning whether he really is showing symptoms or if he's just being himself. Obviously, his weight gain is a great thing - the doctor said that the first symptom is usually lack of appetite. And since he's gained another 10 ounces this past week, we are encouraged about that. We just really don't want him to have to have a blood transfusion. But if it becomes necessary, then of course we'll do it.

Thanks for praying :) We appreciate it very much! I'll try to post more pictures soon - they are on the other computer.

Update

Jackson is doing well - we had another pediatrician appointment this week to check his hemoglobin levels. I can't remember if I mentioned before that he is anemic right now (really common in babies) and we're just having to go back to make sure that his numbers plateau and then begin to increase. He now weighs 6 lbs 4 oz - awesome, huh? He is growing and getting to where he is more alert during certain parts of the day. He's just a great little guy!

I went out to the store today and to run a couple of errands and I was surprised at how tired it made me. Guess I'm still not back to my normal self just yet. But shopping without coupons is torture anyway so maybe I'll just wait until I get my coupon book back to its prime. I had about 300 coupons that I had to throw in the recycling last week .. ugh. Seriously? I think I have three right now that aren't expired.

I have about 20 post ideas running around in my head, but time is sparse during the day when it's just me and Jackson here. I can't believe how fast the days go by. Hopefully I'll find some time to get my thoughts down on "paper".

Until then, I'll leave you with these pictures - a great guy, a great boy and a great doggie! Shoot, what more could a girl ask for? I am certainly blessed! And by the way, Justin is an incredible daddy :)

One month old in words ...

Dear Jackson,

You are one month old already! Your dad and I cannot believe how fast the past four weeks have flown by. You have already changed so much and are growing so fast. You are such a good baby and even though we've had a few rough nights, overall you are pretty easy going. You now weigh 5 pounds and 11 ounces and have grown 1 1/2 inches in length. Some of your outfits are too short already!

You keep us on a pretty good schedule, but here lately you've been wanting more to eat than usual so you must be going through a growth spurt. We're so thankful! We still have not been able to take you out to meet people, but several more weeks and you should be able to greet the masses. Well, okay, maybe not the masses because I'm a little bit particular, but still you should be able to get out and about with us so we can show you off just a bit!

You like to lay on your dad or I's chest after you have eaten and sometimes you don't like it when we lay you down in your own bed. Other times you don't mind, so it must depend on your mood. You make all kinds of facial expressions, which I think you inherited from me. You have your dad's forehead and chin. We are anxious to see who you end up looking like as you get older.

You make more grunting noises than any baby I have ever been around. The first night we had you home we got absolutely no sleep because we thought something was wrong. Now we know it's just your thing and not to worry. You are getting so much stronger and can lift your head up really well. You love it when Daddy reads the Shawn Michaels story (yes, Shawn Michaels the wrestler) and when Mommy sings worship songs to you. We're so proud!

You are opening your eyes more and more and starting to be able to focus just a little on us when we feed you. You constantly look as if you are smiling at us - it might just be a reflex at this point, but we'll take what we can get.

We love you more than you will ever know and are so glad that God gave you to us. We are learning every day how to take better care of you.

One funny thing (among so many) - you have peed in your face more times than I care to admit. Bless your heart! We are so sorry .. we are learning that you have to be quick, quick, quick with the diaper changing!

We pray you always know how much we love you! We can't wait to see what God has in store for your life as you grow.

Love,
Mommy

One month old in pictures ...

Teeny Tiny Post ...

to let you know that we made it home with Jackson. And it's good to be home with him. A little nerve racking, but hey, isn't that every new parent? We'll update as we have time.