My name is [Jack Henry]

Happy Father's Day, Grampa B!

2008-06-14T19:01:00.001-05:00

Jack Henry enjoys a nice pat on and rub of the back from his Grampa B after he eats his evening bottle.

Truly a peaceful moment as JH is being soothed and comforted. You can see how he has nestled his head on his grandfather's shoulder. :)

Jack Henry goes shopping

2008-06-14T14:08:00.000-05:00

While Daddy gets coffee-break time, JH is watching people ride the escalator at the Galleria. Feeding time soon will come once the bottle warms in the hot water from the coffee shop.

(Some may think that Daddy likes to feed JH at the mall because he gets a coffee too when asking for hot water to warm the milk, but Daddy says the benevolence of my heart causes him to feed JH... Coffee is just an added benefit!)

Jack Henry whispered to the writer of this blog that he's not a fan of shopping unless it's for him or for Daddy to get cool electronic toys. ;)

Oh la la, mon petit chou!

2008-06-13T09:09:00.002-05:00

Just because Grampa and Gramma White are in Europe and Granny Pereira is in Hawaii, it doesn't mean that Jack Henry can't have his own worldly adventure!

Today, it's France (La Madeleine) for JH... Tomorrow it may be another country such as Mexico (Los Cucos) or Vietnam (My Le) or Louisiana (Pappadeux).

Viva la France!

Such a good boy!

2008-06-09T10:16:00.001-05:00

Although JH was not a big fan of eating half-dead viruses, he managed real well when taking his 4-month vaccine booster shots.

And his fortune is...

2008-06-03T20:52:00.000-05:00

Jack Henry's fortune cookie says..

"The time is right to make new friends." :)

How am I supposed to use these chopsticks?

2008-06-03T20:21:00.001-05:00

JH has yet to quite master the art of eat with chopsticks.

Hey son, make sure to take out your fortune before eating your fortune cookie... and add the phrase "in my crib" to the end of your fortune as well.

Where's my cold drink and remote control?

2008-06-03T16:29:00.000-05:00

Jack Henry has discovered the pleasures of his Gramma White's lounge chair, but he's wondering why no one will let him use the TV remote control.

A man on the town...

2008-05-16T22:23:00.000-05:00

Jack Henry is enjoying the beautiful and cool evening by going out to dinner up in The Woodlands. Since he was eating out on the patio, nothing says 'baby chic' such as a handmade Indian copper-tone pashmina shawl.

Daddy and Uncle Earl says the weather is perfect for JH, but Momma wins out to keep him warm.

Prepping for his MRI

2008-04-26T09:16:00.002-05:00

We're back at Memorial Hermann for Jack Henry to get an MRI of his left eye. His opthamologists (Dr. Hintner and Dr. Wittenberg) want to find out what's going on with his left eye.

We're hoping for the best, but it's always an anxious time when you're talking about sedating a newborn and putting through a lengthy (and not quiet) exam. In the least, the exam shouldn't be too taxing on him since it's non-invasive and the nurses and techs have been great so far.

The harder logistical challenge is that JH has to go NPO (without food or drink) for an extended period of time. His last feeding was at 9:30AM and he may not be able to eat until 2PM or later, which would be longest stretch for him by far.

UPDATE: The radiologist didn't see anything really acute or anything to be alarmed about or the doctor would have requested another doctor's consult or to have JH admitted immediately.

UPDATE #2: According to JH's pediatrician, nothing showed up on the MRI to be concerned about. We're waiting for further feedback or confirmation from his opthamologists. :)

Stylin' and profilin'

2008-04-26T09:04:00.002-05:00

Jack Henry had a consult today with Dr. Wittenberg as referred by Dr. Hittner. Dr. Hittner is the foremost expert in pediatric opthamology in North America and it's a luxury to have access to her talents through the Memorial Hermann NICU as she is also a professor with the UT-Houston med school. Dr. Wittenberg is an expert in infectious ocology and other "rare" things, which you will read in a moment to understand why we were referred to her.

Dr. Hittner performed her post-NICU discharge on Monday as she is following a hemorrage in his left eye near the macula.

Originally during Dr. Hittner's initial exam when JH was one month old, she saw a slight tear (hemorrage) in the upper part of the left eye that looked like it was in the process of resolving itself as the blood was dry in the area. In her first follow-up when JH was two months old, Dr. Hittner observed that the original hemorrage was resolved, but a new one (or one that may have been previously obscured by the original hemorrage) appeared close to the macula. While these hemorrages are expected to self-resolve by the tear site closing up and healing, it's possible that damage can occur. The macula is what provides acuity of our vision (i.e. whether we see 20/20 or not). This new hemorrage was tentatively diagnosed as a perimacula or peripapallery.

As a result of this assessment, the main concern from the new hemorrage was that Jack Henry may have some loss of vision (mainly depth perception and possibly not being able to get the vision in the left eye better than 20/70 even with corrective lens). This possible vision impairment would be related to the natural progression of how the eyes develop or mature after birth. For example, if one eye had something temporarily impact focusing and general vision, then the brain would compensate to strengthen the other eye, which may or may not be a permanent imbalance in vision between the two eyes.

Ahhh, so now we're finishing up with Dr. Wittenberg. Dr. Hittner sent us for a consult with Dr. Wittenberg because there was concern as to what may be floating in the viscous part of the eye (the jelly-like area or the main body of the eye). The object floating in the eye looked similar to a possible parasite - thankfully, it was NOT that - which could have been a source of the new hemorrage. Instead, it appears that the object in the viscous is just a large (relatively-speaking) clump of dried blood.

Yet, it appears that there may be fresh blood trailing down near the optic nerve. Fortunately, according to Dr. Wittenberg the macula looks good and the optic nerve appears not to be swollen or irritated.

Due to the fresh blood though, both doctors are concerned as to where the source of this small bleeding may be since it is not appearing in a place that they would expect.. As a result, Jack Henry is having an MRI of his eyes ordered for him.

Poor little guy - he handles all of the poking and prodding so well. He's quite the chilled out kid. Yet, having people put there fingers in his eyes to give him the dilation drops is hard on him. Honestly, every doctor and nurse is gentle, but the eye drops are not his favorite thing in the least. With the MRI, Jack Henry will be sedated, so we'll have to how that works out for him. Hopefully, a simple diagnosis will be easily found so that we can stop worrying.

*#*#*#*#*

Oh - as for the picture... his eyes were dilated again and the lights in the building were bright as well as the outside, so what do you do, but get the cool shades from the doc?

If a picture is worth 1,000 words ...

2008-04-21T17:13:00.004-05:00

... then the following link is worth at least 2,629,000 words and counting!

Yes, all of the pictures from Jack Henry's 65 days in the NICU as well as his time since coming home have been uploaded to our new SmugMug site. You can get to the pictures through either of the following links:

http://www.stephenrwhite.com
http://stephenrwhite.smugmug.com

We will also begin loading the rest of our family pictures and videos to SmugMug so that we can reminisce over the carefree and plentiful-sleep PK days (PK = pre-kid). ;)

Note: If you see a picture that you like, you can actually order a copy of that picture for a cost 19 cents. I have not personally done this yet, so let me know in the comments if it works out well for you.

I'm a chunky little teapot, short and stout

2008-04-21T10:09:00.002-05:00

Now announcing this morning's heavyweight fight...

In this corner, weighing in at a hefty 7 pounds 5 ounces and 20 inches tall, Jack "Attack" Henry White!!!

And in the opposite corner, his parents, who in their most recent bout lost to sleep deprivation.

This should be a quick K.O. by Jack Henry, but we'll see if the tag-team duo of Elaine "Delivering the Pain" and Stephen "Kinda Even" can match the endurance and power of JH.

#*#*#*#

Yup, as you can above - JH has put on another 10 ounces and a 1/4 inch over the last week.

Whew! He's growing!

Mmm... coffee

2008-04-14T10:57:00.002-05:00

JH likes a Triple Venti Nonfat Halfwhip Double Pump Upside-down Caramel Macchiato with EBM* to chase down his bottle feeding.

(*EBM = expressed breast milk)

Yums!

First Starbucks experience

2008-04-14T10:27:00.002-05:00

JH has finished his doctor's appointment with flying colors and now he gets his first Starbucks experience. Ha!

Or at least his parents do!

First doctor's appointment

2008-04-14T09:26:00.002-05:00

JH is getting his first check-up this morning. We didn't want to scare another doctor, so no big camera pix (only camera phone).

Yet, Jack Henry is becoming a chunky monkey as he weighed in at 6 lbs 11 oz and his length remained the same (19 3/4 inches). I suppose we are going to be weened off of the metric system for he measurements. ;)

And if Jack Henry is going to visit his doctor, he can at least enjoy the view from his appointment room... time to watch the LifeFlight helicopter take off!

Jack Henry arrives home (safely)!

2008-04-09T17:48:00.002-05:00

JH is home now and the cats have no idea what to think! :)

Jack Henry has left the building

2008-04-09T16:16:00.002-05:00

Time to go home!

Instead of goodbye, Jack Henry and his parents say "Until we see you again soon (over wine and dinner!)" to our wonderful NICU friends.

Since my Daddy's not been posting lately...

2008-04-04T15:54:00.003-05:00

Whew!

My parents have been looking a little bit long in the tooth lately. I suppose that must mean that I need to hurry up and finish my time up in the NICU soon.

The biggest indication that it's time for me to go is the lack posting on the blog here. My Daddy and I have discussed numerous blog topics and I know that he's worked on many of them, but alas, nothing has happened recently. My suspicion is that my Mommy and Daddy are either staying up way too late by hanging out with me in the NICU until near about midnight each night or all of the new activities that I'm doing is now part of their responsibility to take care... like feeding me and changing me and burping me.

As a matter of fact, at times, I wonder if they're the ones who need a warm bottle, a burp and a nap.

Well since today is my 2 month birthday, when my Daddy was resting his eyes (like he says), I snuck over and borrowed his camera. Darn thing is heavy, but I figured out how to use it to take the picture below and post this image for you. Hopefully, more posts will come, but that may be the biggest mystery next to when I may be coming home.

PS: Trust me - it's not easy to set up the camera, turn on the timer, scamper back to my bed, reswaddle and pose for the said picture within 15 seconds, but I managed just for you!

Jack Henry - a retrospective (part 2 in a series)

2008-03-06T23:08:00.000-06:00

As explained in an earlier post, we are posting compilation pictures to see the changes in Jack Henry.

This most recent set of pictures cover Jack Henry's second week of life. :)

And the campaign goes on...

2008-03-06T15:51:00.001-06:00

Fare well, ye running mate of mine.

Yes, my good friend and Vice Presidential Candidate, Avery, is leaving the Rabbit A/B pod today. She has been called away to more important work in using her fiscal expertise to assist the Federal Reserve in addressing monetary policy issues.

Nonetheless, our power ticket of Jack Henry and Avery will proceed on in our determination to lead the way for the emanicipation of babies everywhere and especially in the Rabbit A/B pod.

Even though Avery has left the NICU at the request of our government, she has pledged her support toward our ticket as a sign of solidarity with you, our future consituents.

As pictured with her loyal entourage (aka "parents"), she has already been engaged in some additional projects beyond strengthening the U.S. dollar in that she has begun designs to reconstruct a major north-south thoroughfare in west Houston as well as to compose a new ballet. Quite the diverse talent!

Yet, in case you are considering our opponent, Jo hil bar, just remember with whom you may be placing your future! In case you have forgotten, I have included a recent picture of the opposition candidate as a reminder.

Jack Henry - a retrospective (part 1 in a series)

2008-03-05T04:01:00.006-06:00

You have witnessed Jack Henry's first days and weeks pass by in words and pictures, but over the next few blog posts, we are going to put up a a compliation picture to see how much he has grown over the weeks.

This is the first of such pictures in an ongoing series and it covers the first seven days of his life in sequence from top-to-bottom.

Click the picture to see all seven pictures enlarged to normal size.

NOTE: Many of the pictures in these compilations have not been posted to the blog before.

The plan is to post these compilations on a periodic basis. In putting together the above picture set, it was striking to remember how significantly he has changed in such a short period of time.

While it has been scary to have Jack Henry come early, in many ways due to the remarkable prenatal and neonatal care that we have received, his early life and development has gone relatively smooth.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

If you have spoken to me in person recently, you have heard me say it - yet, here it is again: I feel strongly that having Jack Henry delivered early has been an incredible gift in that we have received a sneak preview that most everyone has to wait patiently and anxiously for. He has changed in ways that we would have never experienced if he were still in the womb. This is a small part of what makes his presence so special to his still-developing parents, but it is time that we will never forget. ;)

Learning the 4 Rs

2008-03-04T23:07:00.009-06:00

Jack Henry has been learning the 4 important Rs. Of course, everyone knows what these are ... Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic and Rhythmic gymanistics.

Today, we will examine one of these Rs with a photo or two. Since the selection of which 'R' wasn't put up for vote, we're going to cover reading.

As Jack Henry has already exhibited, he can be a semi-prolific blogger, which covers the R of wRiting.

Yet, in case you were wondering where he receives his inspiration for his writing, you have to realize the Elaine reads to him quite often.

While the topics of which Jack Henry has been versed cover the current events of the day to various economic issues, some of Jack Henry's favorite reading materials come right from the NICU library, compliments of the Child Life coordinators. He has done a marvelous job of coaxing his Momma into reading from many, various tomes. In particular, he is a devout reader of educational books.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

On a mildly serious and responsible note... yes, you are still reading the same blog about Jack Henry. :) As Jack Henry is unable to hear the weekly readings at Mass, we have read these to him each Sunday since he was born as we packed a Sunday Missal with us to the hospital.

As you can see, we did happen to use the Sunday Missal as a backdrop in the picture of the crocheted booties. Yes, I'm sure that this will be covered during the next confession with Fr. John. At least, there is proof that we brought this to the hospital for Jack Henry's use and ours. ;)

Nonetheless, it just so happens that the Gospel reading from this past Sunday (4th of Lent) seemed to capture an aspect of being in the hospital. In the Gospel of According to John, the story of Jesus healing the blind man is retold. The story starts off innocently as Jesus's disciples ask Jesus why the man that they had just passed was blind - was this the result of the man's or his parents' sin? This was a common thought in Jesus's time as well in the centuries following his earthly ministry ... and perhaps even until today. Yet, Jesus points out that the man's blindness is not related to sin, but in fact an opportunity for God's providence to shine through the man's pain and suffering. Jesus heals this man lack of sight through the man's faith as this also hastens Jesus's own fate to the cross as a result of this public display of ministry and healing.

While we have struggled with the aspect and challenges of Elaine and I desiring to have a child of our own, we became quite reminded how so many gifts have been given to us during our several months of hospital time in having Jack Henry. The struggle of his life coming to be has given us the wealth of new respect for the dedication and care of medical professionals as well as many new friends that we have such deep respect for in how they helped us in our journey. This is truly a current blessing that we would not so richly treasure if it weren't for the heavy burden that we needed help carrying.

I'm #1

2008-03-04T12:23:00.001-06:00

Hello, all. It's been an eventful past month, but I've managed to survive in spite of my parents.

So, yes - today, I'm #1... well, I have officially turned one month old today!

Yea me! :)

Sure, these parents of mine scare the pooh out of me without a doubt, but they're turning out to be not so bad.

They seem to be around all of the time, which is cool, but I do find that it kinda crimps my style with the ladies.

Cheers to being #1. I can't wait until I'm really old ... like those 3 year olds. Wow - they're practically ancient!

How to make a baby burrito

2008-03-03T23:22:00.000-06:00

Look out Martha Stewart, today we are going to learn how to make a baby burrito.

Here's the ingredients for your shopping list:
1 small baby
1 medium-sized warm square blanket
1 small hat
2 gentle hands
1 heaping cup of patience
2 squirts of Purell
1 pinch of help

Step 1: Find your baby.

Step 2: Apply Purell liberally on your hands to sanitize.

Step 3: Take your warm blanket and fold the top corner over a quarter of the way down. Now, you will ask that "your pinch of help" to hold up the baby so that you can lay down the blanket under him / her with the folded-over corner underneath the baby's upper back.

Step 4: As the blanket has been placed like a diamond under the baby, pull the left side of the blanket over the baby and tuck in under the baby gently. Now, take the bottom of the blanket and pull it up towards the baby. Finally, pull the right side of the blanket up over the bottom part of the blanket that you just pulled up and tuck it under the left shoulder of the baby. Place appropriately-sized hat on the baby's head. (Yes, the example pictures skip this part - sneaky, sneaky!)

Step 5: Remember to have the baby's hands brought up towards the baby's face in the burrito wrap as this is good for the baby developmentally-speaking.

Step 6: Now, have your "pinch of help" hold the baby while you make a karate chop motion over the baby burrito.

Step 7: Ignore step 6. Hopefully, you read all of these instructions in full before starting to make your baby burrito.

Step 8: Examine the quality of your baby burrito.

Step 9: Have the baby admire you for your skills in wrapping.

Step 10: Ignore the first 9 steps and call a nurse for help. :)

33 weeks young

2008-03-03T18:25:00.002-06:00

Jack Henry keeps plumping up as he progresses in age and today he has turned a ripe 33 weeks old (gestationally-speaking again), which is also known as being 4 weeks old.

Thanks for the shirt, Me-maw. I use this as a reminder for Jack Henry every weekend. It's part of his task list that we post-it note to his isolet. Ha!

As he's getting bigger, Jack Henry is working on feeding and growing and growing and feeding ... in essence, no dieting for him these days. :)

Jack Henry was stunned to hear that once again, he missed out on the cupcake celebration for his weekly birthday.

Yet, he went back to sleep once he realized that he'll get the good stuff in the breastmilk eventually!

A stylin' wrap

2008-03-02T19:27:00.008-06:00

Jack Henry has gotten all dressed up in his finest duds today, but the latest fashion in the NICU to complete a baby's evening attire is swaddling.

This style comes straight from the catwalks of Milan to you by our very own fashion correspondent / model, J. H. White.

J. H., please describe who you're wearing this evening.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Thanks, Stephen.

Tonight, I'm wearing a snow white, light fleece made of the finest vicuña wool. Notice the hand-stitched edging that adds panache, but a subtle refinement. As demonstrated in the pattern, you can clearly see the degree of mastery in the cutting and fusing by the migrant workers from Shēnzhèn. You can only pay top pennies per hour for this type of dedication.

Also, the designer comes from the studio of Dwell as part of line found exclusively at Tar-jay of Beverly Hills. These fleeces generally retail for upwards of $9.99 for three.

You can see how the fleece accentuates the sage green trimming of my body suit. This really brings out the yellow-green of the turtles of my onesie. This is truly all the rage!

Back to you, Stephen.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Thanks, J. H.

In our next upcoming fashion segment - nose tubes: how can you stylize your tegaderm tape in this season's colors.

Getting dressed up with no place to go

2008-03-02T15:22:00.000-06:00

Jack Henry has gotten to the point where he is old enough and big enough (from a weight perspective) where he gets to try to regulate his own body temperature. This is one of his next, big milestones.

Until now, Jack Henry has had his body temperature regulated by his bed. In essence, the bed would be set at temperature of 36.5 celsius and Jack Henry would follow along. If his temperature dipped below a prescribed level, the bed, like a pizza oven, would warm him up. Since he's so deep dish, he never got too crusty - ok, ok, I think that I need to go eat dinner now.

Ahh, better finish up this post quick, so here we go. Instead of the bed warming and cooling him to a certain level, the bed is switched to a different setting with a lower temperature and his body is supposed to keep himself warm. He should be able to do this as he is almost 1,500 grams now. Gradually, the bed is being reduced in temperature by 0.5 celsius increments from 33.0 celsius with an end result of 28.0 celsius (close to room temperature).

In doing so, he gets to wear clothes (onesies). Additionally, we will swaddle him when he is taken out of the isolet for non-nurtitive sucking or kangaroo care.

The end goal is for Jack Henry to regulate his temperate so that he can go from the isolet to an open crib. This will most likely happen when he is at 1,800 grams.

After he achieves this, his next (and hopefully final) task will be able to breastfeed and bottle feed all of his meals (i.e. no feeding tube).

The feeding tube - in slow motion

2008-03-01T20:36:00.001-06:00

Here are the pictures from the replacement of Jack Henry's feeding tube. As mentioned in the previous post, his tube was switched from the mouth to the nose. This is being done to help clear the pathway in the mouth for breastfeeding.

For the grandmas in the audience, Jack Henry was fine during this whole little process. He squinted his eyes and furrowed his brow just like you would if someone were to placing something in your nose. He didn't cry and as you can see, he was totally cool at the end and back to sleep.

First off, the nurse measures the length of the tube that needs to be inserted so it properly reaches his stomach. (Note the numbers on the tube.) Otherwise, the tube eithers ends in his esophagus (too short) or in his intestines (too long). Also, the nurse will check at the end to make sure the tube went into the stomach rather than in the lungs.

The measurement process is to stretch the tube across his face from the mouth to the ear and then from the ear along his chest to the stomach.

Then, thread the tube through the nose on down to the belly!

See - happy baby at the end!

An unobstructed view

2008-03-01T13:54:00.002-06:00

Jack Henry was due to have his feeding tube replaced today. His orogastric tube is being replaced by a nasogastric tube. Translation: the tube that went through the mouth directly to the stomach is now being replaced with a tube that is threaded through the nose directly to the stomach. More pictures on that in a minute.

In the interim, here are some quicky shots of him without anything on his face so as to help you judge who he looks like.

After the head shave, I think he looks like former Houston Rocket / current TNT announcer, Jon Barry.

Oh, to be born today

2008-02-29T23:29:00.002-06:00

When Elaine was first admitted into the hospital on January 4th, we were quite worried about what was to come. We didn't know if something eminent was about to happen with our son about to be delivered or not. So many things were flying at us so, so quickly.

Actually, we had just found out a little more than a week prior to expect a boy as Elaine's 20-week ultrasound had errantly led us to expect a little girl, which, of course, would have been a great delight just the same.

(Note to prospective parents: before you run out and buy pink everything when you are told that you are expecting a little girl, please realize that the 20-week ultrasound is correct only 80% of the time. We didn't run out to purchase pink thingies, but with the timing of life, Christmas happened to be the Tuesday before the follow-up 24-week ultrasound. Surprise, surprise, surprise! Oh, and if you happen to be wishing and hoping for a little boy, you should visit this doctor as he has a knack for bringing 'em home as he has three sons himself!)

So lots and lots of things running around our little brains as we are trying to balance elation, anticipation, fear, anxiety, hope, and, aw shucks, just slip your own favorite five adjectives here.

Since we were told not to pass go and not to collect $200, we went to the triage station on the 5th floor at Memorial Hermann where we happened to meet a wonderful soul in Nurse Melissa. As with many things in life, we can look back and see where the Holy Spirit intervenes and provides answers to questions yet asked. Nurse Melissa was the perfect medicine of comfort, patience and understanding. Even when she stabbed (just kidding, Nurse Melissa!!!), er, gave Elaine a 2 1/2 inch-long needle of steriods to the bum, she was soothing and helpful. (FYI - the steriods shot was to help Jack Henry's lungs to mature earlier than normal, not for him to hit 72 homeruns in a season - but it couldn't hurt!)

On Elaine's second night in the hospital, a very frightening scream was let out by a woman in the next room to ours. We knew right away what had happened as this triggered a flood of memories from the premature loss of our daughter four years prior.

With her mind focused on the desire to bring a child home, never once did Elaine complain during her modified bed rest prior to admission to the hospital, much less during her hospital stay. Through the many, many drugs that lead to tiredness, inability to focus her eyes, acid reflux, muscle soreness, etc, Elaine did whatever was necessary for Jack Henry to proceed along in utero. Odd as the doctors may have felt it to be, Elaine plugged ahead with working after I set up a wireless network in her hotel, um, hospital room. ;) One wonderful nurse after another (Stephanie, Nancy, Christina, Lara, Liz, to name a few) took wonderful care of us by helping us get a mini-fridge in the room, a TV-DVD combo, extra pillows and eggcrate for her mattress.

The days and weeks ahead moved slowly, but steadily. (The wine and beer in the room helped - a lot! Seriously.) Soon enough a month passed and Jack Henry chose to show up on the scene.

While this seems to be a retrospective of the month of January, during Elaine's time in the hospital sitting on the egg, we prayed and hoped that Jack Henry would wait for his debut closer to his original due date of mid-April.

When it became apparent that the time horizon was shrinking for the big day, I spoke with Dr. Cook about how great it would be for Jack Henry to be born on February 29th. Elaine didn't seem to agree with Dr. Cook and myself about the merits. To think, no one would ever forget his birthday, he would always have a built in ice breaker - loads of fun!

Obviously, it wasn't to be - no matter how much I tried to bribe the birth certificate people to make a slight change. Ha! Dr. Cook said that many parents prefer not to be born on a leap day.

This is my question to all of you - would you prefer to be born on a leap day or would you allow your child to be born February 29th? And if so, would you go the route of celebrating the birthday quadrennially or shift the date plus or minus one day?

Happy leap day!

2008-02-29T18:55:00.001-06:00

Just a couple of snaps to post when we were changing out Jack Henry's bed.

He has been progressing well and is now considered Level 2 status, even though the doctors and nurses are cool with letting us remain in a Level 3 pod. This provides us the benefit of getting the 2 babies to 1 nurse ratio in Level 3 rather than going to 4-to-1 in Level 2.

Consequently, Jack Henry's bed was switched out partly because the warming system was not working properly and he was ready to move into a bed that does pop the lid for instant access (useful in cases of intibation or other invasive procedures). The equipment here at Memorial Hermann is top notch. I can't imagine going any place else as we have been very spoiled.

I personally blame the medical staff for our spoiling - yes, Dr. Ursula, Nurse Ashley, Nurse Amy, Nurse Kelli, Nurse Ashley (there are a lot of y'all), Nurse Erin, amongst many others. I sleep much better at night knowing that I don't have to take responsibility for you spoiling us!

Going bald! (Act 2 of a close shave)

2008-02-29T10:40:00.001-06:00

Jack Henry's mohawk lasted all of a few minutes. It will interesting years from now if he posts picturs of himself getting another mohawk... let's hope not.

Now, a father-son moment that you are privy too...

Son, if you are reading this entry twenty years from now and thinking about rebelling with a mohawk or robotic appendage or piercing in your skull (whatever the future may hold), let me rule out the head shave. You are a handsome young man, but let's just agree that you're head isn't shave worthy. If you go naturally bald, then so be it. Yet, if you are thinking about shaving down to a mohawk or shaving it all off, trust me, you will quickly lose your status as the ladies man. Try to rebel with the robotic appendage - that would be cool and useful!

Without further ado, my son's head is shaved (gently though)...

... and yes, we did keep his hair and, no, you can't have it to make a voodoo doll.

Getting a true mohawk (Act 1 of a close shave)

2008-02-28T21:50:00.000-06:00

Since Jack Henry got sidewalled due to a new IV site, he has finished his need for IVs as he is getting all of his nutrition through breastmilk and now fortified breastmilk.

Interesting fact: breastmilk contains 20 calories per ounce (30 ccs or 30 mls in an ounce). Fortification can add 20% to 50% more calories. Currently, Jack Henry is getting 20% fortification which brings his calories up to 24 calories per ounce.

As he is getting fed 28 ccs per feeding, the math says that he is getting 180 calories per day due to his eight feedings (every three hours). That's barely a couple of french fries, right?

In any case, without the need for IV sites, we are moving forward with cleaning up the bad haircut from before.

It's been funny to get loads and loads of advice on how to clean up the haircut. No, we didn't put a poll on the blog for it since it would be non-binding anyway. :)

Yet, the doctors and nurses were encouraging us to go full-blown mohawk (notice that there's no faux in the description). Apparently, this is a common option. Another choice is to let the patch grow in, but there's no guarantee there in terms of when it will come in. So behind door #3 is the full monty, er, shave. We'll have to see where we end up...

FYI - Elaine got the final decision, but she was tolerant to let her first husband (i.e. the current one) to have a bit of fun along the way. Muchas gracias to the two Nurse Ashleys for doing the haircutting without a drop of blood. No nickes, scratches or cuts - pretty darn impressive!

Several pictures are worth a few words

2008-02-28T20:27:00.002-06:00

A quicky update filled with pictures of Jack Henry hanging out in his casa (aka isolet) with his buddy, Curious George...

When sucking at something is a good thing!

2008-02-28T17:27:00.009-06:00

As Jack Henry keeps waddling through the milestones, his new challenge to face is adjusting to the idea of breastfeeding.

Fortunately, he has already been cueing us to his interest by frequently sticking his tongue out at us. When we see this, we will provide him a soothie (pacifier) and he gets the premise of sucking pretty easily. By the way, the kid has a helluva tongue!

Time for a sidebar...

I've been told that there are three types of tongues in the world. Since I have put this forth as a hypothesis and researched it (by randomly asking people - don't ask!), this is science in the making. The three tongues: the butt tongue, the cow tongue and the Gene Simmons tongue. Jack Henry must be ready to join a rock band because he's working the KISS "I wanna rock all night and party everyday".

And now, the rest of the story...

Actually, the funniest aspect is to watch him attempt the trifecta of "suck, swallow, and breathe". This is a skill that his brain is developing. Thus, you can actually observe as he starts with the pacifier in his mouth and he sucks, sucks, sucks... then his eyes get wide-open and he looks around for a moment as if to think "hmmm, I think that I'm missing something here - oh yeah, breathe, breathe, breathe" and that's what he does. And like the instructions on your shampoo bottles, he just go into repeat mode until he tires out (also, similar to actually following those shampooing instructions - ha!).

Now, as he is mastering the pacifier, it is time to take Jack Henry through a bit of a challenge. Yup, non-nutritive sucking. He sort of describes the experience himself, but I will share a bit more.

The idea is that he will learn the association of going to the breast to find food. So Elaine will go pump first and then hold him against her breast. He will then try to learn how to latch on to the nipple and gets a slight taste of breastmilk. As he is only currently getting breastmilk delivered directly to his stomach via OG tube, he hasn't yet tasted breastmilk directly. When Elaine and the nurses time his three-hour feeding with the non-nutritive sucking, he gets the sensation of fullness in the stomach, while also tasting breastmilk with the true association of its source. (Until now, a complete mystery to him, huh?!?)

Over the next couple of weeks, he will build up his strength, skill (timing the sucking and breathing), and success in being able to breastfeed on his own.

Day 24 and my escape plans have been foiled once again...

2008-02-27T22:51:00.000-06:00

To all fellow babies in the NICU:

I have now been trapped in my clear cage now for 24 days. While my presidential campaign is off to a roaring start, the ladies in the smocks seem to mock me every three hours with their humiliating routine of stripping me naked to wipe my bare behind with a cold and wet cloth, sticking a cold probe that does God knows what in my arm pit, and then finally, they rotate me into a different positions even though I had been so comfortable before.

I would guess that the reason that these prison guards where clothes called smocks is because it actually is a shortened name for the practice of embarassing me in their creative manners - perhaps it stands for Shameless MOCKing.

They will rue the day when they started this game of torture! All I see out of them is laughter and I know that it's directed at me. Oh, the degradation!

Otherwise, my day in my cell has been the same as the other days in capitivity. First off, a warm plunge of some liquid substance is drained into my belly by the guards. I suspect that this is some sort of sleep serum as I always feel drowsy after imbibing it. Seemingly, they want me to sleep constantly as this drug is given to me every three hours. My only consolation is that I am able to strike some fear and revenge when my diaper is checked!

Today, although I had tried to escape through one of the hatches to my cage, it appears that the guards are on to my maneurs as they keep wedging me in to my bed with this dismembered arm.

Outside of the humiliation and torture that I have described above, I'm often visited by the same two familiar-looking people who don't seem to be part of the guard troops.

There is one who calls herself "Mommy" that looks really pretty and for some reason smells and sounds like I know her real well. I think that she may be the one that I escaped from over three weeks ago, but yet although she has returned in pursuit of me, I enjoy it immensely when she holds me and kisses my head. She must be playing mindtricks on me so that I will unknowingly trust her.

The other one is called "Daddy", but I'm never certain if that is actually him or not as he likes to hide behind his third eye. This is a clever disguise by him, but I will unmask him eventually. He shows up, but not as frequently as the woman aka "Mommy". He likes to smile at me in a mocking manner like the guards, but he appears mostly harmless. I am hopeful that he will seek mental attention by the guards as he seems quite goofy. In the least, I always feel relieved when the "Mommy" is with the "Daddy" since she makes me feel safe - again, the trickery!

Well, today was quite unusual. Instead of being released from my cage for being kangaroo'd, this "Mommy" held me differently. She still clenched me enough that I could not escape. Yet, this time, she held me in a comforting manner differently than before. When she brought me to rest on her skin, there was this pleasant tasting liquid there to sample. My suspicions were raised, but I was intoxicated by the experience and I was quite overwhelmed by all that was occuring. It seemed similar to the sleep serum that the prison guards have been thrusting upon me.

Occassionally, I would attempt to wiggle away, but I kept feeling compelled to return to the comfort, warmth and nourishment brought on only by this woman. It must be her soothing voice, or, no, some other wretched subliminal message that she coaxed into me while I slept in this womb of hers. Something, but I don't know quite what.

Eventually, I feel asleep... just as I thought that I can sneak away. Darn!

I'm just very thankful that this experience occurred with this "Mommy" creature rather than the "Daddy" fellow.

Allegedly, I hear rumors that these two along with some furry critters are my family.

I will relay another message soon after I achieve my escape!

Your comrade in arms,

Jack Henry

A new poll has been added

2008-02-27T20:54:00.001-06:00

We have a new poll that you, his friends and family, can vote in.

As you can see in the upper-left of the blog, you are able to determine who Jack Henry actually looks like.

In the past few weeks, you have seen him grow, run for president, get his haircut and much, much more.

So now as he develops, you can tell him who you think he resembles!

Let your voice be heard!

Also, even though Jack Henry appears to be comfortably in the lead in his presidential race, this poll remains open, so if you haven't voted, please be sure to do so!

He values every vote you give him ... although he doesn't value them enough to pay you for them (i.e. Chicago-style). Ha!

Taking your email questions

2008-02-27T18:22:00.001-06:00

You may wonder how Jack Henry is able to post to this blog. Now, you too can find out the truth through this unauthorized picture taken by a papa-razzo.

Due to other blackmail that we have on Jack Henry that we will save for when he gets married or elected, he has agreed to answer your questions in his blog.

If you have any questions, you can either add them in the comments section to this blog post or email them to him at jackhenrywhite[at]live[dot]com.

He will post his answers in a future post.

Unveiling of my campaign banner

2008-02-26T15:51:00.003-06:00

Howdy, future constituents!

I appreciate the support that you have offered in my charge to be the nominee for president of the Rabbit A/B pod. With your support, I will lead our pod in defeating the Evil Doers.

Their reign of terrorist through partial head shavings and IV sticks in the middle of the night is too much to tolerate.

Remember - we did not choose to go to war against them ... they choose to strike first!

Only united as one will we win against in this War on Needles!

My opponent, Jo hil bar, thinks that this issue should be resolved through rounds of meetings as well as updates to policies and procedures manuals! My opponent will be soft on the nurs-istas! My opponent is only full of compromises (and pooh)!

Yet, I, fair citizens, will hunt down those who have an issued a fatwa against us babies! I will not stop until this mission is accomplished!

Separated at birth?

2008-02-26T00:16:00.001-06:00

Although Jack Henry did get slightly de-monkey-ified with his first haircut / forehead shave, the reality is that he's a slightly hairy dude. :)

While this is completely normal, I sure enjoy having fun comparing him to another familiarly fury friend.

A quick note to appease those in the scientific community (and Elaine) that I'm not overly torturing my kid: the hair that is covering his body (um, especially his upper arms, back, shoulders, forehead (formerly), etc) is called lanugo. This is the hair that grows on babies in utero and is typically shed at 40 weeks of gestation. Since little Jack Henry decided to appear on the scene at 29 weeks, he's got a bit of time to knock the fur off. This hair functions as additional warmth until he builds up his needed fat deposits. Soon enough, this coarse, dark hair will be shed and replaced with the more commonly noticed vellus hair (peach fuzz).

Back to the point of this post, Jack Henry seems a bit separated at birth (but reunited in his isolet) to another certain little hairy creature. You can decide for yourself in this little retrospective set of pictures.

(By the way, Jack Henry's response when he first saw Curious George in his isolet was something along the lines of surprise, worry and fear mixed into one as his thoughts turned toward this large monkey coming to get him... perhaps his words would have been "Holy, Pooh!")

And with all due respect to PETA, no monkeys were harmed during the photographing in preparation of this post and this post was prepared in front of a live studio audience!

32 reasons why today is good!

2008-02-25T20:51:00.002-06:00

Another week, another milestone!

Today, little Jack Henry has reached the grand age of 3 weeks-old and, of course, 32 weeks-old gestationally-speaking.

He's still fuming a bit about the, er, hmm, haircut type thing that he received recently. You can tell by the sorrow in his eyes, right?

Let's just say that when you want your hair cut, don't request Shaky McGee! :)

Yet this fury is tempered by his love for cupcakes!

I have been butchered!

2008-02-25T17:47:00.001-06:00

My opponent's presidential campaign has reached a new LOW!

Late last night, my opponent sent his henchmen into my residence (isolet) to deface me and my campaign.

That is correct! The blatant destruction of my beautiful hair at the hands of these barber-arians is the last straw. I have tried to remain civil, but no longer will I tolerate such thuggery!

My sharp, presidential looks have been replaced with a sidewall and a mullet.

Just remember that a vote for my opponent, Jo hil bar, is a vote for tyranny!

First haircut, first faux-hawk

2008-02-24T15:21:00.009-06:00

Jack Henry's first haircut with the spike in the forehead lead to his first styling of hair.

Nurse Amy welcomed his haircut of the area between his eyebrows and hairline by saving his hair and incorporating it in the cute sign below. Yes, if you notice the description of where his hair was cut, essentially his forehead was shaved. I suppose this counts as a first haircut, but it does sound like a de-monkey-ifcation of my son. :)

As most of the nurses are multi-talented such as Nurse Amy's sign above or Nurse Kelli's sign, Nurse Ashley (one of the many nurses named Ashley) has a fall back job in the event that the whole nursing thing doesn't quite work out.

Yes, yes, Mr. Jack Henry got to use a little bit of product and he was styling. He was all rico sauve with his spikey hair as he could especially pull the look together when curled his lip.

And he's definitely singing for us like a rockstar with the new 'do!

We definitely know where to go to get future cuts!

More free, fun stuff on the worldwide web to test on Jack Henry's blog!

2008-02-24T01:58:00.005-06:00

New posts will be up soon, including recent pictures once I have a better Internet connection.

Yet, as a couple of you have noticed, you can click the "CALL ME" button at the upper left of the blog to leave Jack Henry a personal message.

So how in the world does this work?

I'm glad that you asked!

When you click the button, you will see the ability to type your name and phone number into the appropriate fields and once this is done the small CALL ME button lights up. Click this and you will suddenly get a phone call to the phone number that you typed into the line.

Yup! That's right! The computer (in essence) called you to leave a voice message. Crazy, huh?!?

Likewise, you can actually call (713) 568-5624 and this is free phone line dedicated to Jack Henry's blog. This software is in beta testing and is free from Grand Central if you have a blog. Since Grand Central is owned by Google, you have to love companies that don't mind giving cool technology away for free because they're loaded with cash. It's kind of the same deal with Microsoft allowing you to create an Office Live account, which allows to you reserve website names and associated email addresses for free (for a year at least)!

Since you read all the way down here about technology instead of what you came here for (the baby), I decided on sharing a sweet picture of mother and child above ... sneaky, sneaky.

Since you all have been good boys and girls...

2008-02-24T00:47:00.001-06:00

We have decided to take off the comment moderation on the blog since everything has been clean so far (other than what's actually written in the posts).

From here on out, you should notice that your comments will post to the respective blog immediately rather when we approve them.

Now remain on your best behavior so as to not make Jack Henry cry!

Ha ha ha ha ha!

Or as they say in Spanish "Ja ja ja ja ja!" Jack Henry is studying his Espanol to be bilingual too, but he only knows how to laugh in Spanish!

No longer full of ...

2008-02-23T22:48:00.001-06:00

Ahhhhh, the pooh envy can now end.

It's as if the Academy Awards came early... "and now the envelope for the recipient of Jack Henry's BM is: Nurse Ashley! Congratulations! This is Nurse Ashley third BM award and first-time as best supporting nurse."

Nurse Amy worked Jack Henry pretty well overnight to get the bowels to move and, in turn, Nurse Ashley got the full monty, er, diaper.

Well, no more on this (for now). I'm sure that Dr. Ursula is relieved to hear that we will be able to fixate on something else now. Ha!

At least we can say that Jack Henry is no longer full of it!

Introducing my running mate...

2008-02-23T18:49:00.002-06:00

If nominated to represent my brothers and sisters of the Rabbit A/B pod, I am officially announcing today the joining of my candidacy with my fellow pod-mate, Avery!

Avery is well-known for her strong character, her ability to build bipartisan cohesiveness, and her being constantly nice smelling (unlike our opponents).

In deciding on Avery as my running mate, I reflected upon her leadship at the Bhutanese Peace Summit in Thimphu earlier this month. Her wisdom allowed for military disarmament between the Nepalese and the Bangladeshis in the Sikkim region. She truly was responsible for diverting tragedy.

Furthermore, it seemed just like yesterday when she was telling about a recent position paper that she had read in American Economic Review regarding Keynesian economics. Boy, was she steamed about how the New Classical Macroeconominists movement seemed to be making headway with disagreements about some of Keynes methodology with their supposition that different results may emerge from their calculations!

Well, I digress.

I am confident in that Avery joins me in our dogged pursuit of true justice in the Rabbit A/B pod.

Please welcome Avery to join me in the "Jack Henry / Avery in 2008" ticket.

Additionally, I am unveiling our campaign slogan as well as this time: Jack Henry and Avery - we're not full of pooh (unlike our opponents)!

*** Her name is Avery and her parents approve this message. :)

How you doin'?

2008-02-22T22:49:00.001-06:00

The nurses in the NICU discovered the obvious.

Yeeeeeeeaaaaahhhhh, that's right - I'm a ladies man...

Look here, my lovely ladies, please understand that there is plenty of me for each one of you to love, but you must be learn the rule of the playground - sharing is caring.

Now, it's time for me to watch some TV of my hero, Tim Meadows, while I sip some Courvoisier and snuggle into my cozy satin sheets.

They're sucking his brains out!

2008-02-22T17:39:00.005-06:00

Exciting headlines grab attention, don't they?!?

In fact, what you are looking at is an IV site in the scalp. While Jack Henry still needs an IV to supplement his breastmilk feeds, the choice of IV sites rotates between the arms, legs and scalp.

Generally, a vein can be found in either of the arms or legs, but unfortuanately in preemies, these sites don't last very long (1 to 2 days) until a vein is blown. Additionally, these blown IV sites take a week or so to heal so then the Stick-team (i.e. the transport nurses who could thread spaghetti through a tick's teeth) is asked to come in to start looking for the sites around and under the hairline.

Although it looks like in the picture above that the IV is in his brain, it is right below the skin. (We may use this as an excuse later when Jack Henry acts like a goober as he gets older.)

The big trick in this IV site is that they have shave the site first. Fortunately, they only had to shave the area between his eyebrows and foreward so no reverse mohawk for him today. Ha!

Breaking down the walls of the two-party system

2008-02-21T22:43:00.000-06:00

It's official!

Jack Henry has thrown his name into the presidential race by competing to win the Rabbit A/B pod party nomination.

Even though little Jack Henry is young to be Baby-in-Chief, he's never been one to accept the establishment's point-of-view. If elected, he will led the charge to change the minimum age for president as stated in Article 2, Section 1 of the US Constitution. His pledge is for solidarity amongst all the people of the U.S., especially in contrast to his opponents who are age-ists (age discrimination is discrimination just the same, no matter what your age may be).

Now, you too can help Jack Henry in his race for the White House. (Shhh, don't tell him that he will definitely make it to the White House when he gets released from the NICU, since our last name is... ya know. Nyuk! Nyuk!)

Look to the upper left side of this blog to find the latest poll. The opponents may be familiar, but don't underestimate their ability to manipulate the truth that Jack Henry is spreading.

Just remember: it's your constitutional responsibility to vote on your choice for El Presidente!

So as Dr. Tom says: Vote early and vote often!

Pictures by request

2008-02-21T20:30:00.001-06:00

Need to listen to the little woman here. ;)

She's gleaned through the, glup, 900+ pictures taken thus far. Yeah, that is the correct number 0s after the 9.

Jack Henry's mamacita has choosen the following pictures as some of her faves for the moment.

Enjoy... and if you don't, well, I don't want to see this website thrown our way.

Poop envy?

2008-02-20T16:20:00.000-06:00

Don't worry - no pictures for this posting. :)

The Mrs and me are interested in seeing little Mr. Jack Henry to move them bowels. After having a slow-go on rebuilding his feed levels (3 ccs per feeding on Monday and Tuesday; 6 ccs per feeding today) due to his being NPO from the indomethacin, we are interested to see that input turn into an output.

Short of waiting for his first meconium, we are really anxious to see the, um, outputs to catch up to the inputs.

Yes, that means we have poop envy of the other outputting kids in the pod.

I'm Jack Henry and I approve this message

2008-02-19T20:34:00.000-06:00

As your candidate for the presidential nomination for the Rabbit A/B pods, I promise to be your candidate for change. No longer can we tolerate the policies of my predecessors in this pod as we fight the tyranny of IV sticks and cold thermometers.

I have heard your cries at night!

I have smelled your poopy diapers of protest!

I too have had the bright lights of fear shined in my eyes!

No longer will you have to deal with these injustices. In my administration, every blanket will be warm, but not too hot. Your parents will listen to you and obey your commands. Furthermore, your diapers will be changed every 5 minutes regardless of whether you soiled them or not. And, if you happen to pee or poop on someone, they will like it!

Do not listen to my opponent in Rabbit B pod. She claims to have all of the answers and to provide free chocolate chip cookies to your parents. But I ask you, what do you receive? How do you benefit from said cookies, when all you want is milk!

So remember to vote for Jack Henry White!

I am the only candidate who has an American flag attached to my IV and the Rabbit logo tattoo to my behind.

I'm Jack Henry and I approve this message.

Breaking news: Boy doubles in age in one week!

2008-02-18T22:05:00.002-06:00

Despite Elaine and I being his parents, Jack Henry has managed to make it to two weeks-old / 31 weeks-old (gestationally-speaking).

So only if Channel 2 News still had its "Big Story", I would totally be able to sell the headline above since its still sweeps month!

Or I would play the angle of "Why are certain Houston doctors telling the parents of this two week-old baby that he is in fact 31 weeks-old? Our investigative reporters go undercover to tell you the truth, tonight at 10PM on Channel 2."

Free at last!

2008-02-18T18:29:00.002-06:00

I have officially cut-the-cord!

The picture above is my umbilical cord... so that means I have a belly-button now!

You can see how untethered I am in the following picture where Mommy is helping the nurse take the dry drool off of my lips.

(I drool extra to get attention from these nice nurses!)

Let's not hold our breathe

2008-02-17T22:04:00.002-06:00

Ok, ok, literally - we don't want Jack Henry to hold his breathe because ...

... he's off of CPAP!

Elaine and I called this morning before heading into the hospital and were quite surprised to see that Jack Henry was off of supplemental air pressure. I suppose it wasn't a complete surprise in that he had been off of supplement oxygen for several days.

What is meant by supplemental oxygen is that room air contains 21% oxygen, 75% nitrogen and the remainder being other elemental gases. With CPAP, babies receive air pressure to assist in inflating the lungs, but this air pressure can include higher concentrations of oxygen up to 50% of the total air pressure. Fortunately, Jack Henry has only required supplemental oxygen in the 20s and 30s percent-wise since he was born. In fact, he had been on room air equivalent (21% oxygen) for several days including his ability to wiggle out from underneath the CPAP or to push it off of his face altogether several times for extended periods (i.e. half hour or so).

Our expectation had been for him to remain on CPAP for another couple of days and then move to a nasal cannula for a period of time as the nasal cannula provides supplemental oxygen with lower air pressure.

We are very excited by this new development, but we are also very nervous that he doesn't have any As & Bs (apnea and bradys) as this could necessitate the doctors to adjust course back to the CPAP or nasal cannula.

Since Jack Henry had started to experience some apneic episodes last week, the doctors had started him on caffeine treatment to keep his brain engaged in the act of breathing and beating his heart. More on the use of caffeine in a future post as I'm tired and ready for either bed or some caffeine myself.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

In case you are wondering why I'm linking caffeine to the Fair Haven Coffee website, this is the coffee venture that we've been working on for awhile. As the website is not live yet, please stay tuned as this will be the spot to get fair trade, organic coffee roasted here in Houston from high grade beans from around the world.

Not only will you get the freshest coffee and the highest quality beans, you will get this coffee within days of roasting with the assurance that you have bought coffee at a reasonable price that was cultivated by workers in safe (organic, not pestilent) conditions while being paid a fair, living daily wage. If you are interested in learning more, send an email to info[at]fairhavencoffee[dot]com. (Please substitute the (at) with the @ symbol and likewise for the (dot) with the . symbol as this is the only way to keep the spammers away.

More info to come!

Another really cool doctor

2008-02-17T10:44:00.001-06:00

I'm pretty lucky to have a neonatologist who is immensely patient with my parents. :)

Dr. Ursula Nawab, who moved down to Houston during a real representative time of year weather-wise (October), always goes out of her way to answer the numerous, numerous, numerous questions that they have. Did I say numerous? And yes, Houston's summers are just like Philly / South Jersey from what my parents tell me.

Since she's cool to visit with, my parents have been talking her ears off on all things Houston - everything from the rodeo to the various outdoor activities around town to the various regional wineries. (Dr. Ursula - the previous links are for you since my parents probably overloaded you.)

Now, Dr. Ursula has promised that she's going to grab dinner and a glass of wine with them one day to tell them about all of the things they should have been scared about, but she has been nice enough not to tell them about yet.

Plus, after a bottle of wine, they can then try to talk her into babysitting me... it would be part of follow-up research, right?

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Doc Ursula - since you're new to the area, my parents now have a good excuse to go get dosa at Bombay Sweets with you.

Oh, my Daddy says that he would have still written a nice post about you regardless of the outcome on the indomethacin treatment. Giggles!

My brothers?

2008-02-16T13:17:00.003-06:00

My Mommy and Daddy keep talking about these four-legged creatures waiting for me at home called "the cats".

Now, my Daddy swears that I look like them as a matter of fact. Yet, the first problem is that my Mommy tells me that I shouldn't swear, so Daddy must be in trouble there.

Sure, I was born with a bit of an orange tint to my skin and my face is a bit furry on the forehead, but I just don't see the resemblance.

Ductus appears to be closing

2008-02-15T16:23:00.004-06:00

RELIEF!

According to the cardiologist's report, it appears that the ductus is closing. The results were shared with us by the neonatologist this morning. This means that the neonatologist will follow Jack Henry's heart murmur clinically (i.e. no current need for medicine or surgery to resolve the issue).

The finding of the ductus closing per the echocardiogram yesterday confirms Dr. Nawab's (Jack Henry's neonatologist) earlier assessment of the quieting of the heart murmur. Furthermore, the increased levels of creatinine and the reduction in urine output was indicative of the effectiveness of the drug. (Sometimes the indomethacin takes a few days to take effect.)

Elaine and I feel immense relief right now particularly since we were uncertain how the indomethacin would effect the ductus and other organ function. Now, we get to wait a bit while we see how Jack Henry's digestive track wakes up before he goes back on normal feeds (i.e. breast milk) and reduces his need for the IV.

And how much do I weigh?

2008-02-15T15:32:00.004-06:00

To keep my Mommy and Daddy pacified, I like to perform for them on occasion. My latest trick is to synchronize my weight to the current date.

I decided to pull this trick for the first time on Valentine's Day!

I hope you enjoy this trick as it may be hard to keep up with in the months ahead. :)

Hurrying up to wait

2008-02-14T19:47:00.003-06:00

We are currently in a holding pattern on Jack Henry's PDA.

That's right - we're hanging with the acronyms still like we work for the hospital. When reading our observations on various medical activities, please keep in mind that we're not doctors... we just play them on TV.

So to recap, Jack Henry's PDA is not this or that, but instead it's the heart murmur.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

The present info on the heart murmur is that the doctor decided to end the treatment of indomethacin early after two of the three doses in the first round. This decision was due to watching Jack Henry's urine output decrease precipitously, but fortunately it did not stop all together. Additionally, his creatinine levels (related to the adrenal glands and kidney function) were in the elevated range of 1.5 to 1.8. The neonatalogists and nurses have been patiently watching these levels every 12 hours to see if there remained an opportunity to administer the final dosage of medicine in this first round, but it appears best to wait for his levels (urine and creatinine) to improve and normalize.

The next step is to have an updated echocardiogram to determine the size of the open ductus relative to the original ECG.

We're sitting on a balance of extremes. While the doctors have noticed that the murmur sounds quieter over the last day, this is not a clear predictor of success or failure as the lesser turbulence over the ductus could mean that it is more open or almost closed.

If the ductus remains open, the doctors may determine that the best course of action is "wait and see" on whether the ductus will close on its own rather than jumping right into surgery.

UPDATE: The ECG has taken place, but we are now waiting for a cardiologist to read the report. While the tech took multiple snapshots of the ductus, the cardiologist will need to review the entire session of scans as there are multiple measurement points related to blood flow through and around the ductus. (On the ECG, the ductus looks like it is flaring blood through it, but then again, I'm not certain what I'm reading.) This means that the doctor will also review a dynamic file on the scans rather than limited points in time.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T18:06:00.003-06:00

Jack Henry was a busy, busy boy in preparation for St. Valentine's Day. He didn't quite play Cupid, but he did manage to get into the Valentine's Day festivities.

Besides his well-writen note to Mommy and Daddy wishing us a happy Valentine's Day, he managed to sneak out over night to go to Wal-Mart and purchase Valentine's Day candy for his nurses and doctors. (Besides the obvious question of where did he get the money, the larger question is where did he put it when he went shopping. I didn't notice any pockets on his diaper. Ha!)

Staying in the decorating theme, Elaine placed the window decals on Jack Henry's isolet for the day and the Child Life care team brought mylar balloons for each of the babies. Needless to say, there was an abundance of red everywhere, including in Jack Henry's parents' attire.

Oh, and big thank you from Jack Henry to his Me-maw for his first Valentine's Day card. He will cherish this and keep it in his scrapbook along with many of the other notes and thoughts that his family and friends have shared.

Paying attention to and treatment for a heart murmur

2008-02-13T17:05:00.005-06:00

Jack Henry has been diagnosed with a heart murmur. More specifically, he has a Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA). Although this is common with preemies, this is something that requires diligent monitoring and treatment by the doctors.

Jack Henry's PDA was first noted by the doctors and nurses by listening with a stethoscope during their daily check-ups. The diagnosis of a PDA was confirmed through an echocardiogram.

The ductus arteriosus exists in utero as a means to pass blood between the aorta and the pulmonary artery as the lungs are not used prior to the baby's birth. When a baby is born, often the baby lets out a good scream, followed by a deep breath, which in turn changes the air pressure in the lung. This air pressure change effectively constricts the ductus to be closed. In preemie babies, they may scream at birth like Jack Henry did, but the muscles that line the blood vessels are not strong enough to constrict or stay constricted permanently.

Due to the moderate-to-large size of Jack Henry's PDA, it was not previously detected as the sound to listen to with the stethoscope is the turbulence of the bloodflow passing over the ductus. As the ductus was large, very little to no turbulence (heart murmur) was able to be heard, until recently.

NOTE: I may not provide the most accurate description of this condition, so please click the links in this post.

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Fortunately, Jack Henry has not shown any outward signs of the PDA, such as respiratory problems, inability to take his feedings, or an enlarged heart. The PDA needs to be treated though because the greater risk of congestive heart failure.

The treatment regiment will first consist of dosing Jack Henry with indomethacin. The first course of three doses given 12 hours apart will also require that he be taken off of his feeds (i.e. breastmilk or formula). The indomethacin works to inhibit the production of prostaglandins, which keep the ductus open. Yet, the indomethacin does not act only on the ductus as it also constricts blood flow to the adrenal glands and the kidneys as well as other places. Thus, the doctors will want Jack Henry on only IV fluids and nutrition, while they watch the extent that his urine output declines.

If the first course is unsuccessful or partially successful, the doctors will consider a second course of three doses depending on other factors (i.e. urine output, creatinine level) regarding his tolerance.

After each course of medication, the doctors will perform an echocardiogram to determine the effectiveness of the treatment. Other checks, such as listening with a stethoscope, will be made in between doses for each course.

Finally, if the indomethacin does not solve the issue, the doctors can make an evaluation relative to the size of the PDA. If Jack Henry is performing well, they can continue to monitor his health and the PDA with the hope that the ductus may close on its own or require a lesser invasive procedure when he is older, such as at six months of age. If the PDA requires more immediate attention due to the size and his health, a cardiologist would be brought in to perform a surgical ligation on the ductus (to effectively clamp it closed).

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Lots and lots and lots of 'ifs'.

Elaine and I are praying for success with the medication, but also that this does not cause any other complications or dramatic side effects. While we know that the PDA is common with preemies and that, if surgery is considered necessary, ductus arteriosus ligation is one of the most common performed in the NICU, this is a very anxious time as we watch Jack Henry move through this treatment over the following couple of days.

These booties are made for walking...

2008-02-13T13:52:00.000-06:00

A mother of one of the nurses has a special gift of love for the preemies that are taken care of Memorial Hermman NICU. Magically, these little crocheted booties should up on top of Jack Henry's isolet.

The crocheted booties for the other babies in the Rabbit A pod were beautiful and priceless.

Gig'em Aggies!

2008-02-12T17:32:00.000-06:00

This little boy is really excited about the Fightin' Texas Aggie Basketball Team and he can't wait to go to a rivalry game.

While his Daddy's Aggie Ring is a little large for his fingers, Jack Henry is looking forward to being a member of the 12th Man as part of the Class of 2030!

No more blue light specials ;)

2008-02-12T15:14:00.000-06:00

It appears that the bilirubin sessions may be over for now. Along with the use of the bilirubin light, another way for Jack Henry to rid his body of bilirubin is through his first poohs.

These first BMs are called meconium. You may not want to click the last link unless you care to see a picture of what I'm talking about (and want to never eat a gooey chocolate chip cookie again). Ha!

Thus, no pictures in the post, but more of an update of why you probably won't see anymore images where the blue light makes Jack Henry look like a smurf.

1 week old, going on 30

2008-02-11T12:23:00.001-06:00

Today was a big day for Jack Henry - he turned 1 week old!

As far as the NICU is concerned, while he is 1 week old, his gestational age is 30 weeks, which will be the dates that we file until he is able to execute on his planned escape.

A warm blanket and a nap - life is good

2008-02-11T10:39:00.002-06:00

Little Jack Henry can relax in comfort with a new Noah's Ark blanket from the kind people of Project Linus.

Project Linus volunteer blanketeers make handmade blankets and afgans to provide comfort to children and babies who are dealing with various illnesses or needs.

As you can see, Jack Henry received a beautiful blanket with creatures from the land, air and sea while ranging from the big ol' elephant to the smallest mouse. Elaine and Jack Henry have found that the blanket makes the perfect warm cover during Kangaroo Care.

If you would like to donate to this thoughtful cause, please click here.

Back on the bilirubin light

2008-02-10T11:14:00.000-06:00

So Mr. Jack Henry is a slick little dude.

His bilirubin levels dropped out of the range that required phototherapy for his size. So after a day of being off of the "tanning bed", the blue light came back due to his levels popping back up. While this is normal, it requires Elaine and I to refrain from Kangaroo Care so as to maximize his time under the sun.

Who is Billy Ruben and why do they dislike him so much?

2008-02-09T16:03:00.000-06:00

You'd think that hospitals really dislike this guy named Billy Ruben considering their interest in getting rid of him.

Oh, wait ... that's right - it's the old bilirubin.

What? You don't know what this is?

Well, me neither until my son's skin was tinted orange! Yuck!

As noted below, bilirubin is common in all babies, but especially preemies. Yet, the phototherapy sessions can be very effective, even if the elevated bilirubin levels will return after the first round of treatment.

Here's a few pictures of the treatment process:

The first step is a small light focused mainly on his body, but this doesn't catch his extremities. Yet, he does wear a protective eye covering.

The next step is a brighter, more cover all phototherapy session with the stronger blue light.

And after the bigger blue light, the bili-blanket comes into play.

Videos are working now ... allegedly

2008-02-09T15:58:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note: I think that videos that I posted earlier are finally working directly within the blog here since I uploaded them directly into blogger.

Again, if you want to see a big version of the videos, just search Google Videos under "Jack Henry White".

What in the world is a Zaky?

2008-02-09T15:35:00.000-06:00

No, Elaine didn't get tired of me taking pictures and decide to cut-off my arm.

What you see above (the yellow hand and arm) is none other than the Zaky!

The Zaky was invented by Dr. Yamile Jackson from Sugar Land as a way to provide comfort to her infant son when he was born prematurely. Her main interest was finding a way to connect with her child through touch as he stayed at the Memorial Hermann NICU for 5 months. Based on her professional training and research, the Zaky is commonly used throughout hospitals for preemies, term babies, children and adults.

Needless to say, Jack Henry loves his Zaky as he is able to sprawl out on it while also keeping him warm. The natural cradle-effect provides him comfort and soothes him too.

Thank you to Dr. Jackson for turning her worries into blessings for other babies and their families.

Kangaroos know how to care

2008-02-08T15:07:00.000-06:00

We were able to enjoy Kangaroo Care for the first time on Wednesday night. Talk about dynamite - it's funny in that I would have never imagined the joy that my heart felt in being able to hold (and sleep a bit) with my son in my arms.

Kangaroo Care is just a simple way of connecting mother or father to the baby in a natural way by holding the baby directly on the parent's chest, skin-to-skin. The need for skin-to-skin contact is to help the preemie to maintain body temperature as they are unable to do this yet on their own. (Sometimes, warmed blankets are used to further assist the warmth.) Generally, the baby seems warmer than yourself, which makes this a further relaxing experience.

On our first available chance, Elaine got the pleasure of going first and she held him for 1 1/2 hours just before dinner and shift change. Jack Henry fussed and fussed and fussed as he was pulled out of the isolet until he was placed on Elaine. As if a magic off-button for crying was clicked, he just sank into Elaine and slept. Occassionally, he would wiggle a bit due to the irritation of the CPAP (breathing tubes in his nose). Yet, everything went perfectly smooth.

Later that night, I was able to get my turn. Since it was 2 AM due to a quick run home for some supplies, I was good and ready to hold Jack Henry and take a nice nap in the chair. Let's just say it was blissful. An hour or two passed as if it was a blink of an eye. He slept so peacefully and I was able to build confidence in holding something so tiny and fragile.

This will be a memory that I cherish forever.

Like Great Grandfather, like Grandfather, like Father, like Son

2008-02-08T14:41:00.000-06:00

As Elaine pointed out to me and as you can see for yourself, there are strong genetics in the family.

Let's just say that the men of the White Family like to sleep and it seems that we get a whee-bit slack-jawed if this sleep occurs in a rather upright position.

Fortunately, there has been no documentation of bugs or other critters taking up refuge in our wide-open mouths, but just in case, I say "what does a bit of protein hurt?".

Oh, and for my brothers, I know that I don't have proof of your own doozings (other than Jack's faux attempt a couple of summers back), but I'm sure that your susceptible to this look as well. :)

As Jack Henry matures, we'll see if he picks up any other questionable habits of our clan - or we can start connecting his similarities to Elaine's family!

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So feel free to comment below on family traits that you expect Jack Henry to have, such as being an Aggie.

Our first family picture

2008-02-07T22:26:00.000-06:00

On late Wednesday afternoon, Elaine was able to hold Jack Henry through Kangaroo Care. It was an amazing experience watching his reaction to being held by Elaine. Before being moved from the isolet, his respiration rate was slightly elevated and then he fussed quite a bit at being moved over to Elaine to only have him completely melt into Elaine once he realized that his Mommy was holding him.

So this is our first family picture!

Proof that Orangeblood is toxic! ;)

2008-02-07T22:23:00.000-06:00

Well, one thing has popped up on Jack Henry is that the doctors noticed that he was jaundiced. This is very common for all babies, but in particular with preemies, they have to shed their in utero red blood cells (bilirubin) to make room for their post natal red blood cells.

This means that Jack Henry looks a bit orange, which we all know is bad. :) So with a blue-tinted light for the next couple days to mimic the sun (hence the eye covers), he will get to be more maroon or normal colored.

A view from the 7th floor

2008-02-07T22:20:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note showing the view from 7th floor of Children's Memorial Hermann hospital, where the NICU and the Ronald McDonald house is located.

What a beautiful day it was outside!

We are definitely looking forward to bringing Jack Henry back to TMC on visits as well as to Hermann Park and the Houston Zoo (in the foreground of the picture above and downtown in the distance).

Today's progress and a few short videos from the NICU

2008-02-07T20:42:00.000-06:00

Jack Henry has had a pretty good day today. He started this morning with 3 ccs (or MLs) of breastmilk every 3 hours. After the doctors performed rounds this morning, he was able to up his feeding to 5 ccs. Also his IV fluids have increased, which is a reflection of his increased activity and the Magnesium Sulfate that Elaine was on during her pregnancy is normalizing. 5 ccs of breastmilk produces approximately 3.3 calories with his goal to receive 150 calories per day. His caloric intact is supplemented by an IV of lipids (fat), sucrose (sugar), and proteins. So the target of 120 calories for every 1 kilogram of weight is the equivalent of approximately 5,000 calorie diet for a 100 lb person. Also, Jack Henry is doing well in his natural post-delivery weightloss. His birthweight of 1,240 grams on Monday to 1,180 on Tuesday to 1,150 grams on Wednesday to 1,120 grams tonight. Every baby (preemie or term) loses body weight of approximately 15% in the first week of life, so he's staying in range. For those who are curious, weight is obviously measured daily, but other measures (i.e. length / height) is performed on a weekly basis.

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Now to the videos from this morning: UPDATE: I can't get the Google Videos to embed or work properly and I'm uncertain if it's an HTML issue or what. (If anyone reading this blog has any suggestions, please let me know in the comments to this posting or email me directly.) In the interim, you can do one of two things. First, you can search Google Videos with the tag of "Jack Henry White" or you can click the links below.

1. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8582492366120719811&hl=en
2. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1372088902077632174&hl=en
3. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7023488450947466941&hl=en

I may move the videos to another service such as YouTube or SmugMug or something else if anyone has suggestions. Look for more updates in future posts.

Thank you, come again!

2008-02-07T16:17:00.000-06:00

Thank you to each of the 700+ people who have visited the blog from over 20 countries. I am including the map above (which only reflects a rolling representation of 500 visits) as a reflection of the smallness of the world.

I really look forward to showing this blog posting to Jack Henry down the line so that he can truly understand the power of prayer and, while we are spread apart by thousands of miles, how there is an easy closeness in love and support.

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Elaine and I are humbled by your compassion and encouraging messages. As those of you who have visited Jack Henry in the Level III NICU have noticed, there are many, many beautiful, yet sick or developing babies here at Memorial Hermann. This is true at other hospitals in the Texas Medical Center for babies that are in Level II or Level III NICUs. We ask that you continue to pray for Jack Henry as well as those other babies receiving care, their families that are full of anxiety and hope, and the medical professionals who are so diligent and professional in their loving care.

Mommy and ME!

2008-02-06T14:04:00.000-06:00

When my Mommy holds me, I sure seem to calm down quite a bit. It's like being in my old home before the crazy man in the white coat came and got me!

Well, it was great while it lasted, but at least I get to see my Mommy when she caresses me.

Let's try this whole video thing!

2008-02-06T13:27:00.000-06:00

So besides pictures, we're going to try to post video of Jack Henry. So this post is the first using the rudimentary camera phone, thus the poor quality. The lights were turned down in his NICU pod with a blanket partially covering the top of his isolet so he could sleep, ergo the video may be extra grainy and dark with the exception of the one video where I turned on the light.

He didn't dig the light too much, of course!

As you can see, the nurses have him laying on his belly right now. They do a great job in moving him in his bed so as to rotate how he sleeps as well as to minimize "toaster head" (a medical term - ha!). I asked if this is front-loading toaster variety or 4 slot jumbo bagel capacity one, but I didn't really get an answer. :)

Every 3-4 hours, he is repositioned after his vitals are checked (i.e. diaper change, blood pressure check and temperature reading, etc). He seems to be a big fan of sleeping on his belly as this also helps with keeping his respirations at a good level as well as in receiving consistent amounts of oxygen.

Wow! So many things to think about for such a little dude!

Hopefully, tomorrow, we will have the regular video camera for a better view.

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Before I forget, please keep sending in the comments. We read each one of them to Jack Henry and he loves to hear your beautiful thoughts!

There are artists in the NICU

2008-02-06T01:15:00.000-06:00

The wonderful nurses are not only attentive to ours and Jack Henry's every needs, but there are creative and artistic too. Besides the attached sign for our son, it's amazing how the nurses have transfered a hospital NICU into a cozy, home-away-from-home for each baby.

When you visit, you can see that each baby is given the special and individual attention that he or she deserves and those decorations are part of that gift of caring.

The best doctors in town

2008-02-06T01:12:00.000-06:00

Without a doubt, the best Ob/Gyn doctors in town are at the Ob/Gyn Centre of Houston.

Not only do Dr. Cook, Dr. Nanda and Dr. Melhelm provide excellent care, I cannot imagine a more personable and friendly group of physicians. Each doctor has visited with Elaine and I for her check-ups along the way as well as provided direction when we needed it so often. Yet, most of all, these guys, Paul, Roz and Z (sorry for the informality - ha!) are just great people. Whether it was a movie tip from Dr. Nanda to a interesting discussion quickly ranging from Middle East politics to sports with Dr. Cook, each visit with them was a joy that we looked forward to.

One last thought, when you visit their practice, be sure to remember two things: Dr. Cook is a true, good bull Ag, and Dr. Nanda LOVES Appalachian State!

This little piggy went to market

2008-02-06T01:10:00.001-06:00

With little babies, come little fingers and little toes. Yet, Jack Henry's feet are quite ticklish on both the top and bottom. Also, he does a nice job grabbing onto your finger and holding with his tiny little digits. In the picture below, he is holding the gold-colored body temperature monitor that's stuck on his body.

And for those who are curious, all of the fingers and toes do make 20!

My first full day was a long one...

2008-02-06T00:33:00.000-06:00

It may have been Mardi Gras for you, but for me, it was busy day. Mom and Dad are starting to learn how to take care of me as you can see in these pictures. They have changed my diaper (twice), but no pictures were taken - thankfully!

Yet, Mom helped the nurses by taking my temperature and my blood pressure. Ouch! Those blood pressure sleeves hurt, even when they are extra tiny!

Thank you for receiving Jack Henry to this small planet

2008-02-05T22:34:00.000-06:00

Thank you to everyone who has helped to receive Jack Henry into this world.

All of your expressions of love and support - emails, phone calls, text messages, and gifts - have been so overwhelming. In the last day we have received 300 hits to this blog from a dozen countries as far as way as Sweden, Argentina, and Singapore.

We know that Jack Henry would not be here or in such wonderful shape if it was wasn't for your prayers and well-wishes. He has quite a road to still travel down with 3 more months of hospital care so we really appreciate your prayerful intercessions to the Lord.

Tonight, we are hopeful that Jack Henry will be stabilized enough to be able to hold him for the first time since his birth. If so, we will hold him for at least an hour using Kangaroo Care. Please check out the March of Dimes website for more information on preemies.

Please keep the comments rolling - a comment from Guatemala with a Kiche' welcome has been incredible.

Last, but not least, Elaine and I are very thankful to our enthusiastic and loving neighbors. The picture of the balloons above is a thoughtful gift from them amongst many of their wonderful gestures.

Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me!

2008-02-05T14:50:00.000-06:00

These kind folks at Memorial Hermann know how to throw a party. Just look at this cake that they gave my Mom and Dad today. Personally, I don't get what the point is with them getting the cake when it's my birthday. Where's the hook-up for me?

Well, something more interesting to me since I don't get a nibble on the birthday cake is the footprints on the delivery certificate. While this isn't my actual birth certificate, I sure enjoyed getting a bit dirty to stomp my feet on this paper. :)

Yep! That's me!

2008-02-04T14:23:00.000-06:00

Yep! That picture is me!

I gotta say that when I arrived on the scene and heard that Super Tuesday is tomorrow and Puxtawny Phil saw his shadow on Saturday, I just screamed and screamed and screamed. So my Dad, the odd man that he is, decided to catch my initial reaction to all of this news.

Wow! This world is kinda scary, but I'm here so let's see what craziness is ahead.

Please feel free to give me some tips on how to deal with all of this insanity by clicking the comments link below. Perhaps a tip or two for my parents may be a good idea as well. ;)

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Oh, and for all of you that have been praying for me, my Mom and my Dad, I'll go ahead and tell you "Thanks!". Without you, I wouldn't be here today, so I definitely feel a great deal of gratitude.