It's Christmas

Wow, December has been a fast month. Jordan's first Christmas has been a full week affair (and still isn't over).

December 18 marked Jordan's first trip to church and he did pretty good. Jordan skipped the actual church service and went to daddy's Sunday school class, where he was pretty popular, plus he was the best student there. He laughed at all of his dad's jokes. He also had his first experience of Mexican Inn that day (he slept until the wait staff came to shout "Happy Birthday" to the table behind us -- that startled him good!).

Saturday night, we went to our church's Christmas Eve service, along with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Cristina. Jordan really had fun. His head bopped to the music as we sang Christmas carols, and he enjoyed the orchestra and choir as they sang the Hallelujah chorus and a couple of more contemporary pieces. Jordan did decide he was hungry when it was time for the Lord's Supper at the end of the service. Santa Claus stopped at Grammie D's and Grampy's a little early, and brought some stuff for Jordan that they brought by.










We had what may be our last Christmas to sleep in this year, since Jordan didn't know it, but Santa Claus came and brought Jordan a whole bunch of toys. He was pretty excited by the wrapping paper, the Christmas lights and all.










Christmas afternoon we went and saw Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Cristina and opened some more great gifts. We also ate lunch, and Jordan slept a lot.

Monday morning, we loaded up the car and headed north to Oklahoma to see Jordan's great-grandmother (Grammie D's mother). We left about 9:30 and got there about 2:30, which was pretty good, considering we had to stop in Denton to feed Jordan, stop at the Oklahoma line to change Jordan, stop in Davis for gas and in Guthrie for another feeding. We got to see so many family members once we finally made it. Jordan's Great-Grandma was thrilled to meet him. Here's a picture of four generations: Dondi, her grandmother, Grammie D and Jordan.










Jordan is currently the youngest great-grandchild for Katherine. She has 22 great-grandchildren, plus five step-great-grandchildren, ranging in age from 3 months to 20 years! That doesn't count the two we know of on the way for 2006. That's pretty impressive no matter how you slice it.

We headed home Tuesday night, which went a little better. We left at 6:45 p.m., made a stop to feed Jordan in Moore and another stop in Ardmore for gas, then made it all the way home by 11:15. We had to drive through two pretty serious areas of smoke from wildfires burning in southern Oklahoma, but otherwise it was an uneventful trip.

Jordan did pretty well, but the trip messed up his schedule quite a bit. The good news to report for December: he is now regularly sleeping 6-7 hours through the night. They aren't the 6 or 7 hours we'd like him to sleep (he's a night owl, like his mom), but they are pretty continuous, and that's great!

Merry Christmas!

Today was Jordan's first trip to the mall, and he got to meet Santa. Jordan was great the whole time (90 minutes in line), and told Santa everything he wanted for Christmas. Well, maybe not, but he didn't fuss at all around Santa!



Photo copyright purchased by Roy & Dondi Hayhurst. (c) 2005, Roy & Dondi Hayhurst

Happy Birthday Grandpa Jordan

We celebrated Grandpa Jordan's (Dondi's dad's) birthday Saturday night. His birthday was Wednesday, but because of the potential for icy travel conditions, we decided to postpone the celebration to Saturday night.

We went to Cici's Pizza near our houses and Jordan was mesmerized with all the smells, the colors and the noise. He was good the whole time (minus a couple of seconds of fussiness when he was tired of being in his carrier).

We came back to our house to open birthday gifts. Jordan had a great time seeing everybody.

Immunizations

Today was Jordan's first round of shots. He received the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; the polio vaccine; the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccines, the haemophilus influenzae type b (HiB) vaccine; and his second dosage of the Hepatitis B vaccine (he received the first one in NICU). That's a lot of big words to type about one little boy.

This morning, as those of you who live in the DFW area know, was pretty cold, so we bundled him up and took him to his pediatrician's office. He was taken right in to an exam room and got a clean bill of health. He is now 23 inches long and weighs 12.4 pounds. The doctor said Jordan is growing very well and is one healthy kid.

After the doctor's examination, the nurse came in and she gave the four injections, two in each leg. Jordan cried for a few seconds, but then went back to being his normal happy self. He has two crayola-shaped (and colored) bandages -- one on each thigh.

Next doctor's checkup is scheduled for late January/early February.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jordan's first Thanksgiving was full of fun. We were going all day long.

(You can click on any photograph to make it bigger in your window; click on "back" in your broswer to return to the blog)

The day started so early. He was so tired as he laid down on Mom and Dad's bed.

We left the house this morning and went to Grammie D's. There, he had all kinds of fun:

Dad held him.

Then Mom had to feed him.

Then Aunt Deona and Monica wanted to hold him. (He spit up for them. I think in the baby world that means, "I like you." If so, he likes Mom and Dad a lot!)

Then Grammie D wanted to hold him. (He woke up for a couple of minutes, then).

Then Derek, Trent and Reid took turns hanging out with Jordan.

Bobby, Michelle and Kim got in on the fun, too.


Oh, he's so tired.

Four generations: Mimi (great-grandmother), Jordan, Grandpa and Mom.

After a stressful midday of sleeping and being held, he needed a bath to relax.

He needed to relax after the bath, too. (Bubble baths really take it out of him).

We spent the midday with the Jordan family and had a great time seeing everybody, then went home and relaxed (with the bath). Then, it was time to head to see Grandma and Grandpa Hayhurst and Aunt Cristina.

So he slept in Aunt Cristina's arms.

Grandpa spent some quality time feeding. Notice, Jordan will wake up for that.

And Jordan spent some time with Grandma just hanging out in her luxurious recliner.

Back home, Jordan was spent.


We had a great day seeing so many family members today. Jordan also got to be held by Jim and Diann and probably some others we didn't get photographed in time. He was a good kid and everybody seemed to enjoy seeing him today. Thanks to Grammie D and Grandpa Jordan and to Grandma and Grandpa Hayhurst for having us over today. We had a blast. And, as you can see, Jordan enjoyed every minute he was awake. All three of them.

We're Back

So where have we been you ask? Here and very busy. What's been going on? A lot. Highlights:

Since it's almost Thanksgiving, we thought you'd like to see Jordan's Halloween outfit.

Nope, we didn't take him trick-or-treating, and we only had one ringing of the doorbell Halloween night, but he got all dressed up, anyway.

That little hat he's wearing reads, "Mummy's Little Pumpkin." Too adorable.

Early November was relatively uneventful, but Jordan did surprise us with sleeping through the night one time. He hasn't since, but that was a great 5 hours of sleep.

Jordan made his first trip to see Daddy's office in Dallas' Uptown area early this month, too. He slept all the way from the house to Dallas, then slept when Daddy got in the car to go to lunch, then slept while Mom and Dad ate lunch at a great little deli near work. Then, we brought him to my office. He was officially done sleeping then.

He cried some, but for the most part was a huge hit with Dad's co-workers. He also made a trip to see Mom's work where he was pretty good and received many more admiring ohs and ahs.

November marked his great-grandmother's (Mimi's) 90th birthday celebration. We all got together for dinner at Spring Creek Barbeque in Bedford to celebrate her birthday and AJ's 17th birthday last Sunday evening. Jordan didn't join us (Roy's parents graciously babysat), but he did finally get to meet Mimi on Tuesday, Nov. 15, when she came over to see him at the house. Mimi and Jordan both seemed to enjoy it (Jordan doesn't quite get how to smile on cue, but we're working on that).



Jordan's umbillical cord stump also finally fell out this week -- his lasted a little longer than normal, due in part to the IV tubes they inserted there while he was in NICU -- so that meant no more sponge baths. Instead, he gets to have real big-boy baths. You can see, he was thrilled by that! (He'll also be thrilled when this picture gets carelessly laid out for his first girlfriend to see, or when it shows up on the video montage our church puts together for seniors at high school graduation. Parental blackmail really is fun).

And yes, that is a giant inflatable yellow duckie he gets to be bathed in (with a beak that quacks!). I bet you wish you had a giant inflatable rubber ducky to take a bath in.

Jordan's upcoming week should be exciting, too. He'll head over to Grammie D's and Grandpa's for the Jordan family Thanksgiving Thursday morning. Then, we'll head over midafternoon to Grandma and Grandpa Hayhurst for another Thanksgiving dinner. By then, Mom and Dad will be worn out, even if Jordan isn't.

Will we post pictures of Thanksgiving? Of course. By Christmas....

We're still blogging

Just not as much. We have adorable pictures to post of Jordan in his Halloween costume -- he didn't go trick-or-treating, but he still got dressed up -- but, someone hasn't adjusted well to the end of daylight saving time. He was on a schedule. He was doing so well. Then we "fell back" and he hasn't been the same since.

Last night did go better. Tonight hopefully will, too. And if Dondi and I can catch up on some sleep, we'll post some pictures this weekend.

He's a Growing Boy

Jordan had his 30-day checkup today. He's doing great (if you don't mind the fact that he doesn't sleep when his mom and dad want him to). He is now almost 9 pounds (up from 6 pounds 9 ounces at birth) and is now 22 inches long (up from 19.5 inches at birth).

Not bad for the kiddo who was born four weeks early.

Today's appointment followed up Dondi's Friday morning appointment where she got a post-delivery clean bill of health, so at the moment at least, we're all in good shape.

Some new pictures

Thanks to Grammie D for these new shots...















(... and to Lisa for the quilt and Marilyn for the afghan)

Another Weekend

Jordan just keeps learning new stuff. This weekend while Dondi was feeding him, she had to place his bottle on the table next to the sofa to burp him. He actually reached toward the table toward the bottle to show us he'd rather have the bottle.

This was a 3-day weekend because of my work schedule, so Friday morning, Jordan's Great Aunt Diann and Great Uncle Jim stopped by to say hello. This was the first time they met Jordan, though they did come to the hospital the day he was born to see everybody. Grandpa (Dondi's dad) stopped by, as well. Friday night we pretty much hung out at the house.

Saturday, Jordan and I watched Texas beat up Oklahoma in the annual Red River Shootout (I say this as a loyal UT fan, it's about darn time; the five-year OU winning streak was enough for me). Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) came over to babysit so Dondi and I could go out on a date. We know how to party. It was our first trip out together in five weeks. We went to El Chico for dinner and to Wal-Mart to shop afterwards. We are party animals.

Sunday included Grammie D (Dondi's mom) and Aunt Cristina popping in to see Jordan. Jordan slept through the Cowboys game, but he looked up every once in a while when I was cheering. All and all, another fun weekend.

Where are the pictures, you ask? We're working on them. New pictures are coming any day now. He's getting cuter and cuter every day.

Jordan's First Weekend at Home

We had a lot of fun this weekend. Starting Friday night, when Aunt Cristina stopped by and hung out for a couple of hours. He slept really well Friday night/Saturday morning, and Dondi and I got close to 6 hours of sleep. Actually, I think I got close to 9 hours sleep, but Dondi got 6.

Saturday morning, Grammie D showed up to watch Jordan for an hour or so while we went to Babies R Us and Target. After an hour, we were back home to feed him, and he got another bath (he's getting better at the whole being bathed thing). Saturday evening, Roy's parents and Aunt Cristina stopped by to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. Spring Creek BBQ and chocolate cake are pretty good ways to celebrate. Saturday night/Sunday morning -- he didn't sleep so well. And neither did we, remarkably.

Sunday included a visit from Aunt Deona and Grammie D. Jordan and I watched the Dallas Cowboys play this afternoon. He pooped during the middle of the game rather loudly. Which was very accurate commentary on the Cowboys on-the-field performance.

All and all, a pretty exciting weekend for the little guy....

Jordan's Home, Now What?

Wow. Jordan doesn't do much, in case you're wondering. Which is good, because right now, we really don't know what we're doing!

Jordan's actually had a great first few days home. He sleeps quite a bit, even at night, and he is eating more every day.

Jordan, Dondi and "Grammie D" went to his first doctor's appointment Monday. The doctor said Jordan is doing great at this point in his development.

Here are some pictures provided by Dondi's parents that we thought were just too cute not to post. The first and second photos are of his first bath at home (he doesn't look too happy if you ask me) and the third one is of a favorite activity: eating.



We'll post more pictures soon. He's just too adorable....

Guess Who Came Home Today?

Jordan was released from NICU today, and he's doing fantastic! The staff was pleased with his improvements, he's eating from a bottle really well, his jaundice is greatly improved, and he's regulating his body temperature very well.

Chloe's response to his arrival was pretty lukewarm, but she hasn't done anything bad yet, so that's good. She's not real sure what to make of him at the moment (that's him in the bouncy chair; we've covered his eyes because he doesn't care for the light in the nursery just yet). We've got a softer light that Jim and Diann gave us we need to install, yet.

Jordan is slowly adapting to the new home (unlike NICU, there are no alarms going off every couple of minutes, so the silence is a little hard on him -- we got a great lamb from my former employer that provides background ambient noise that we'll be using to help drown out the silence).

While we know everyone wants to come see him now that he's home, we have some strict doctor's orders. We have to limit his contact with the outside world for the next 4-6 weeks. This is the beginning of RSV season (What is RSV?), and that is a serious condition for a premie like Jordan. It's hard for us to fathom that a baby that is 6-plus pounds is a premie, but he is.

We have to limit visits to his grandparents and aunts for the next couple of weeks. Once he's able to have more visitors, we have a couple of ground rules imposed by Jordan's doctors:

• You must wash your hands when you come into our house, before you touch him.
• You may not smoke around the baby. That means you must finish your cigarettes before you get here (like before you pull onto our street), and you may not smoke on our property at all (inside or outside). Once you need a cigarette, you're done with Jordan for the day. No exceptions.
• If you think our rules are strict, consider our friends Brady and Julie's house rules as they deal with RSV precautions for their twin daughters!

We will have to limit his contacts, but we'll do everything to make sure you can visit our little bundle of joy as often as possible. He's absolutely perfect, and we want y'all to get to meet him soon.

The Latest

Jordan continues to make progress, with some minor hiccups. He's back on oxygen, but the nurse said that's common at this stage, and he should be off soon. They started some phototherapy, which should help eliminate the jaundice he's suffering from.

Tomorrow, they'll do another blood test to determine what to do on the jaundice front (if there's anything left they need to do). Tomorrow also is the Infant Rescue Breathing class Dondi will attend. Should Jordan, once he's home, go into breathing distress, Dondi will know what to do. I'll learn more about the rescue breathing at a later date.

We have some photos to post, but just haven't had time to ready them. Hopefully, we'll be able to do that by Tuesday.

Pictures

A recent photo from the last couple of days


Here is Jordan with just the feeding tube down his nose. Hopefully, that will be gone in the matter of a day or two.

Jordan's Improvements Continue

We made two trips to the NICU today, and spent an hour each time. The staff had to place him back on oxygen today, but they are slowly weaning him from that, and they expect him to be breathing totally on his own very soon. He's breathing quite well on his own, but there is a threshold he can't quite maintain on his own, yet.

The big step today is that he is being bottle-fed. Dondi and I got there in time for an evening feeding, so Dondi got to rock him in the glider and feed him. We, of course, forgot to bring the camera, but it was great. He ate about half the 25 cc's of formula they fed him via the bottle, and the other half they gave him through a feeding tube.

The staff really has been upbeat about his progress, so we thank God that Jordan's doing so much better, and pray he continues to progress.

Jordan's Big Day and Dondi Comes Home

Jordan had a great day in the NICU. He was removed from the breathing tube and is breathing all by himself, which was a huge blessing. His lungs are still developing, so we're hoping and praying to continue to see big improvements. He's also jaundiced, but that's not uncommon, and is easily treatable. All and all, he's doing great.

The NICU had been running antibiotics to him through a tube in his bellybutton, which has been removed, replaced by a regular IV in his hand. He also got his first bath today (he did not care for that one bit). Dondi and I both got to change a diaper (we may not be as excited by that next week when it's more routine). We also both finally got to hold our son, just for a couple of minutes, but it was awesome.

They are going to try to remove him from the feeding tube sometime in the next day or two, and put him on bottle-feeding.

On a different front, Dondi was released from the hospital this afternoon, and she is happy to be at home. Chloe, our cat is glad to have Dondi home, as well.

We do have pictures from today -- including seeing Jordan with a lot fewer things attached to him, but the battery in our camera is out, and we need to recharge first. I'll try and post some new pics tomorrow.

Quick Update

Sorry to make this short, but I know y'all understand: Thank you for your prayers (and to our God for answering them!); Jordan is improving very well. He may be off the breathing machine by morning. Still a couple of hurdles after the breathing, but that was the first and most serious one. Dondi is being sent home from the hospital Friday, so she is looking forward to seeing the cat and sleeping in our own bed.

We'll update the site when we have news to report this weekend.

Announcing Jordan's Arrival

Six pounds, 9 ounces. Ninteen-and-a-half inches long. Four weeks early. The most beautiful baby ever.

Here's the details we want to provide tonight: on Tuesday, Dondi's blood pressure continued to worsen, and her doctor made the decision to induce labor at 4 a.m. Wednesday. Dondi was already in the hospital for observation, so I arrived about 3:30 a.m. to witness the birth of our son.

The labor progressed normally all day long, and at about 1:30 p.m., Dondi was fully dilated, and the decision was made for her to start pushing. She started that about 2:05 p.m., and round about 3:30 p.m., Jordan Robert made his entrance into the world. Dondi is physically and emotionally exhausted, but is otherwise fine. She is an amazing trouper. I am truly proud to be married to such an amazing woman (I'm sure all husbands who watch their wives give birth feel the same way, but be that as it may, it's how I honestly feel). And, on my front, I never passed out!

You'll notice from the above picture that Jordan didn't come out problem-free. Because he was so early, his lungs are not fully developed, so he was placed in NICU. Doctors expect our son to be there for a week to 10 days. The best news: his lungs should grow quickly and will not cause any long-term health problems. Please pray for a quicker recovery, as we want him to come home healthy as soon as possible. We're both exhausted from the day, but we're resting more comfortably knowing Jordan is in good hands with great medical professionals.

I'm sure there are more details to post about today, but I've slept a total of 2 hours of the last 36 or so, and I'm going to sleep. The new chapter of our life started today. And we're very excited....

Short Update

Dondi's doctor finally is back from vacation, so she visited with Dondi today. The news: nothing's changing. They're going to keep her in the hospital for another week. No inducing. No other decisions made.