Let's Start at the Very Beginning...

On September 15th, Katy and Andy found out that Baby Jacob has a life-threatening condition called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH). CDH is a very serious condition in which a hole in the diaphragm allows abdominal organs to move into the chest restricting lung development. In Jacob's case, his liver is also squishing his heart and displacing other organs. CDH occurs in about 1 out of every 3,000 pregnancies and has a mortality rate of 50%. To make matters more complicated, Jacob has Right-Sided CDH which only occurs in about 10% of CDH cases and is typically more severe. They are so blessed to have found this out when they did, or Baby Jacob would have surely died at birth.

They will be delivering at UW Hospital in Seattle and later transferred to Seattle Children’s. Thank you to everyone who has already begun praying, and everyone who will now. Baby Jacob is blessed to have all of you thinking and praying for him.

I'll Be Home For...New Years?

Dec 21, 2011 -This morning, I spoke with one of Jacob's doctors. He discussed our discharge timeline! That's right Dr. Ricca used the D-word! However, before we can go home when need to meet the following criteria:

Off Oxygen-Today he is being weaned to 0.25 liters. He handled the move from 0.75 to 0.50 quite nicely and had maintained a pulse ox of 100%.  So far in the 3 hours I sat watching his numbers, he's been holding steady at 99-100%.

Meeting/Maintaining Goal Feeds-He will now be on compressed feeds of 30 minutes every three hours. He is currently at 63mL of fortified breast milk every 3 hours. This means he will take as much as he can in 15 minutes by bottle, then finish the remains by NG tube in the next 15 minutes. Jacob still needs the nectar thickener to help him get used to swallowing his milk without aspirating. They would like him to be as independent from tube feeds as possible. So far he is taking in about 40mL by mouth and 23mL by tube.

Gaining Weight-Jacob has done very well lately. He is currently about 9lbs 13oz (4.46kg) up nearly 13 oz from last week. Our little baby boy isn't so itty bitty anymore.

Complete Wean of Morphine and Ativan-He is currently at a very minimal amount, but the plan is to move very slowly. He continues to show signs of withdrawal, but the team says he should be completely weaned by next Wednesday, if not sooner!

So I guess we won't be singing "I'll Be Home For Christmas", but whenever Jacob comes home, it'll feel like Christmas as this was the number one thing on all our lists for 2011!

Here's just a few more photos of our handsome lil guy!





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7 comments:

  1. The Grobler FamilyDecember 21, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    Jacob you are such a handsome baby!! We are praying for everything to go well in the next week and hope to see you in the neighborhood for New Years!!

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  2. Jenny (Lutz) RobinsonDecember 21, 2011 at 11:11 AM

    I am so glad to hear the good news! Jacob is such a handsome little man, he looks great! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to The Rondeau family!

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  3. AnonymousDecember 21, 2011 at 11:29 AM

    I'm SO happy to hear that Jacob will be able to come home soon! It has been a long journey for all of you, but he is a strong little boy with lots of prayers going his way! I wish I was there to give him hugs & kisses! Love, Auntie Jenny (Rondeau)

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  4. LindsayDecember 21, 2011 at 1:41 PM

    YEAH!! So happy for Jacob!!! He is doing so well. It is great that he has parents that are blessed advocates for him!! Without Katy and Andy as parents and advocates I know things may be different right now. Continued prayers for all of the things he needs to accomplish before the D Word!!!

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  5. Ann SmithDecember 21, 2011 at 8:30 PM

    What exciting news!! Your right, whatever day Jacob comes home it will be a gift from God and a Merry Christmas. The New Year will begin when you are all home safe and sound. Can't wait to see the whole family back together!! Prayers all criteria is met:)

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  6. AnonymousDecember 21, 2011 at 10:22 PM

    Rejoicing in THE PROGRESS!
    Love and Hugs, LaVonne

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  7. LDecember 22, 2011 at 7:19 AM

    Wow!! He looks marvelous!!!! I'm so glad you guys are inching towards getting those goals completed!!! All attainable, especially w what he has already overcome!!! Prayers for an amazing new year and the word HOME very soon!

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