The Cubby Chronicles XXX*

Note: Jacob Raymond Walker was born 12 weeks prematurely at Duke University Hospital the morning of Monday, May 19 2008. The following are updates, notes, & observations on his growth & development.

I wonder how often I've started posts with 'its been awhile since...' but looking at the dates we're almost at a week since CC number 29. The main culprit in the delay was probably me traveling to Charlotte for a few days--actually, I doubt I'm fooling anyone. Of course, the main culprit of delays will tend be sheer laziness on my part. I was in Charlotte from mid-day Monday - mid-day Wednesday & even though he's doing well it doesn't get any easier to leave the little guy.

We've also had both my parents (over the weekend) & K's mom (during this week) in town & they really have helped us with getting some things done and running errands for us while we spent time with Jake. I think all of them were pleased/surprised with how big Jake's getting & the fact that they each were able to pull him out of the crib & actually hold him.

The Cubby has been hanging out in his big boy crib quite well over the past week. Though after a few shifts nurses have mentioned that his temp dropped a little, he's been fine for the far majority of the time. Jake's now up to 3 pounds, 12 ounces & we're excited as he's really entering the 'feeder-grower' stage.

From the last post you may recall that his last hurdle to heading home is eating on his own & he's done pretty well. The issue is the speech therapists come at scheduled times when he may or may not be awake. Naturally this directly affects his interest in/ability to eat which can be frustrating. We're hoping that his nurses will be able to work with him (as the speech people can be territorial) since they have the flexibility in their schedules to wait until he's awake & alert.

As the photo shows, not only is his weight up, he's really filling out & getting nice & chunky. I was describing him to a client yesterday & used the phrase--'he looks like a miniature baby' & its very true. His proportions & chubbiness are really starting to look like that of a newborn.

In some of the (many, many) pictures I take we'd be hard-pressed to tell he was about half the size of a full-term baby if there weren't any objects of scale in the shot. That's very exciting on its own, especially if one looks back at his older pictures, but we're looking forward to the day when he weighs the same as a newborn. Based on his excellent progress, that day is coming soon......

*--Vin Diesel-free