Picture Update

Inconveniently enough, the Costco photo website is down for maintenance until May 31. The link below should work after that. Sorry!

Jake had a great day today and Jeff and I both got to kangaroo tonight - about an hour and a half total! Jake is also back on feedings (meaning he's getting breastmilk through a tube). Don't worry -- they give him IV fluids and lipids even when he's not getting true "feedings."

Pictures of Jake

With help from Jen, pictures of Jake are now uploaded to Costco.com for everyone's viewing pleasure. They are raw and uncut and without captions (we couldn't even find time to upload them, so captions will have to wait!) As I looked through them, I realized that some of the images are going to seem really strange and maybe even disturbing if you haven't seen a preemie in a NICU before. Sorry about that! But trust us, it's all standard procedure and he's doing well. I emailed the link to everyone's email address I had stored at costco.com. I'll also post the link here, but I'm not sure that will work. If it doesn't work, send us an email and we can email you the link to view the photos.


We've had true roller coaster days the past few days, but the positive news tonight is that Jake is doing well again. Much to Jeff's relief (and mine of course, but Jeff was particularly worried), is that his head ultrasound came back and showed no bleeding on the brain (also known as IVH - intraventricular hemorrhage). This is truly great news, as IVH can lead to cerebral palsy and other things.

As always, thanks to everyone for your positive thoughts and prayers.

The Cubby Chronicles XIV

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.

Its Memorial Day & the Cubby has been with us for exactly one week. Today was quite a wild ride & a good reminder of the roller coaster that the ICN can be. When we arrived this morning the nurses were in the process of changing his incubator. Apparently they get a new one each week so they can clean them & reduce the chance of infection. The incubators themselves look like the picture above & are made by a German company called Drager. When I examined one I figured they'd be expensive but never guessed how crazy expensive they are--according to a nurse involved in purchasing each one costs ~$30,000!!!

So they pulled the Cubby out when changing the incubators and he gets cold (premies can't manage their own body temperature) & his heart rate goes down to around 90 beats a minute (because he was on a beta blocker drug he was ~ 110 a minute). We're freaking out but slowly as he gets warmer his heart rate comes back to normal. It was a tense hour or so as the temp & heart rate slowly raised but the rest of the day was okay & he was doing well when we left the hospital tonight.

He's also back on the CPAP machine, which helps him breathe by keeping his lungs constantly open (he's still actually breathing on his own). The good news is his bilirubin levels are now normal so he's off the photo treatment of having the blue LED lights on him all day which not only means he doesn't have to wear goggles but that we don't have to look at them. We'll keep everyone updated and as always, thanks for your thoughts & concern.....

The Cubby Chronicles XIII

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.

Hey everyone, just wanted to give a quick update on little Jake. He's still doing very well overall though his blood pressure is still high & the doctors aren't quite sure why. They've scanned his kidneys three times & his heart/arteries twice and everything looks normal. His left kidney is a little smaller than the right & sits a little lower in his pelvis but the ultrasounds show its working just fine. They've also called in the endocrinologists to look at his thyroid & hormone levels but the early results show they're fairly normal.

Besides the higher blood pressure he's doing great--the ICN nurses say he's a rock star. He's still breathing on his own which is very impressive for a guy his age. His heart is also very strong and he's had minimal bouts of apnea (essentially forgetting to breathe--all preemies have this) & he quickly gets back on track with a gentle nudge. As you can see above, I got to try out the 'Kangaroo Care' yesterday and like all parents it was awesome to hold my son for the 1st time.

K & I have been at the hospital almost as much as we were when she was a patient, going to see the Cubby in the morning, then coming back in the late afternoon. The Duke ICN is actually open 24 hours but there's a shift change from 6:30 - 7:30 so in the evening we grab dinner & then head back until 9:30 or so.

A couple of non-Jake items for the Memorial Day weekend:

• My best buddy Ben passed the Georgia Bar, congrats!!!
• Our good family friend Dave is getting married tomorrow; we're very excited for him & his fiance Becky

First Kangraoo Care!

Last night and this morning we went to visit Jake and both visits went really well. Last night we watched as he got taken off the CPAP and started breathing on his own - a major milestone. This morning when we got there at 10 he was still breathing on his own! However, his nurses have let us know that it's not unlikely that he'll have to go back on at some point, but for now we are really happy with this development.

This morning I also got to do our first "Kangaroo Care" which means Jake got to come out of his isolette and I got to hold him to my chest for about 45 minutes. He cried quite a bit at first (probably all the stimulation) but Daddy's voice seemed to be the trick to calming him down. Apparently all that talking Jeff did to my belly over the past few months made an impression.

This afternoon while Jeff's at work I'm hoping to have time to post a lot of the pictures we've taken. Once they're up I'll post a link.

Thanks again to everyone for your concern and positive thoughts.

The Cubby Chronicles XII

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.

We're pretty sure that everyone that's been monitoring the blog has seen the following announcement e-mail but we're putting it up just for the official record. We know its been awhile since we've posted an update but things have been so crazy the past couple of days. Expect some more content (including the birth story) in the coming days.

At the moment K & I are back home from the hospital & Kristin is doing well. Little Jake is hanging in there; he's still in good overall shape though his blood pressure is a little high (but not dangerously so) with no apparent cause. He also has a common condition called bilirubin that's he's being treated for with success. Otherwise he's doing well and the Intensive Care staff are especially impressed with his respiration/breathing levels.

From: Jeff Walker [mailto:jeffrey.allan.walker@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2008 3:58 PM
Subject: Answer: This little fellow's more common alias is "The Cubby"

Question: Who is Jacob Raymond Walker? (Sorry, we've watched a bit too much Jeopardy in the hospital.)

Kristin gave birth to little Jake at 7:25AM this morning, 12 weeks early. He's currently sitting pretty in Duke's world-class Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the doctors all agree he's in good shape for a guy his age. He weighs in right at 2 pounds and is a long 13.5 inches with huge feet. All his vitals look good and his Apgar scores were 6 @ 1 minute & 7 at 5 minutes which aren't too shabby for a preemie.

Once again thanks to everyone for their thoughts, prayers, favors, & gifts. Look for more detailed entries in the continuing Cubby Chronicles on the blog. Kristin is doing well and should be able to go home on Wednesday. Love,

Jeff & Kristin

The Cubby Chronicles XI

Note: Kristin was admitted to Duke University Hospital the evening of Monday, May 5 2008 for leaking amniotic fluid. The following are updates, notes, & observations on hospital life.

Its Sunday & K and I are watching some Reno 911 while waiting for game 7 of the Celtics/Cavs series. We're still in good shape; Kristin hasn't shown any contractions for the past few days and she's feeling pretty good. The weekends around the hospital are quieter than the usual hustle & bustle during the week and sometimes that's good (relaxing) & sometimes that's not so good (time can drag).

As the picture shows, we're pretty close to the medevac helicopter pad & every day we see different copters take off & land. I have to admit I'm impressed by the room's insulation--while we often see the copters we don't hear them too much. We've already covered the big topics of the week but figured a lazy Sunday afternoon would be a good time we'd give a rundown of some overdue thank-yous....

• My parents were here last weekend & K's mom was here almost all of last week. We can't thank them enough for washing clothes, watching our dogs overnight, & allowing us the flexibility to get take out some dinners as well letting me get out & run during the day.
  
• Speaking of our dogs, we have an entire phalanx of friends who have been walking them, feeding them, & watching them overnight when we don't have family in town. We're sure Ben & Chloe are quite confused at this point but they're really benefiting from the generosity of the Russo-Pooles, Cherry-Bizzells, & McReavises.
  
• Our friend Hallie works at Duke (literally a block away from the hospital) and she stopped by on Thursday with some tasty homemade strawberry cake. We liked it so much we had to cut it up & parcel it out so we could savor it for a couple of days.