Another feeding update...

We think we are on to something now - Jack doesn't want to eat with the tube in place.  We took it out today and he took about 5 oz again.  The plan is to give it another go tomorrow and hope for some continued results.  He was much happier today without the tube in and tolerated me putting it back in so we could "catch up" overnight.  We are hoping for a continued increase in oral feedings and working towards being tube free.  The big thing is hoping for no set-backs during the week when we are at work and when Dustin leaves town for work soon.  It's going to be a rough road but I believe he can do it! 

Still working towards no tube...

Well, Jack still has the feeding tube - we had hoped we had a breakthrough last Sunday...he took about 150mL by bottle(5 ounces).  That was huge for him, so we thought he had gotten over the 'hump' when it came to feeding.  Monday, we were back to the norm of fighting the bottle.  The only difference we can figure is that he had pulled his tube out on Sunday, so we were attempting the bottle without the tube.  Of course, we had to put the tube back in on Sunday night.  We are considering taking the tube out and giving him the option of only taking the bottle on Saturday and see how well he does.  We don't know if it is for sure but maybe without the tube he'll do much better - keep your fingers crossed!

Outside of working on feeding, we've been working on crawling - Jack can definitely sit up and reach for his toys, he'll get into a quadriped position to head to a crawl and then promptly roll onto his back!  What a goof ball!  I am sure he's close to crawling, so we are just going to keep working on it! 

We found out last week, Jack is going to have a girl cousin!!  Aunt Marianne and Uncle Steve are having a little girl and we are thrilled!!

More 9 month pictures!

Just a few more of Jack's 9 month pictures! Hope you enjoy them! :)

9 month pics...

We took a trip to have Jack's 9 month pictures taken - he did great, though it took quite a bit for us to get him to smile! It was time to change his feeding tube so we got the pictures taken tube free! It was so difficult to put the tube back in - we did it. Hopefully we'll be tube free here soon, especially when we start working with therapy more often. We did mash up some ripe bananas yesterday and Jack enjoyed them - ate 5+ good bites which is great! We are freezing a whole ice cube tray worth so we can have them for awhile.
Here's a couple of Jack's pictures

Update...

We've been keeping busy around here lately!  Jack's sitting up and doing better each day!  Those 2 teeth have broken through the gum but aren't fully in yet.  Jack's getting bigger each day(over 14 lbs now!) and working towards crawling...

Dustin and the guys went to Put-in-Bay for Jared's bachelor party - they all had a great time!  I figured out that I'm definitely not cut out to be a single parent!

Teething and sitting up!

Well, we've hit one of the major milestones - sitting up!  Jack can definitely sit up on his own now!  He's doing great with it and loves playing on the floor.  It's wonderful to watch him!  He's doing so well - he tolerates tummy time for a little bit and then promptly rolls over onto his back!  It's comical!

I've been wondering why Jack has been so fussy lately - well today I figured out why - he's teething!  I was able to get a peek at his bottom gum today and there are 2 little white teeth peeking through - I'll hopefully get some pictures of them once they arrive!  It's nice to know why he's been so fussy lately!  We are still working on the eating thing - he's taking 4-5 good bites for the most part lately - it's a start! 

Increasing therapy and some fun news!

Jack's been doing pretty well overall lately - sitting up very nicely on his own, babbling a ton, interacting with us, noticing and petting the animals.  It's been VERY fun to watch him grow - I am now starting to NOT want my little boy to grow up!!  I love this stage right now - I go in to wake him up in the morning with a "good morning" and he stretches and gives this wonderful smile.  It's a great feeling!  We worked with OT today on feeding stuff and decided to increase his visits to 1x a week - I would LOVE for him to be off the feeding tube by his first birthday. 

Exciting, fun news we can now share - Jack is going to have a cousin in December!!  Aunt Marianne is pregnant and has made it through her first trimester!  She wasn't feeling so great for awhile but has now started to feel pretty good.  We are all very happy for her and Steve and can't wait to find out what they are having later this month!

Hot weather, crabby baby?

Well, normally I like hot weather - especially since we actually have a nice pool in our neighborhood - but Jack isn't really ready for hot weather.  If it makes it difficult for me to breathe then it's 10x worse for him (though his lungs are much better now that he's not aspirating!).  I don't really feel comfortable taking him to the pool yet either.  So, my wonder is that since it was soooo hot yesterday, did that attribute to Jack's crankiness all day?  He was a fussy baby!  I do think he had some rather painful gas also - he definitely felt better after a couple poops!  I'm hoping he does better today for Grandma Sally!

On a side note, I did notice that though we don't take Jack outside too terribly much - he does have a slight farmer's tan on his little arms!  His little legs actually kinda tan!!  Hopefully he doesn't have his dad's easily sunburnt skin!

Happy 4th!

We had an enjoyable July 4th yesterday!  We enjoyed our day with Grandpa T and Grandma Nell, Uncle Jared, Aunt Amanda, Aunt Marianne and Uncle Steve.  Jack enjoyed his time with the family!

We went and hung out with the neighbors across the street for the rest of the evening.  Jack wouldn't fall asleep last night, so he got to watch the fireworks - what wide eyes!  I covered his ears the whole time, he loved the colors!

Update...

Well, it's time for a quick update as to what is going on in the world of Jack!  We had his pediatrician visit on Tuesday - he didn't gain much weight - only about 6 oz but overall, he's still doing good.  He's still on the growth chart for his actual age (at the 1% mark).  We have not progressed at all in regards to feeding - did very well on Tuesday night with apples (ate half the container) but then back to the normal fighting any food that comes near him.  The Dr. said to focus more on the solids and hopefully he'll work towards not fighting the bottle or even go to a sippy cup.  I know he'll get it in his own time, but I really hope his own time starts soon - I think it'll make him feel better and not have so many gagging episodes in the morning if he was able to eat the food on his own.  If I only could tell the future! 

He's doing much better with sitting up on his own, still doesn't fully know that back boundary but can sit for about 5min on his own until he goes backwards!  He's interacting with all of us and reaching for myself and Dustin when he sees us!