Four weeks old!!!

Jordan is four weeks old today!!!! Sorry about not posting an update yesterday.  It was a very busy day and we were exhausted by the end of it.  I cannot believe that four weeks ago my sweet baby Jordan was born.  He had all the numbers and odds against him by being born at only 23 weeks gestation and he has continued to amaze us and the doctors with his fighting power.  God is so awesome and is working so many miracles through this little boy.  We are so blessed to be his parents.  There have been many hills that we all have had to overcome during these four weeks and I am sure there are many more hills to come!

Jordan is doing well.   Two days ago he had his very first bath and yesterday when we went to see him his hair was all fluffy and stuck out in places!! It was ADORABLE!!  It was so nice to see his little baby hair tufts!  The nurses said that he was splashing in the water during his bath.  So cute.  Jordan also celebrated his first festival.  Tanataba festival or star festival is the event where a male and a female star that are across the milky way from each other, move toward each other and meet in the middle.  The people usually celebrate with lanterns, floats, and writing their wishes to the starts.  Jordan had a paper lantern on his Incubator and we were able to write our wishes about Jordan to be posted on the lantern.  I think it is awesome that his nurses care so much and really do try to make our time and his time in the NICU special. 

His respiratory condition is currently stable.  The doctors were working on weaning the mean air pressure (MAP) on the ventilator.  It is now down to the level that they wanted it to be at.  Now that he is stable with that pressure level, the doctors will slowly start to wean him off of the steroids.  The goal is for him to not need the steroids and still be stable on the ventilator.  The doctor’s two main goals for Jordan are to double his weight, and to come off of the ventilator in 2-3 weeks.  The doctor explained that it is much easier for them to take him off of the ventilator when he is at a weight of around 1000 grams.  His current weight is 505 grams which is 1lb 1.8oz!! Praise God for him reaching a pound of weight!!  We are looking forward to him coming off of the ventilator sooner rather than later.  We are hoping for two weeks because then we get to hold our little angel for the first time.  We can only hold him in the incubator at first but this is a step that we will be happy to take.  We are so thankful each day for the time that we have been given!  Jordan was very active yesterday and he was trying really hard to tear off all the sensors and tape all over his body!  I think he is also ready to come off of the ventilator!! At least emotionally…not physically ready yet. 

Yesterday we had a long day.  We visited with Jordan and then I had a doctor’s appointment right after.  Four weeks ago I was told that I needed to have an emergency C-section ASAP to basically save my life.  Yesterday at my appointment I was told that I am now medically clear and all of my labs and levels are normal and healthy once again.  Praise God for the work that He has done with my own health as well as Jordan’s.  It really is crazy to think that I was so near death.  I really didn’t feel that bad physically and had no idea that my inside organs were about to shut down.  I am so thankful that God was watching over me and my own help as well.  HELLP is a scary disease.  I was also told that there is a 30% chance that I could have the HELLP syndrome again in any subsequent pregnancies.  We do not know what God’s future plans are for our family but Jacob and I personally believe that 30% is much too high of a risk.  We think that there are many children that are already in this world in need of a loving home so adoption may be possible for our future.  Of course everything is up to God and we will wait on His perfect timing in our lives.  Right now, we are just very thankful for the two incredible boys that we have.  We have been blessed beyond measure! 

Right now we are working on getting Jordan’s passport.  He has to have a passport ASAP to prepare for any type of medical transports that we need in the future.  Last night, we were trying to print off his passport photos and our printer seems to be broken.  It was very frustrating because we had a meeting this morning where we were supposed to have all the paperwork ready and we didn’t have photos.  But it all worked out.  It is funny how we stress about minor things in life and God just comes in and takes over and puts us in our place.  Why do we ever worry and stress about things? God has them all under control anyways.  I am still working on giving God the control minute by minute.  Next week, the passport process should be complete and on its way to the embassy so that Jordan can be registered.  It’s crazy to think that he will have his passport photo with him on a ventilator for the next five years lol. 

Jordan is changing and growing so much every day.  I was looking at the pictures of when he was first born and there is so much difference.  He looks much better when there is some layers of fat covering his little ribs.  Yesterday we also got to see the X-Ray of Jordan’s body and we were able to see the little clip that he has in his heart that was put on during open heart surgery to close the PDA.  He will always have that clip in his body for the rest of his life. 

Jason is doing so well.  Yesterday he had a BLAST with some of our friends at the aquarium.  He was so excited to see all the fishes and turtles and the dolphins! He has so much energy. Our friends have a little girl that is the same age as him and it is so cute to watch them flirt and play together.  Today he has been flying his airplanes all over the house.  I love that he is so much of a boy.  Lately when we put him to bed, he likes to challenge us.  He can open doors, even with the child proof handles.  So he opens his door and likes to inch his way out of his room until we notice or catch him.  Last night he fell asleep right next to the closed door.  We had to get him to roll over so we could open the door enough to get in and put him in bed.  Silly little boy he is!!

We were talking yesterday about how many of the people who have been taking care of us have become like family to us while we are here.  We are so thankful for those who are still praying, feeding, babysitting, and translating even a month later.  God is so good to provide such amazing friends and people with such giving hearts.  We just love these people so much and are so thankful for their love and support.  They really are taking care of us!! We love you guys!!

I think it is okay to announce that we will be moving back to America sooner than our original tour in Japan.  The military is going to move us on a medical PCS.  The location of the move is still undetermined and will not be decided for several more weeks.  The base that we are at does not have the medical capabilities to provide us with the specialist care that Jordan will need after he gets out of the NICU.  Pray for this that God would put us in the perfect location for our needs and that He would take away all the human worry and stress that we may have based on a quick PCS with a short amount of notice.

With as busy as we have been, the house cleaning is definitely lacking.  Today I have a lot of cleaning to do in order to catch up.  Laundry and dishes never stop coming.  I am so thankful for my wonderful husband as he has stepped up majorly in many areas to take over jobs that I would normally do and to share the work load.  He is such an awesome supporter and I am beyond thankful that he is my life partner in love and I would not want to have anyone else as my partner in this journey of our lives. 

Lord, thank you so much for your continued blessings.  We are blessed beyond measure and so grateful for the miracles that you are doing in our lives.  We pray for strength as we are weary.  Give us strength and endurance to continue on.  I pray for Jordan that you would continue blessing his little body! I praise your name for the weight gain that he has had and am so grateful for his specialized care.  We pray that you would continue to strengthen him and allow him to double his weight so that he may be able to safely come off of the ventilator soon.  We know that you are all powerful and can make amazing changes in a short amount of time.  Be with the doctors as they decide on their treatments and make important decisions for his health and well-being.  We pray that you would be with the doctors on base also and the command leadership as they decide where we are going to be moving in the near future.  We pray that you would have your hands on this transfer and allow things to go smoothly and gently.  Also give us strength as we deal with the “red tape” along the way.  Thank you for our sweet boy Jason and his sweet personality.  Thank you that he is so easy going and that he is so loved by many people here.  We ask that you would continue to give him strength, energy, and guide his attitude as he grows.  Help us to be godly and loving parents and great examples.  Be with Jacob and I and help us to not let our tired attitudes get in the way.  Help us to be loving and kind to one another and help us to be good testimonies of your grace.  We thank you for the wonderful friends you have given us.  We are so blessed and underserving.  We ask all these things in your name, Amen.