The last time I blogged, Jordan had just been moved to an open crib with a warmer on top instead of the incubator. He was dealing with ROP in his eyes and had been battling back and forth with infections. He was also on CPAP for his respiratory condition. He has made big changes since that step. Jordan is now almost 5 lbs. We expect him to reach that weight within a week or two at the most. The ROP that was in his eyes has been healed without treatment. In ROP, the blood vessels in the eyes grow too quickly and end up wiggled rather than straight like normal. Jordan's blood vessels have straightened out and he no longer has ROP in either eye. Jordan is now in a regular bassinet with no warmer on top. He keeps his own temperature stable now. He is also no longer on CPAP. He is now just on oxygen for respiratory assistance. He has a very low setting of oxygen being supplied. The dr recently tried a trial run with no oxygen but he failed the attempt so they will try again in a few weeks. These are big progressive steps.
Besides those huge improvements, we have also received more great news with his condition. He had his hearing checked and passed with flying colors. He also went through and MRI to check brain development and activity. There was no sign of any developmental problems with his brain because of his prematurity. Everything was normal and comparative to healthy full-term infants. What a huge blessing. God has big plans for our little boy! We still drive up the NICU 4 times per week to cuddle and love on our sweet little boy. He is now drinking from a bottle and finishing his milk most of the time. He still has a feeding tube for those times when he is too sleepy to finish his bottle. We are still trying breastfeeding even though it doesn't seem to be working out so well. He likes the bottle better. I am still pumping for him. We are hoping that he will be able to come home shortly after we move. We are ready to bring him home so we can love on him all the time. We are hopefully moving in one week. I say hopefully because there were some kinks in our travel plans that haven't been corrected yet. The military hospital here does not have the medical abilities to care for him so they are transferring us to the states. We are going to Washington state and are really excited. We have been busy preparing for the move.
Jason is doing great. He was able to meet his little brother through the window. The Japanese hospital system is much more strict than the American system and not many people are allowed in the NICU to visit babies. When we get to the states Jason will be able to actually touch Jordan for the first time. I am so looking forward to watching my boys bond as brothers. Jason is still working on Potty training. I feel like he would be done by now if we were making it a priority but with being so busy we have not been as consistent with it as we should have. Once we get settled at our new base I plan to do a "no more diapers" stage with full time potty training going on. Jason has done really well with all the crazy things we go through. I am very proud of him and amazed at the little big boy he is becoming. He has so much energy. Sometimes we literally have to sit on him to get his clothes changed. If I had that energy I could do so much!
Although we are excited to move on we are also sad to leave our "family" here in Japan behind. Those people that have been right by our side from the very beginning just loving and supporting us have been a true blessing to us. They loved us and stood beside us when our world fell apart. They cried with us, laughed with us, prayed with us, and loved us. We have been surrounded by God's love and the love of His people. God had provided for us every step of the way. We have learned to rely on God for even the smallest details of life and to cast all of our burdens on Him. His way is the best way. He has the best plans and has laid them out for us to live fully in Him and to bless Him with our testimony. I love this time of year the most because I am reminded of just how awesome God is each time I look at the colors of the leaves and the beautiful changing colors. It is so beautiful and majestic. What a mighty God we serve! As we continue on our journey we ask that you would pray for us. Pray that we would seek God at all times and raise our children to know and love Him. That we would use our testimony to reach others for Christ. God heals the broken and strengthens the weak. He is the only one that can make our burdens light. And He is the only one who can save us for eternity.
