Monthly Archives: August 2009

Due to the helmet from CPAP, Jada gets swollen and her head takes a different shape. It will go back to “normal” once she goes off the CPAP to the nasal cannula (through the nose). Bill (aka “Pop”) took several … Continue reading →

The past few days, Jada has been cruising in all areas.  We apologize for the delay in posting this weekend, so we are excited to fill you in on her progress. She remains on the CPAP with 20 bpm, 28-42% … Continue reading →

I’m happy to report that we have lots of good news to report today. First, Jada continues to digest her feeds and, as a result, is now 2 lbs 2 ozs. Go Jada! She is still receiving 16 ml + … Continue reading →

Jada has continued to improve over the last 24 hours just as we had hoped. Jada’s feedings and breathing (the two areas where we are primarily focused) continue to go very well. She is currently receiving 14ml of milk + … Continue reading →

It is official. Our little bundle of joy is officially 2 pounds. Way to go Jada! This also means that Allie and I will have to defer our friendly wager to another occasion. Other news, Jada has had a pretty … Continue reading →

I’m happy to report that Jada had a pretty good day today. She is still on the high frequency ventilator, but her oxygen requirements stayed consistently between 30-40% and her doctor was able to ween the MAP and amplitude settings … Continue reading →

Allie and I are running out the door to head to the hospital then to church. I’ll post again this afternoon, but wanted to give a quick update: Jada had a horrible day on Friday and the doctors needed to … Continue reading →

Just got back from my lunch trip to the hospital. As Allie mentioned in her post earlier today…Jada has had a pretty rough morning. After desating (a drop in her oxygen saturation levels…remember she needs to stay within 80 – 93%) … Continue reading →

We knew the time might come when the doctors would have to switch Jada back to the conventional ventilator.  That time happened this morning. Simply put, Jada was exhausted from breathing on her own with the CPAP for almost a … Continue reading →

Today was another special milestone…Dave held Jada for the first time!  I’m so glad I got to witness them together.  As he held her to his chest, he had the widest grin.  He loved how her toes wiggled against his … Continue reading →

We had way too much fun in the NICU today!  Jada had such a great day, her nurse (Sally) and I decided to have a photo shoot. First a quick update:  Jada stayed on about 35% Oxygen most of the … Continue reading →

Today was another success…she continues to have an oxygen level from 30-40% on her new ventilator with 25 BPM (Breaths Per Minute).  Her doctors went up on her feeds last night to 16 ml every 3 hours; however, today they … Continue reading →

I wanted to share a photo of Jada’s new condo with you because some of you have asked.  The other photo is with my dad, Grandaddy to Jada, while visiting Jada yesterday.

The past 3 weeks, I’ve been dreaming about the day that I would actually get to hold precious Jada.  I had no idea it would be so soon. Yesterday around noon, Jada switched to the CPAP rather than the conventional … Continue reading →

This morning we headed up to the hospital to check on Jada, and all is going very well. Allie’s Dad, Mike, just arrived in town so he and Allie are currently in the NICU with Jada. I’m really glad they are getting this … Continue reading →

Jada continues to make progress in all areas… Her feedings are stable, and she is getting an additional 2 packets of calories (Fortifier) mixed into her 12 ml of milk every 3 hours.  Her blood transfusion IV was removed from … Continue reading →

I’m headed back up to the hospital right now, but wanted to first provide a short update on Jada. The last 24 hours have been very positive. After initially responding well to the first dose of the steroids, the doctors … Continue reading →

Its been a really busy 24 hours in the Alter household. Yesterday morning I met with another well regarded NICU doctor in town to discuss the use of dexamethasone steroids. Without going into too much detail, he confirmed that 1) … Continue reading →

This is a guest post by Bill and Karen Peary, also known as Allie’s mom and Step-Dad. In addition to being wonderful people, B&K shouldered much of the burden over the last few months while Allie and I camped out at … Continue reading →