Jacob is still resting peacefully. He is tolerating the milk very well & they are increasing his intake by 3 cc's every 12 hours. The goal is to get him to 36 cc's every 3 hours so that the IV can be removed. He showed more signs of waking up today; yawned a few times for me, made a few peeps & even showed signs of wanting to suck (VERY GOOD NEWS)! By end of day today, he was eating 26 cc's every 3 hours! If all goes well, he'll be off that IV in the next day or so! Keep making progress Jacob!

Amanda met her baby brother today. I believe she was quite excited! She kept repeating, "Baby Brother!", "Baby Jacob", "Handsome Boy". I'd say the introduction went over very well!

Overall Status: Good Day

Growth Stats:
Weight: 6 lbs 6.5 oz
Length: 18.75"
Head: 13"

Visitors: Noni & Papa, Grandma & Grandpa, Kerry

Jacob had an MRI today. The pediatric neurologist stopped by & gave us the results of that as well as the rest of the EEG. The MRI does show some asymmetry in the brain, however, it's pretty subtle & he doesn't think it's so abnormal that it's cause for concern (GREAT NEWS)! He said the white/gray matter of the brain is questionable, however, it is distinct, meaning you can see the difference in the white & gray areas of the brain (MORE GREAT NEWS). In Brianna's case, both of these were very prominent (not good news).

The EEG results are also fairly good news, of the 18 hours of coverage, there were only 14 instances of seizures, the longest lasting about a minute, while the others averaged about 45-50 sec.

He is very encouraged with the results so far & is also very pleased with how well Jacob is responding to the medication. He has ordered his medication be decreased by 30% because Jacob is still very sedated. Hopefully in the next couple of days, he will begin to wake up! He was on a nasal canula for a little while today; the medication has him so sedated that he just needed a little help with oxygen.

Overall Status: Good Day

Visitors: Colleen & Paige -- Why do I feel like I'm missing somebody?

Kevin & I stayed at the hospital in a parent/baby room last night. Since we were both so emotionally exhausted, we seemed to sleep fairly well. The pediatric neurologist has reviewed the first 6 hours of the EEG & during those 6 hours, he only saw 4 seizures. This means that the other rigid movements we are seeing are "myclonic". Now that he has confirmed there are indeed seizures happening, he's put Jacob on a drug called Klonopin. This drug is not only used as an anti-seizure medication, it's also used for relaxing the rigid ness in his arms & legs. We're hoping this drug will help Jacob in both cases. The neurologist will review the other 12 hours of the test & give us the results tomorrow.

Jacob spent all day sleeping. Until they figure out the level for which he needs to be on, he will be pretty sedated. Aside from that, the medication appears to be working. He's very relaxed & there are no signs of seizures and/or myclonic movements. He has also begun feedings via a tube down his nose.

Visitors Today: Kerry & Grandma, Heather & Sara, David & Heather, Barb & Chrysti, Pam, Colleen & Jen, Nicole, Laura & Jen, Celeste

Jacob Tyler's Journey Begins

I had been having signs of labor for 5 days. At 4:30am I awoke with consistent contractions & at 5:30am called my midwife. I arrived at the birth center at 6:30am, was 5-6 cm & progressing nicely. By 9:20am, our son, Jacob Tyler, was born. At first all seemed perfect. Although he was struggling with taking his first breaths, his heart rate never dropped & he remained pink.

About 40 minutes after he was born, we started to see some things that made us a bit uncomfortable. He wasn't showing any interest in eating & he appeared to be having seizures & his limbs were very stiff. My Midwife called the pediatrician & it was decided we would take Jacob straight to the office for a quick exam. I knew then, where we would end up. I knew he wasn't ok & this was the beginning of another tough & bumpy road, just like his big sister Brianna Renee.

When we arrived at the pediatrician's office, Dr Ryan was waiting. I couldn't look up at him. All I could do was hold my head low & sob. As I barely heard the words coming from his mouth, we immediately left his office & headed downstairs to Newborn Intensive Care. Here we go again, I thought.

When we arrived in NICU, the nurses & doctor's were right there waiting for us. As they talked amongst themselves & asked Kevin & I questions about Brianna, I continued to lay my head over my legs & weep uncontrollably.

I thought lightening doesn't strike twice in the same spot? How can one family go through this all over again. Where will we find the strength? As the doctor examined Jacob, it was very clear that we were dealing with another situation that is very similar to Brianna.

The doctor immediately ordered him Phenobarbital, an anti seizure medication & a CT scan. The results of the CT scan were very similar to Brianna. The left side of the brain has suffered some sort of trauma & therefore has not developed correctly. By evening, he had many wires hooked up to his head with a video monitor recording his every move, this is called a Video EEG. This machine monitors his brain wave activity & will give us a clearer picture on all the movements he is making & whether or not they are all seizures. The pediatric neurologist has stopped the medication so that the test can be as accurate as possible. They will run this test for 18 hours.

Although still very rigid & appearing to continue to have seizures, Jacob seems to be resting comfortably, his parents on the other hand are a complete wreck.

Birth Stats:
Time: 9:20am
Weight: 6 lbs 3 oz
Length: 18.5"
Head: 12.5"

Visitors Today: Sara, Laura, Barbara, Colleen, Pastor Keith Lauwers & Terri