James

James was born 12 weeks early on August 7. He was a little over a kilogram when he was delivered, and now he is almost 1.5 kilograms. He is receiving excellent care at the NICU in Hyogo College of Medicine in Nishinomiya, which is about one hour by car from our place. We spend most of our time commuting to the hospital every day and visiting James. He is a tiny guy, but he is very healthy and developing quickly. Every week he gets bigger and stronger. We feel blessed to have such a healthy preemie, and we look forward to the day when we can bring him home. However, we still have a long wait ahead of us. The doctor said he would be released either on his due date, October 24, or a month after that depending on his progress. So, he has at least six more weeks in the hospital. Before that, he needs to be able to breathe on his own, and regulate his body temperature. Right now, he is in an incubator, and needs oxygen and a feeding tube. When he is able to survive out of the incubator and take milk from a bottle, he will be transfered to the GCU, which is next to the NICU. In the GCU, L'Shawn will be able to nurse him, and people can visit him. However, visitors, including his big sister Naomi, can only look at him through a big glass window. The next post will be about kangaroo care. Until then, we wish you all the best.