So cute.. it's scary. Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from AZ! Luke is doing better after a visit to the pediatrician yesterday and some western medicine for upper GI reflux. Luke had been fussy all week and up for most of the night Tues and Wed. There was general unhappiness about this..

Luke only grew 2 1/2 oz this last week, which is not desired (4 oz minimum expectation), so we go back Monday to recheck weight after he received medicine that allows him to be more comfortable, thus sleep more. We are giving him different formula too, that is easier on his belly. Seems to be working, and our boy is sleeping more often and eating more.

Haylen is practically back to her pre pregnancy weight - don't hate her because she is beautiful. Although, John hid the scale from her, because weight is an unhelpful outcome measure of her being healthy - due to increased milk production and muscle weight from baby carrying.

Luke is on a weight reduction strategy, however, largely based in poop production. It looks like deli mustard and finds its way everywhere. This is particularly true during a diaper change when Luke adds in his calisthentics - wild arms and leg motions meant to challenge new mommies and daddies. More of a trick than a treat..

Umm.. I have a question

Little guy is eating and fussing and sleeping and then again.. not sleeping. We think he has a lot on his mind, lots of questions - he is always raising his hand like this, as if to ask "Can you please stop messing with me? Can you turn those lights down? Why does sour cream have an expiration date?"

Polite little guy..

Other times he looks like Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) during his first interview "I'm not sure what to do with my hands"... Remember Luke, if your not first, your last..

Full term! Don't call me premature

Oct 26 marks Luke's expected due date, so he is a full term baby now. Here is a pic of Haylen and Luke out on our first big adventure with the bob stroller. We got our 's' together enough to engineer the stroller and fit the car seat bar to it (thanks to sean and erin for their advice on the bob and the bar itself they sent us!). We had a great breakfast with Haylen, Luke, Teddi and John overlooking the Phoenix Valley.

John even played golf on Sunday - shot an 82 -not bad for an old man out of practice. Teddi is playing her part too in testing out the equipment before we utilize it. Here she is with the 'baby bjorn'.

The blog has earned Luke some street credit. Now he is known as 'L to the JB' or as Katie Trotta has dubbed him "LL cool J" which is definitely OG. Luke is healthy and hip.. what more can we ask of a 0 month old? (5 weeks - and likely over 7 lbs now).

Belly Time

Little luke sprouted to 6 lbs 7.5 oz or 12 oz in 6 days! That's a 20% growth in less than a week. I'd be tired too!

We went to the pediatrician early yesterday out of concern for Luke's restlessness and 'velociraptor' posing. Plus he was awake from 2 am to nearly 6 am - not good for developing babies and tired daddies. Our intuition wasnt terrible, but not correct. No infection, which is great, but he likely has upper GI reflux causing him to arch his back and move his esophagus, which is irritated. Very nice lady, Dr Engle, she answered all of our neurotic concerns. There is a direct correlation between increased formula (high calcium content) and his GI issues. So formula during day, and only as needed at night where he struggles most.

So now slower flow nipples, less food more often and better understanding of the reasons behind the velociraptor maneuver. Much more serene evening last night as result.

Haylen and John had the cleaning ladies over while John worked, holding the baby, Haylen had teddi and ran to work to get a clinic grade thermometer, then pediatrician, then to get teddi groomed, then babies r us - then shopping and home.. Haylen had 'mommy time' today to recover. John is avoiding his run during his 'daddy time'.

Why does the very simple become difficult to solve with a baby? We just get by some days... most days.. I have untold respect for people who do this with older children as well..

Great pumpkin patch, Charlie Brown!

What was the point of that Charlie Brown episode and why did we look forward to it so much?

Caught the little guy in a smile with his new hand knit hat. Thanks to Samantha and Mike for making and sending!

Full court press with eating with Luke. He is determined to eat his way into the NBA or PGA tour.

For the record, Haylen loves his nose..

Plus, he peed through his diaper on to Daddy yesterday..right after this picture..

I'm noticing that there is a rapid transition between his state of being completely full and asleep to becoming awake and completely starving. It is a razor thin line. Much in the way that us adults can enjoy candy corns right up until the time that we suddenly need to throw up. Was it that one whole candy corn? Or was it some fraction of the last candy corn where we went from joy to nausea?

Home sweet home

Luke is doing well, just fussy and eating unbelievable amounts of food! We are learning that he is hungry more often and for more food.

Haylen has been healthy and balanced and loves our little pale guy. She is sleeping enough and eating healthy and the surgery is less painful. John is back at work from home and has the good fortune of being able to do training at home for new job.

John's parents are planning a trip out to see Luke James during Thanksgiving and have been very supportive. We are both still vulnerable emotionally and physically and need the love and support we have gotten.

Luke has taken to the 'velociraptor' fossil pose from Jurassic park when waking up - arched back - claws forward - quite a site (pun intended).. He is irascible lately and we have concerns of the UTI infection returning. Kidney ultrasound was fine at hospital and he had 7 days of megasaurus antibiotics given IV not even a week ago. New parents being nervous or developing intuition?

Nobody puts baby in a corner!

You can see that Luke James has discovered his celtic roots during a moonlight druid ceremony... Apparently, the druids would spend late hours waving their arms about and arching their backs. There must have been lots of pooping and fussing too, the way that Luke re-enacts.

He had his 1st bath at home yesterday and is wrapped up in his big towel. A bit fussy yesterday and not tolerant of formula bottles only..

Everyone can see he has his father's nose with complete circular nostrils. Look at your own noses - I'll bet they have semi circular nostrils - which is normal. We have to believe that it is cute now and not make fun of it (like people do with my nose) until he develops a strong self image and can handle the teasing. Haylen really didnt want him to have my lil pug nose.. really didnt. Thank God he is a genius which makes up for it!

Send us pics of our family and friends and we will post as we get them. Did anyone understand the title? (A classic quote from Dirty Dancing). Get with it people and stop making fun of my son's nose!

Like a Baby..

He's a good baby! He needs to be swadlled and fed, and oh yeah, his diapers changed. Other than that, this is what he looks like most of the time. He eats loads and sleeps 4hrs at a time, depending on how much he ate and whether the neosure supplement has been included.


Lets see, 4 hrs so that would mean he sleeps from 12 to 4 am. Which he does.. Then he gets right back to sleep for John who gets up with him.. Oh wait, no he actually fusses for 2 hrs no matter what John does. Awake from 4 - 6 am!


I really welcome your feedback on how to help him settle in his late hour feed. He seems to settle just about every other time, just fine. We feed him, burp him, change him all the same...


Try to be solution oriented - I will accept this after I try to adjust his 'fussy period' to another, more civil time of day. Suggestions? (besides acceptance...)

Haylen is sleeping more, eating well and a super mom. John is running to stay fit, cleaning and helping Hay. We are both very content today.

John announced to his AA men's homegroup that he had a little boy and led the discussion. His spiritual friends noted how children transform self sacrifice into just plain Love - unconditional Love. We feel it today.

Luke meets Teddi

Made it through the first night! Here's a recap: Home after John flies in from Napa, CA and picks up all 1500 bags we had at the hospital. (7 p,m)

Luke was in one of the bags. We were flustered with sheets and bottles that needed washing. Then take out food - 9 pm. Then Luke peed on the wall and later had a poop that blasted like a novelty cannon beyond his diaper (4 30am diaper) into his outfit. Bodily functions have always been funny to us - from age 2 and probably will be until we die...

Dad got up at 3 30 am and fed the little guy who got to sleep at 5 15. Haylen fed him at 8. Then off to new pediatrician at 11 am. Granma came over at 2 pm and we napped from 3- 5. Gram may have gotten peed on today at 5pm too. We will now employ the 'pee pee teepee' with tough lessons learned. Life is good!

We are functional and Luke is doing great! Teddi is so curious, but wont go so far as to touch Luke. John is 'dog whispering' her too, not letting teddi forget that this is our baby. She was up for every feed, diaper change and pacifer placement helping..

Luke is 5 lbs 12 oz ( 1lb more than birth) and is 6% of his growth curve adjusted for being born at 35 weeks. 19 in long which is 26% of his growth curve. He is great, thanks for all the support!

I'm Coming Home!

"I'm coming home...To the place where I belong" Our little boy is already able to sing Daughtry songs! He finished his last IV antibiotic course at 12 noon today and is with Haylen right now.

Rough 24 hours for him, IV placed in foot and circumcision - Ouch! Daddy feels for you little guy...

Dad was travelling to Napa, CA for work meeting and Haylen has been running back and forth from home the last few days and going to appointments.

Now real parenthood starts, but at least we can enjoy the comforts of our own home. John arrives at 6pm to take the little guy and Haylen home! Dad has a few days off and the weekend to figure out how to deal with a phenomenon we researchers call 'sleep debt'.

Haylen is a great mom and she wants to nest, Dammit!

Its a Dry Heat

Fall is here and for the first time we arizonans have to put on what we call 'long sleeve shirts'. They are strange pieces of clothing that we have little use for most of the year.

Luke is eating 150% of his normal amount of food lately and comfortable with mommy as you can see. He is ready to go home except that he has to take the IV antibiotics. He is 5 lbs and 2 oz

Mommy had a rewarding massage at the hospital spa (its Scottsdale...) as a relief from the stress of watching her baby become sick and get poked and prodded.

Tiny babies have terrible memories, which is good for Luke. A casual day for both parents who held him most of the day and wrapped him in his favorite blanket.

Life is good for us! Thanks for all the support!

Here is a picture of Joey Trotta as a baby, our nephew and Haylen's Brother Chris and his wife Kim's younger boy.

Here is some more evidence to support that outlandish theory of genetics. Can you see similar features to our Luke when you look at Joey?

Science geek corner:

I'd like Jack and Joey to look up on the internet the name Gregor Mendel and tell me about his experiment with pea pods.. (hint it is how the study of Genetics began)

Minor Set Back for Baby Luke - He is fine

Busy 24 hrs for our Luke. Haylen noticed that he was too warm and his heart rate too fast (2 key symptoms of compensation by our body). She and the kind, pregant Rn watching Luke requested a Complete Blood Count (CBC) and he in fact had an infection. So then an IV goes in and a catheter to see if he has an Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) - yep, hes got that.




A few antibiotics and an uncomfortable lumbar puncture (to rule out meningitis - which we discovered he does not have), and now he is resting easy with a ticket to the NICU until next Thursday.

Haylen is a good clinician and she knew that for everyone elses kids - you need a CBC, Lumbar puncture and urine sample to diagnose and treat. NOT easy, as we found, to do for your own kid. The single most anxiety producing event we have experienced yet.



Objectively, he is in the right place, getting the right care, at the right time, with the right clinicians. Emotionally, however, we are hung-over. Luke is tired but eating, breathing easy on his own (no support needed), and appreciates his parents attention. His dad has 3 years experience in working with clinicians on preventing the serious consequences of infection (sepsis) and no clinician working with Luke was unclear about what to do if things took a turn. Dad was with him for every proceedure to soothe the little guy. Luke was so brave and barely reacted to the pokes.


Luke's Mom was very astute about his condition, and saved her boy from a painful, fiery infection in his kidney (which would have first shown up as breathing issues). Haylen is a hero! The staff at the unit have been great! We are next tackling all the noise in there -going straight to top to quiet things down in there. After all we will be there all week!


Nothing to be nervous about anymore, Luke is good and will only get better. Just delayed until next Thursday when his antibiotics will be done.

Details for those who are interested: His CBC had 16% neutrophil banding (>10pct is a sign of infection), he is on amipicillin and gentimyacin 7 days IV and will leave with oral 3 day course. IV in, csf was clear and had no bacteria, urine was turbid and had bacilli present. Brokars have a family history of urethral reflux which most grow out of.. continued infections could lead to kidney issues so we will continue to monitor and treat as necessary

Mission Possible

Learning to eat via the bottle. He did so for every feeding yesterday, save the 2 and 5 am feedings. He was back at it with mom at 8 am today and is stable at 5lbs. Teddi is still bigger than Luke!

No news on when he will come home. We have to be careful about what we ask for, in wanting him home with us. If i had to make another incorrect guess, perhaps Saturday? He'll get there soon and be very happy.

Mom and Dad took infant CPR class and are up to date on recent SIDS preventative measures. Haylen went to the OB for check up and she is doing fine. She is recovering from the Surgery well and her Lupus flare up seems to be okay for now. Today's vote is to decide if luke looks more like: 1) Yoda , 2) Winston Churchill, 3) Smeagol/Gollum from Lord of the Rings, 4) a cute lil premie..

Mommy and "Little Face"

To us, he is darned cute.. He is doing his job of getting us to love him. He is gaining weight and getting 150% of the Love Haylen has to offer.

No news is good news - he is breathing, eating (sometimes) and is thermoregulating. Still in NICU.

When will he come home?

Curled Hand Luke

Luke is progressing and is now 5 lbs and 1 oz. Here is a pic of "kangaroo time" a skin on skin time that encourages the premature baby to grow and feel more secure. He is right over the heart here. He doesnt look stressed does he?

Mom is resting at hospital still and Luke is learning to eat from the bottle and from mom. Currently, he is not great about eating quickly and gets tired out by the process. Something tells me that this will not last...

Already he has size 15 feet just like his father (you cant see them in this picture but they are huge)! Like a puppy, he will grow into them. Okay, he doesnt have feet that big, but they are proportionally maladjusted (freakishly big for his body).

We are taking suggestions as to what athletic endeavour he should pursue? Golf? Rowing? Swimming (look at Phelps)? Basketball? Baseball? His dad continues to put pictures of his untoned bare chest on public display - just focus on the baby will you? Or teach me to use Photo shop..

Breathing Free Air!

Luke James is able to breathe on his own! Life is simple and amazing. It is hard to believe something is so fragile to us, and yet we see it as perfect.

2 out 3 tasks complete by the tiny LJ - breathing and regulating temperature - next is eating without the tube. Patience and gratitude are the directions we receive by those close to us. He will develop in his own time and meanwhile, we get to sleep!

Haylen is doing great, still nesting in the hospital. Loves her boy and is trying to rest so that the Lupus flare that has started does not progress. She realizes that this is a marathon and not a sprint.

Dad realizes that facial hair does not look good on him, so he is clean shaven and has a haircut. He went to the gym out of shame from his last picture.

Loud night in the NICU. I spent hours covering Luke's ears to keep out the noise of newborn twins, grunting babies and their alarms. These are the times when you realize you are ready to take the boy home - even if we didnt feel ready before.

You can tell how affected he is - sleeping, warm and content. Maybe the parents are the sensitive ones.

He is a sweet little boy. He is down to room air (21%) and .5 ml of flow for his nasal canula. He bottle feeds some of the time, but still has a feeding tube in.

Looks like Dad is happy, but needs to get back to the gym! Luke respects that Dad is at least exercising his right to grow facial hair.

Mom is in need of rest, and has to take medication for pain from the surgery and a Lupus flare that has started. Nothing can dampen her spirit, especially now that Luke is here in her life!

Baby Burrito

No me Molesta! Do NOT mess with the baby - he will let you know that this is not desired. He looks like a vampire in the daytime waiting until dark!

LJ is doing well, breathing with minimal assistance, resting like Dracula, and feeding both from the bottle and mom. 2 steps forward and 1 back for him.

Haylen is tired but in love and even thinks he is adorable. We are grateful and content.

Dad is getting better with diaper change and holding the tender guy. I wonder how much longer I can get 24/7 advanced nursing care for my baby? Then I can continue sleeping like Dracula too..

- D