Jack the Piglet!

Jack had fun at the Labor Day Weekend BBQ yesterday...Lots of snuggling with all of his friends and family. Aunt Stacy made him a Happy 3-Week Birthday Tart. We had to stop him from eating the entire thing, the piglet!

Bath time!

I had my very first "real" bath today! I can't say I enjoyed it, but I smell really nice and look super handsome now. Not that I'm not always super handsome...Today I'm just going to hang out with Mommy and Zia Stacy and wait for Daddy to come home and play with me!

I don't like this!

As you can see, Jack really doesn't seem to like laying flat for some reason...He is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Zia Stacy who is coming to visit him this today. I put a nice, clean outfit on him so he looks most handsome, but he promptly spit up on it. Seems to be his MO... :) Then I almost choked the poor little guy with his vitamins! He coughed and sputtered, but is doing just fine as you can see!!

Big News!

My umbilical cord stump fell off last night! Mommy found it in my diaper. Check out my kissable tummy!!

Mommy and Me

Today it's just Mommy and me as Daddy is working! We are going to see Dr. Chi so he can weigh me and make sure I am eating enough. We might swing by Aunt Cyn's...we'll see how the day goes!

Good morning!

We had a nice Saturday...I visited Uncle Chris and Aunt Maureen Carmeci and then Aunt Cyn and Uncle Pete came over for dinner (daddy makes a mean steak and potatoes..and his pie was yummy, too!). Aunt Cyn was awesome...she was great at holding down my flailing arms while mommy attempted to feed me...a true friend! This morning, daddy is going to head to church and mommy and I are going to hang out and get ready for lunch at Nana and Grandpa's for their 40th anniversary!

I'm too sexy for this car seat...

Jack wanted to show you how good he looks in aviator sunglasses...and covered in tomatoes.

Pancake Breakfast Outfit

We are going to take Jack across the street for the Diner's famous pancakes this morning. His waitress is anxiously awaiting her first JBW sighting. Thanks Aunt Kim for this super cute outfit! I love the little lambs!

Car Seat Trickery

Well, we put Jack to sleep last night in his car seat and he slept soundly! No crying or fussing. We took him out of it around 3am and placed him in his crib and he lasted an hour without crying. It was great! Hopefully he will be able to sleep in the crib within a few days. Kim has been dilligently feeding the little guy and we expect his weight to improve. We figure that he comes from good weight-gaining stock...

Welcome to the Jungle

Visiting the Great-Grandmothers

That's right! Today Jack went visiting. Both Great-Grandmothers were thrilled to see him and kept marveling about his tiny size. Jack also went to the doctor's today and was given an A-OK. He still is tiny (10th percentile for height and weight) but that should change. He is in the 110th percentile for looks and personality (evidenced by his most recent "Snugglesaurus" picture). We are enjoying our family time together, screams and all. Hopefully this weekend we will hang out with Pete, Cyn, and Emma and enjoy the weather. Perhaps a few beers...

Our First Morning

Well, we made it through the night...barely. Jack DID NOT like being alone in the dark. As soon as we put him down, he would start to whimper and then go into a full blown banshee shriek. Pretty impressive, actually. Dad caved and slept with Jack in his arms the rest of the night (we waited until 3:30 am) which calmed him immediately. We think that he is still transitioning from the sights and sounds of the NICU to the relative calm of home. All his clothes are huge on him. We've posted a picture of him in his "Handsome" onesie...

JACK'S BACK!!!!

YAY! He is currently hanging out with mom and dad at home!!! The doctors and nurses were amazing at Morristown. We were a little sad to leave them as they were so nice... Special thanks to Drs. Federico, Swanson, Lee, Shen, Mimms, and Kaufman for their care of Jack. Extra special thanks to Tracy, Radica, Joanne, Charlene, Dodi, and all the wonderful nurses who cared for Jack like he was their own. Praise God for our little guy! They still can't really explain what happened to him or why, but we don't care! His heart is normal and all systems are go. Thank you all again for all your prayers and support.

Monday Night Update

It looks like tomorrow is the day that Jack gets to come home!!!! We are so happy and thankful for all of God's blessings this week. When we look back and think about where we were this time last week and how uncertain everything was, it really is amazing to know that Jack is coming home tomorrow. He is eating well and his color is great. We also had to fit him in the car seat today to make sure his breathing was OK (it was). He was circumcised today sans anethestic...the nurse said he didn't make a sound. Actually, he screamed his head off... The cardiologist will do a final EKG tomorrow to check his heart and then we will be off!

Sunday Night Update

Jack has gone tubeless! Today was another great day as the doctors decided Jack could fend for himself! They removed all tubes from him and he is doing well so far. He also had his first manicure today, which he slept through! The anticipated release date is Tuesday... Tomorrow we are bringing in the car seat to see how he fares while strapped in.

We would like to take a moment to thank everyone out there for praying for Jack. I was a little emotional in church today (not very manly, thank goodness Kim and Jack weren't there to witness it), but meant what I said... It pleases God to work through prayer.

Also, Sarah Shoemaker knitted the most adorable sweater for our Jack. Truly beautiful! Thank-you!

And my diaper bag is truly stylish. You are all jealous.

Sexy Daddy

I had to take a picture of Rich going into the hospital yesterday. I thought he looked so cute, and if I didn't know better, I'd swear he was Brad Pitt (although HE is looking a bit weathered)...Rich was so excited to use his camo diaper bag, though at the moment we are filling it with other various accouterments!

Saturday Night Update

Sorry this update is so late...we just got back from the hospital. Jack continues to improve with each day. Today was his first day in his crib and his first day without any IVs or other nasties stuck in his body. Kim and I were able to dress him in his "Little All-Star" onesie as well as hold him. Kim was even allowed to breastfeed him today. We are hoping that within a few days he will be home. Many thanks to Uncle Joe and Aunt Maureen, Grandpa Santoro and Grandma Santoro, Zia Stacy, and Uncle Jesse and Aunt Sandy for visiting Jack today.

Jack in Action

Here is Jack out of the box and eating as fast as he can! It's clear that he is the product of Santoro/Wenner blood...His love of food is impressive!!! Zia Stacy is having a hard time keeping up...

Friday Night Update

Wow! Where to start??? Today was a great day for Mommy, Daddy, and Jack in the box. This was due in large part to the fact that Jack was able to get out of the box twice for feeding, hugging, and kissing. They removed most of his tubes and he has been given the green light to eat as much as he wants. So far he has sucked down whole bottles in record time!

He was also lucky enough to get visits from Grandma Santoro, Uncle Pete, Aunt Cyn, and Cousin Emma yesterday. Today Aunt Kim, Zia Stacy, Grandpa Wenner, and Nana Wenner showered him with love as well.

We've posted some pictures from today and will post a Video of Jack eating with Zia Stacy. Pay attention to his work on the bottle...Kim is in for a hungry boy!

Thursday Night Update

Today was the first day that we got hold Jack! Our nurse let us take him out of his box and Kim was able to feed him. All the nurses have been truly wonderful! He continues to improve each day and the doctors are optimistic that in the next few days or so Jack will come home. Thank you for all your prayers!

We are all ready!!!

We are looking forward to the day when Jack comes home!

Although the doctors have not told us when he will be coming home, the consensus is that he is coming home soon...Here are some pictures of his room! Thank you Mr. Cassidy for George the Giraffe!

Video Highlight of Jack in Action

Umm...so I just realized I sound really bossy here! Poor Jack and Daddy!

Wednesday Night

OK. Apparently there is no such thing as a good "layman's term" synopsis for what Jack has... Suffice it to say that he is getting better and that all are optimistic that he will be home soon. We got to change his diaper today and hold him a bit. He was very spoiled with all his guests and VIP visitors. We are thanking God for his faithfulness in healing Jack and surrounding him with some of the very best doctors. The outpouring of support has been incredible to experience! We've included some pictures of him from today. He is definitely a confirmed blond!

What's going on?

It seems like the doctors have finally figured out what is going on with Jack. It's not the pulmonary hypertension as they initially thought, which makes sense because he just wasn't fitting the symptoms for that. The doctors think he's got a temporary heart condition and today we're going to try to get a good "layman's explanation" from them to pass on to all of you. Essentially, his heart is a little bigger than it's supposed to be in areas, but this should resolve itself to normal in 7-10 days. The outlook is good, we just have to be patient as he improves! We truly appreciate the calls and emails, so keep them coming. Even if we don't get back to you, we will soon!

Tuesday's Update

Don't get scared!!!!


I'm doing better! My O2 saturation level is holding at around 90-95% and I am on 63% pure O2. This is an improvement from even yesterday when I was on 100% pure O2. I'm still cute as ever and the doctors think I will be fine in a week or ten days. Thank you all for your prayers for me!

Here I am the night I was born!

Little Bear!

Here are some photos of the greatest love of our lives, Jack, minutes after he was born!