Blue Jays' Jackson holds 44-day-old premature son for first time

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jay Jackson has had quite the travel schedule this season.

Jackson’s third child — JR — was born 15 weeks early in July and has spent the entirety of his young life in a NICU at the Ogden Regional Medical Center in Utah.

Between his 18 appearances at the major league level this season, Jackson has spent several days flying back and forth to Utah to spend time with his family.

Jackson’s fiancée, Sam Bautista, has been sharing updates of their son’s journey over the last month-and-a-half, with her latest post describing JR’s removal of his breathing tube, which led to the Toronto pitcher being able to hold his son and have skin-to-skin contact for the first time.

“JR self-extubated last night, and the doctors thought, let’s see how he’ll do without the tube for a while,” Bautista tweeted. “This means skin-to-skin and less risk of infection. This also means Jay held his 44-day-old son for the first time. God is good.”

Now, for some amazing updates. JR self-extubated last night and the doctors thought, let’s see how he’ll do without the tube for awhile. This means skin to skin and less risk of infection. This also means Jay got to hold his 44 day old son for the first time. God is good. pic.twitter.com/xGQ5qMrVXr

— Sam Bautista (@SamAnne1219) August 19, 2023

“I meant to say this means we finally get to hold him skin to skin, and there’s less risk of lung infections. We were up until 3 am at the NICU and have limited words on Twitter, so be patient with me,” Bautista added in a follow-up post.