Day 7

AWESOME DAY!!!

Zachary....

-This little guy is soooo amazing!! They took out his central line today and put in the PICC line this afternoon. A PICC line is a long term IV that is going into his left arm.

Drum roll please..............

They took out the ventilator and put him on the CPAP!! He is breathing on his own with just a little aid of oxygen into his nose!!!! WAY TO GO ZACHARY!! With all of this action they didn't get to weigh him so check in tomorrow for his new weight!! When they left him tonight they had flipped him over on his belly and he was sleeping soundly with his little legs pulled up under him.

I thought this was so sweet, Stephen sent me an e-mail last night and there were a few things he said that I thought I would let him share with you.... " Kim and I were both able to hold his hand for a little bit and Kim was able to change his diaper. When Kim was holding his hand after the diaper change, Zachary opened his eyes a little and was looking at Kim. It was truly a special moment for us."

Kim....

Had a good day today! Feeling much better!

-She had her staples removed and got to have her first real shower in 6 weeks!!

-They are going to keep her at least through Monday.

-No more fever!! YYAAEEEE

-Uterus infection is gone but they think that she does have an infection in her incision so they still have her on antibiotics.

.

Pictures - Day 7

Day 6

- -= Updated with Pictures =- -

Zachary.......

-Today they were supposed to perform a spinal tap to check for any infections, this is a common procedure. They will not get any results for a couple of days.

-They are also in the process for putting in a PICC line, this will take the place of the central line that he has right now that is going through his umbilical cord. This is being done because they are in the process of moving Zachary into an incubator which is a step up!!!

-In the next few days they are planning on taking him off of the ventilator and putting him a CPAP, which is another step up!!

Mommy......

Kim was feeling VERY weak today because of her low hemoglobin levels. Kim is such a great mommy and gave all of her iron to little Zachary!!! So... they had to give her 2 blood transfusions this afternoon. She is already feeling a little better. She still has the infections and trying to recuperate from surgery. She was just about to go visit Zachary when she got off the phone with me so check in tomorrow to see how he is doing!!

Pictures - Day 6

Day 5

- -= Updated @ 2:40 pm =- -

Zachary......

-Doing GREAT!!!

-Recuperating from surgery and resting well and they are already seeing improvements.

-They have found a hole in his heart but it is not causing any problems as of now and this is common in preemies, it could possibly even fix itself with time.

-His jaundice is better and they have taken the lamps away.

Mommy......

-Kim is now on 4 antibiotics because of a possible infection in her incision.

-Her fever has gone down and she is feeling a little better.

-Her energy level has gone up a little bit and she even took 2 walks today.

-She wanted to report that Stephen is still being AMAZING!!

They still don't know when she will be able to go home.

That's all for now, stay tuned for more updates!!

I know that they are getting to read the comments so feel free to leave them some love, I'm sure they could use your encouragement.

Day 5 - Video

We got to spend a little time with Zachary where we could see his little eyes and face. If you watch in the video, you will see a couple of times where he tries to open his eyes for a brief second or two.

The quality is kindof grainy because the lighting was very low.

Day 5 - Pictures.

Videos of Zachary ...

Well ... I finally had a chance to upload some video and I want to apologize right up front about the quality of the video. These videos were taken on our little digital camera, so the picture quality and stability is not the greatest. But I did want to share these so that everyone would get a chance to see Zachary and watch him move around a little.

Just click on the little play button under the video. Also ... keep in mind that the video is also being down loaded to your computer. So those who do not have broadband Internet access may want to just give the video a little time to down load to your computer (maybe go fix something to drink, maybe eat some lunch or a snack, ..... maybe go run some errands, etc. ...... ha-ha-ha) otherwise the video may be a little choppy the first time of viewing ... I think by now most of you know how this works.

Enjoy ... and I will add a new video every so often.

These first two videos are from Day 2 (Feb. 24).
In the first of the two, you can see my fingers come down
and be set close to him and you can get a little perspective
of how tiny this little guy really is. Also he is squirming a bit
because he was really upset and would be crying if he didn't
have the tube from the ventilator.







This video is from Day 3 (Feb. 25).

Day 4

Everybody is doing great!!!

Zachary....

He had to have surgery this evening to correct a valve between the heart and the lungs called the Patent Ductus Arteriosus. This valve usually shuts on its own with a full term baby but this condition is VERY common with preemies. I just got a call from Stephen and the surgery went very well and was successful. This will help little Zachary breath better because there will be better blood flow to his lungs. The doctor said that this is a routine procedure and that he has preformed it over 3,000 times. The doctor said he was as beautiful on the inside as he is on the out!! Always great words to hear from you doctor!

It was great to hear Kim's voice so excited to tell me that they got to TOUCH him today!!!!YAAAEEEE!! They got to hold his hands and the nurse even let them help take is temperature! She sounded so thrilled!!!

Kim & Stephen......

Mommy and Daddy are doing good. Kim still has an infection and running fever. Herhemoglobin levels are low so they are giving her high doses of iron and the 3 antibiotics still. They are going to keep her in for a couple more days until all of this clears up.

I must brag on Stephen a little bit, he is such a PROUD daddy!! He has been an amazing husband to Kim and has stuck by her side through ALL of this. I have heard MANY good things about all he has been doing for Kim and little Zachary! I so proud of both you!!

Side Note...

She asked me to let everyone know that if she doesn't answer her phone it because she is either pumping or in the NICU. She said please do not panic or worry if she doesn't answer. Leave a message or call back later. She will get back with you when she gets a chance.

Keep all three of them in your thoughts and prayers.

More updates tomorrow. We are working on getting some videos of the little man on here!!

Day 3

Good news!!

Lets start with the little man!!

-he has had two blood transfusions to help regulate his blood pressure.

-he has a little bit of jaundice so he is getting to tan under the wonderful lights!

-He has no more fever.

And I saved the best for last......

-They have taken him off the higher powered ventilator and put him on a normal ventilator and he is taking some breaths on his own!!! YYYAAEEEE GO ZACHARY!!

-They have him on about 43% oxygen and trying to wean him down to 21%(which is normal room air).

He is doing so good and the nurses are very pleased at how well he is responding to everything!

Mommy is still running a high fever due to an infection in her uterus. The doctors expected this because of the low levels of fluids over the past 5 weeks. They still have her on 3 antibiotics so hopefully soon she can get rid of this infection. The good news is that since it is not anything that Zachary can catch from her she gets to go see him!

She is still being her amazing positive self. This family has really amazed me!!

I also wanted to let everyone know that the little man can't have any visitors. It's the NICU rules, he is busy growing and doesn't have time to visit!! HE HE

Many people have asked if they can come see him through the window, well folks, there is not a window for you to look through. He will be home for us all to see before we know it.

As of now, Kim is not feeling in tip top condition due to this infection, she would prefer phone calls and e-mails. She will be released from the hospital as soon as the infection is gone.

And now for the good stuff..........PICTURES

Baby Zachary Hugh Baldwin is Here!

Hello blog friends! My name is Johnna(cousin to Stephen, Kim, & Zachary) and I'm going to blog for Stephen and Kim so that mommy and daddy can spend even more time with their new little man! First of all I'm sure your wanting to hear the story of how little Zachary made his entrance into this world on Sat. morning. I will let Stephen explain..... this is an e-mail that was sent out earlier today.

Well folks ....

 

Just to let everyone know that Kim was having some complications and went into pre-term labor, so we had to deliver baby Zachary early.  He is our little trooper and was able to stay tucked away inside the womb without any fluid for just over five weeks.  Zachary was delivered at 27 weeks.  He weighed 1 pound 14.5 ounces and measured out to 13 3/8".  He does have some lung problems so they have him on a ventilator.  His lungs were stiff and the ventilator is to help him build the strength in his little lungs.  The doctors say that it is not uncommon for this to occur when a baby has been so long without fluid.  Zachary will be in the Neonatal ICU  (currently level 3)  for probably a minimum of 2 months.  They tell us the best guess they can give as to when we could expect him to be able to go home is around the actual due date (May 24).  So needless to say, we still have a long way to go before we will be able to bring him home.

 

Zachary is a strong little boy and he will need all his strength to get through this.  So if you would, please continue to keep him, Kim and I in your thoughts and prayers while we travel down this long path.  Kim and I will try our best to keep everyone in the loop, but the best way to keep up is to check out our blog at the following link which we will do our best to keep updated. http://thebaldwinbaby.blogspot.com

Feel free to share the photos.

 

I have attached some pictures of Zachary, but I will let you know ahead of time that there is a lot of tubes and monitors hooked up to him so be prepared and don't be alarmed.

 

 

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers,

Stephen

I just got off the phone with Kim and she is hanging in there. She is running a fever right now and they have her on 3 different antibiotics. This is keeping her from seeing Zachary as of now so hopefully they can get rid of whatever is causing the fever soon. Please keep all of them in your prayers. I will be updating their blog frequently so keep checking for updates and pictures. Kim told me she already has new pictures for me to put up as soon as she can get them on her computer!

YEAY Zachary!!

We just got back from having our ultrasound and we got great news...Zachary is now one pound, eleven ounces and is now in the 30th percentile. (Our last ultrasound was on 2/5 and he was 1.3 pounds and in the 27th percentile). Our doctor told us this morning that he would be happy if he was 1.8 pounds and stayed in the same percentile. We've got a little overachiever!

YEAY Zachary!!
Will post more if the doctor has additional information when we see him later this afternoon.

Love to all!

So, would you like to read about our adventures last weekend?

What a crazy weekend!

Good news first...Kim's mom came out on Friday evening. We were glad to see her. The baby shower Johnna and Robin threw was fun and everyone seemed to have a great time. Little Zachary got lots of cool stuff, including a pack & play, a crib mattress, a handmade blanket and lots of clothes and books, just to name some of the stuff and, of course, the food was delicious. Johnna took pictures and as soon as we have them, we'll post them here.

Okay here's the weird stuff from the weekend. Sit back and take a big breath, this may take a looooong paragraph to explain.

Last week Kim's mom had a toenail infection and they gave her an antibiotic she hadn't tried before. Unbeknownst to anyone, Mom was allergic to it. When she flew to Houston on Friday she was red and covered in hives. So we all visited for awhile, Kim proudly showed off her impressive tummy and Mom got to feel little Zachary move. All the while, Mom got redder and more full of hives. We convinced her to go to the Women's Hopsital treatment room (their version of an ER) and she was given an IV of steroids and benadryl. She looked better when she got to Kim's room. Unfortunately, Saturday morning Mom woke up at 6 and was covered with hives again. Her ER doctor actually came up to the room to check on her and told her she needed to go to Methodist Hospital and have the ER doctors there check her out. So off Mom went by cab to Methodist (yes, this is ER trip number two). The ER doc at Methodist gave Mom an IV of adreniline, benadryl and steroids and back mom came to Women's. Thankfully she was looking lots better and was able to attend and enjoy the shower. Towards the end of the shower, Mom was red AGAIN! Stephen's Mom took Kim's Mom to get her new prescriptions filled and they came back and Kim's Mom took the meds, but unfortunately didn't get much better. So off they went AGAIN to Methodist (are you keeping track, this is the third ER trip in 24 hours!). This time the ER doc at Methodist noticed Kim's Mom was having trouble breathing along with the rash and hives and admitted her to the Medical ICU unit. And there she stayed for a day and a half!!

Thankfully they discharged Kim's Mom on Monday at noon and she was looking much, much better, felt good and was able to enjoy a quiet afternoon with Kim before she had to fly back home. Many, many thanks to Stephen's Mom for spending lots of time at Methodist consoling Kim's mom and keeping her company since Kim couldn't be there. Again, the good news is that Kim's mom is now doing fine, she was able to attend the shower and even got to meet our fantastic doctor (who came back especially to meet her). We swear, the back-to-work Hollywood writers couldn't write this stuff...it all really happened!

Oh, and more bad news. Kim's cousins from Louisiana couldn't make it out this weekend because someone in the family got some bad news, medical wise. It was really sad and we were sorry to hear the news.

As for all of us, we are doing good. Stephen got to work on the clearing out the nursey this weekend and picked up the nursery furniture we ordered. Kim had some bleeding issued over the weekend, but the doctor says it is due to the placenta previa and is not alarmed as it is not impacting Zachary. Zachary gave us a bit of a scare earlier today when his heart rate dipped kind of low for two minutes, but after three and a half hours of additional monitoring, it didn't happen again and he resumed his usual impressive heart rhythms. Dr. Pinell told us that it is not unusual for babies with no (or little) amniotic fluid to have decelarations in their heart patterns, but Zachary hadn't done it so far so they wanted to watch him more carefully. I just got off the monitor again and he was just fine. Thank goodness! We were saying lots of prayers today.

For those of you keeping track, we are on Week 26 (our new weeks start each Saturday) and we have been living here at Women's Hospital for just over a month. Dr. Pinell told us last week that if Zachary hadn't made an appearance on his own by week 34, they would take him via C Section between Week 34 and 36 . So we will have an April baby (hopefully). This Thursday Kim gets some blood work done and we get another ultrasound. We'll post and let you know how it goes.

So until then, love to all!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day folks!

Sorry for the delay in posts, but be assured that no news is good news! We've made it to over 25 and 1/2 weeks! We are so happy to have come so far and are praying that there are many more weeks to come up here at Women's Hospital. All the nurses tell us that the fetal monitor reflects a very healthy baby with an advanced heart rate and no inidication that the lack of amniotic fluid has affected little Zachary. Thank God for good news!

Last Saturday Stephen was able to put his hand on my belly and felt Zachary move, kick and he even felt a hiccup or two. The look on Stephen's face almost made me cry. He was looking at us with such awe. I just love it that he can feel our son's movements now. Yesterday my nurse taught him what to look for and now Stephen can tell by just by looking at my belly where Zachary is laying. Speaking of my belly, it seems to have doubled in size practically overnight!

Since I obviously can't get to the neighborhood Hallmark store, I got out the markers and paper (thanks Deanna for sending them to me in that sweet care package you sent) and made Stephen a homemade Valentine. Shhhh! Don't tell! I haven't given it to him yet. We are preparing a little basket of chocolates to give to the nurses too. They have been so great and taken such good care of us up here.

It's a big, exciting weekend for us! My mom is flying in for the weekend and I can't wait. Also, my cousins from New Orleans are talking about coming in too. You guys are going to laugh at me, but both my mom and my cousins are bringing me food that I am craving that I just can't get here. My mom is brining Chocodiles (chocolate covered twinkies) and my cousin is bringing crawfish and corn bisque from their restaurant. It's sure going to beat hospital food!

The other exciting thing this weekend is that Stephen's and my nieces, Johnna and Robin, are throwing me a baby shower up here Saturday afternoon. This unit here at the hosptial is used to such things and are bringing a table and ten chairs into my room. This room is going to be crowded and full of love! I am so excited! Plus this weekend we start Week 26, which is a mini-milestone. My doctor says that every two weeks is mini-milestone as far as little Zachary's development.

Well, that's about all in our world. Have a wonderful day, week and weekend. Love to all!

Now I lay me down to sleep...

Look at what my sweet hubby bought for us! It's the cutest little boy who says a little prayer. Here's what he says...

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, and angels watch me through the night, and keep me in their blessed sight...Amen."

We have him so he is looking over Zachary and I. All is well with the three of us.

Love to all!

Ultrasound Results

Hi folks!

Yesterday's ultrasound went well, even though Zachary was acting shy and covering his face with his hands and turning away from the ultrasound wand. He has such personality already! The doctor told us that he looks great! Everything is where it should be. He now weighs 1.3 pounds and is in the 27th percentile for weight. He gained five ounces in two weeks, which my doctor says is good. It means I'm doing a good job getting him proper nutrition so he can grow, grow, grow!

Here's a cute picture of his profile.

Oh! Last night while listening to his heart beat on the fetal monitor, we discovered he had the hiccups! It was so cute! I could feel them a little bit, but mostly we heard them on the monitor. Listening to him is our favorite parts of the day.

That's about all that's new here. We hope all of you are doing well and are enjoying life. Love to all!

Week 24 - we made it!

YEAY!!! When we first got to the hosptial after Kim's water broke, the doctor gave us two goals to work towards, one was Week 24 which they call "the age of viability" and the other is Week 28 where Zachary's risk of having complications from a premature birth significantly decrease.

Yes folks, on Saturday, February 2nd, we made it to Week 24 and boy were we thrilled!! Our doctor came in and joined in on the excitement since it is such a HUGE hurdle we conquered. Things remain good. The placenta previa is causing some bleeding but since there are no contractions (can we get a 'Whoo hoo' please?) the doctor isn't worried about it. We have an ultrasound scheduled for Tuesday where they are going to measure little Zachary again. They monitor Zachary's heart for half hour increments, three times each day. They are very pleased by his heart rate and Dr. Pinell has even called Zachary's heart rythms "advanced" for his age. That's our boy!

We are so blessed to be in such a great hospital with a wonderful doctor and great nurses. Many of the nurses request to be Kim's nurse for the day only to discover someone else has already requested her. We think it's funny that they fight to take care of us.

We continued working on our registry (online) over the weekend and bought Zachary's furniture online on Saturday. That was how we celebrated our wonderful milestone.

We hope life is treating everyone well and thank you all for the prayers, calls, care packages and visits. They all mean so much to us. We'll try to update more frequently, but there's not a lot of news when you all you are doing is laying in a bed, growing a baby. ;)

Love to all!!