Day 9

Well folks ...

Yesterday was truly amazing! Being able to see Kim hold our little miracle in her arms for the first time was the most beautiful thing that we have ever experienced. It was so wonderful to see Kim gazing down at our little boy in her arms. I was so proud. People have always told me that there was no other feeling like it in the World to hold your child in your arms for the first time. But until you actually experience it for yourself, you never truly know what they were talking about. And today was that day for me. Words can not describe the joy that an experience like this can really bring to ones heart. When the nurse put Zachary in my arms, this little boy has taken my breath away and I couldn't take my eyes off of him. We thank God for him each and every day. Kim and I now feel that our lives are complete.

Zachary is doing so good. They started feeding him Mommy's milk yesterday and was getting 2 ml. every three hours. He was tolerating it so well that today they have increased the rate to 4 ml. every three hours. They will be trying to increase this once a day while also trying to wean down on the additional fluids they are giving him as he is able to handle it. Zachary also was given a bath (if a sponge bath counts) and was also weighed. He was 1 pound 14.5 ounces, and is now weighing 1 pound 13.2 ounces.

Daddy also got to help change Zachary's diaper too. And many of you know that I am going to be a stay at home father for at least the first year, so this was diaper number 1 and many, many more to go. (-: Oh yeah .... and it was a messy diaper too. :-)

Kim and I want to thank each and every one for keeping us in their thoughts and prayers and we truly appreciate all of the great comments, emails and phone calls.

Day 9 - Videos

Day 9 - Pictures

Day 8

BIG NEWS!!!!

I will let Kim tell you!! This is an e-mail Kim sent me this afternoon.

Hey Johnna, it's Kim writing for a change. I wanted to share today's news with you. Today is Zachary's birthday (they are saying that he is both 1 week old, and 28 weeks gestation) and I WAS ABLE TO HOLD HIM!!! It was the best feeling in the world, I looked up to God and thanked him for allowing me the moment I have been waiting my whole life to have. It was so amazing, I was crying the best tears and my heart was just singing. I have never felt so complete, so calm, so amazingly content. Little Zachary is so light and feels so fragile, and now that he has the CPAP and is off the ventilator, we can hear his tiny sweet baby cries. What an awesome sound to our ears. I held him close to me and he curled his little hand around my finger and he fell back to sleep. I sang him Happy Birthday for the first time while he slept soundly. It was truly the best moment of my life and Stephen was there taking pictures, video taping and just staying close to us. They are letting us hold him once a day and tomorrow is Daddy's turn, I can't wait for Stephen to experience holding his son. It is such an important milestone. I thank God every day for our little miracle, our sweet little man. Oh and when we got back to the room, I pumped and the rest of my milk has finally come in. All I needed was the touch of my sweet baby boy.

Praise the Lord!!! What a little miracle we have on our hands. If that doesn't bring tears to your eyes I don't know what will! I also just got word that they gave him his first feeding and he did great!! What an amazing day!!

Kim is feeling pretty good. She still has an infection and having a hard time getting rid of it. They switched her antibiotics today to see if these will do a better job. They both still need your thoughts and prayers and they both gain strength!

Videos of Mommy and Zachary

Pictures from Day 8

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.

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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.