Last Couple Days

Zachary has had a couple harder days. After gaining a significant amount of fluid they decided to give him three days of lasiks (which he was taken off of last week) to get rid of this fluid. He wasn't quite himself as a result of this. Zac wasn't feeding as well and seemed very tired. Tonight he appeared to be much better and we hope it continues! He lost 5 ounces in 2 days and saturated many diapers as well as his bedding. He is still off of his oxygen and we are very grateful for that. Donny and I have both been concerned with the fact that we had originally thought Zac would be coming home about now and he still has a significant amount of progress to make before that happens. But they keep reassuring us that he is just being slow to mature and that his little body will kick in one of these days. I keep telling him that we set up the Christmas tree and we are waiting to set our very special 5 or 6 pound package under it:)

We wanted to let you all know that when Zachary comes home, due to his chronic lung disease and the flu season, we will not be accepting visitors. As much as we love you all, I hate seeing my son suffer more. And I am done living at the hospital after 5 months. If you would like to see the little guy- you are more than welcome to come to the window of his hospital room. Just call, text, or email to arrange this. I am there between 6-8 hours a day and would love to see any of your lovely faces on the other side of the glass!

We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

5 pounder strategically shoots poop 4 feet

No oxygen tube!
Next to my face- to give you idea of how big he is getting!

No tubes! After pulling out his feeding tube for the 5th time.

Yes that's correct- Zachary shot poop over four feet last night. And yes I really did step it off to see how far it went:) He very carefully aimed to shoot the poop between the crib bars and photos of mom and dad in order to reach this distance on the floor. It was unlike anything I have ever seen. Zac sure felt better afterwards!

He is now over 5 pounds and currently off all oxygen assistance. They removed his oxygen tube last Friday and we have been waiting for them to put it back on, but so far Zachary is saying he loves life without that tube. He was taken off of one medication that helps with fluid retention on Tuesday and if his body does not remove excess fluid on its own, this may change the oxygen situation. It is a balancing game until all his body functions can catch up and mature. He does have a heart murmur as many preemies do. They did an echo on him Monday to see exactly what the heart murmur is from because it has been consistant and it is what they suspected. They hope for it to repair itself over time. Zachary will have that checked out again in a few months as well as his hernias. The surgeon checked for the hernias on Monday and reported that he cannot find them? hmmm... I guess they disappeared between the doctors check and the surgeon. I like when things like that happen. Zachary is struggling with reflux when he is feeding, but still doing well with it. Love you all!

Z-MAN'S video

Leanne and I wanted to share this video to show what our experience has been like. My biggest regret is not getting the footage of all those who supported us through this long wild ride. I can't tell you how greatfull we are for yours prayers, visits in the hospital, cards, food, game playing, emails, fasting, etc. You all have been a great example to us!

4 pounds 11 ounces

Zachary is 5 weeks old! He will be 36 weeks corrected this Friday. Zachary is out of his isolet and now enjoying a crib. A crib which allows him to shoot poop farther than the interior walls of his isolet and parents hands!! He is doing well. He may come home a little later than we originally planned- sometime after Thanksgiving. This is because Zac is taking his sweet time with coming off his oxygen. He chooses when he will breath and when he will not. They say his brain just needs to mature a little more to kick this problem. Zachary's lungs were in better condition than we had ever planned when he was born, but he has now shown that they are still immature which they are now calling Chronic Lung Disease. His lung tissue will continue to regenerate until he is about 7 years old at which point he will outgrow this. Zac had a lot of testing completed this week so far and all has turned out very well. He received his second head ultra sound looking for any signs of bleeding in the brain- and there were no signs of this. Donny and I breathed a big sigh of relief with this news. Zachary also received an MRI on his lower back where they originally believed he had a tethered spinal cord. The results showed this was not the case and we can now count on one less surgery next year! He does have hernias that will be repaired eventually. We are told this is very common. Zac's body has a hard time working out all of his fluid so he is receiving medication to help him do this. They believe the fluid build up also plays a part with his oxygen requirements. His eyes and ears were also checked yesterday which he passed successfully. Infants that use oxygen are at risk for eye damage- but the eye doctor said his looked great. So we are now just waiting for him to mature and outgrow a few of these things. He is feeding well and pooping better than ever! He had a blow out on the nurse that covered her as well as the floor and bedding. Zac is very interested in things around him and is always looking around when he is awake. He has now pulled out his feeding tube four times I believe. He has quite the grip! I'm hoping this is all the latest news and that I am not missing anything.
We are having a great time feeding and spending time with Zachary. We make multiple trips to the hospital each day. His nursery is slowly coming together. Life will calm down eventually. But for now- we enjoy what we can get!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Zachary! Thanks Val for the adorable hat! His nurse took these pictures for us. It has been hard to get a photo of Zac in good lighting with his eyes open.

Zachary has started nursing and is doing very well with that. He still struggles with his consistent breathing which we are hoping to see improve in the next couple weeks.

Hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween!

The Move

On Thursday Zachary made a big move down to a hospital closer to home! Donny and I were very nervous about moving Zac when the doctors first approached us about it, but we are very happy with the move so far. He was tranferred Thursday afternoon in a life link ambulance and I was able to ride along while Donny followed us. I was having anxiety over every bump in the road, but Zachary seems to have done just fine. He now has his own little room in a smaller NICU that only allows parents to enter. We liked the idea of less people in a smaller NICU = less possibility of contracting the flu for all of us. Donny and I are now able to make multiple trips during the day allowing us to get more done, eat more meals at home, and have a little more sleep. To all of you that have left messages by phone or email: thank you for your support and please know that we appreciate hearing from you. We don't always have time to respond, but we love all of you!! Donny just came to let me know he is going to hold Zac so I am going to go now:) We are hoping to post video footage soon!

The Daily Stretching Routine