New Playhouse

My dad came across a Playhouse for Levi! He came over tonight and we got it all set up for him! He is SO excited about it. Levi LOVES to clean things - so he was out there with my dad wiping the house down. He does not like dirtiness!!

Sweet

Can you find Zane?

On Monday Zane weighed 4 lb. 6 oz. The doctor said he is doing great. We don't know how long he will be on oxygen - they said it is normal for Colorado babies to go home with oxygen for a couple weeks. With him being so early they said that usually preemies would sleep all the time if you let them, they wouldn't ever be awake or alert, and they wouldn't eat well. Well, Zane doesn't do any of those things. He is breastfeeding awesome and also takes a bottle. I have been instructed to wake him every 3 hours around the clock to feed him - but he actually wakes up right on time to be fed. He is eating great. He is a serious pooper - almost every diaper! After eating he is very alert and looks around for awhile! I feel like I have been hit by a train but am so thankful that he is doing so well.

My mom left for the Phlippines and Ethiopia today - she will be gone for 2 weeks. I have been an emotional wreck. Anytime I think about her being gone or someone mentions it I cry uncontrollably. The combination of the hormones of having a baby and her leaving have been brutal. I am SO thankful I didn't end up having Zane while she was gone!!

Zane Meets Levi

These are pictures from the first few minutes that Levi came in our room and saw Zane for the first time!! It was so cute!! He is especially obsessed with Zane's pacifier and giving it to him and then snatching it away. Oh Lord, I have to seriously protect Zane from Levi!!!!

"Rooming In"

The doctor gave the ok for Zane to "room in" with me tonight. It is the first step towards him coming home. He will still be on a tiny bit of oxygen, but shouldn't need it for long. If all goes well tonight then he should be discharged tomorrow. He now weighs 4 lb. 2.9 oz. and is gaining a little each day. Everyone is amazed by him and how well he is doing. Most 33 week old babies just can't function and eat and breath the way he is!! What a blessing!! Levi hasn't met Zane yet so with Zane out of the NICU for the first time today he will finally get to meet his little brother!! We are so excited to see how he responds!! Thanks for your prayers! I will keep you updated!!

Levi kissing Tia Sofia!!

Levi loves his baths in the sink at my parents' house!!!

Day 6 Update

Things are going great here!! Zane is doing amazing. He is on a tiny level of oxygen, but that is not a big deal at all. He can go home on oxygen. We are waiting for the NICU doctor to do his rounds today so we can get a better idea of what things will look like as far as going home. Zane is breastfeeding like a champ. Everyone in the NICU calls him "champ" because he is exceeding everyone's expectations. I breastfeed every other feeding and then we bottle feed breast milk with a little bit of nutrition added on the other feedings - this will help him to gain weight. Right now the main thing is gaining some weight. He gained one ounce yesterday and now weighs 4 lbs. 2 oz. Apparently they think that someone messed up his birth weight because babies don't usually lose that large of an amount of weight after birth (they originally said he was 5 lb. 1 oz.) We have had the most amazing nurses! They did put him back on the "bili-bed" yesterday for jaundice - but he should be off that today. Jaundice usually peeks around days 4-6 so it was normal for that to be up a bit yesterday on day 5. He is pooping and peeing great. He is eating, sucking and breathing great. Praise God!! We are past the point where we may need a feeding tube inserted. He was sluggish eating yesterday but once the labs came back with an elevated biliruben level that explained why (jaundice causes them to be very sleepy and sluggish). I am supposed to bring in his car seat today so they can test him in it and make sure he does okay breathing while sitting in it...the preparations to go home have begun!! Yippeee!!!

On a different note I realized a couple days ago that I had told the story of being in labor and getting to the hospital fully dialated so many times - and since I was in surgery and post-op I didn't know the story from each of my family members perspectives. I was talking to Sofia and asking her what happened, when she got to the hospital, when she met Zane, etc. As she was telling me she said that they had given me a sedative when they put my IV in. I didn't know that!! It just shows how hysterical I was...it was so awful and scary! I know one of the things that made me so upset was that my mom wasn't there. My mom said she is still traumatized by the whole situation of being far away and getting here 2 hours after Zane was born. Just goes to show...even mom's need their moms!!!

I Can't Help Myself!!

More pictures of our superstar!! Everyone in the NICU is amazed by Zane. They say that you never see a 33 week old breastfeed, breath, maintain body temperature and be as alert as Zane! They just told us today that they are hopeful of sending him home this weekend! Oh my!! As you know we had been scheduled to induce on September 7th at 37 weeks. My mom is going to Ethiopia and the Philippines this next Wednesday for 2 1/2 weeks and we were all nervous that Zane might be born while she was gone. As I was praying one day about this I felt like the Lord was saying that Zane would be born when God ordained - not when I chose. Wow...this is definitely not something I would have ever chosen!! How amazing it is to see Zane thriving the way he is!
Another fun thing is that the majority of Zane's nurses were also Levi's when he was in the NICU. The nurses all remembered us and Levi!!

Isn't this a sweet picture? Zane smiling at his great grandma:

Almost everyone who has seen Zane thinks he looks like Uncle Kyle!!

I am getting discharged from the hospital today. I will be staying here at the hotel on "Hotel Status" so I can be close to Zane and breastfeed. Zane is still in the NICU but is doing really well. I started breastfeeding twice a day on Monday and Zane did really well from the start. They said that babies at 33 weeks gestation often times don't have the skills to suck/breath/swallow yet. They continue to be amazed by how much older Zane acts than he is. The doctor was asking me if I could have been further along than 33 weeks and I told him "No, we are pretty positive about the timing" - he said, "Well, you were the one at the party, so I believe you."

Right now I am breastfeeding every other feeding. They took Zane off the IV yesterday and all the supplements they were adding. Now that he is purely on breastmilk we wait to see if he starts gaining some weight. He is holding his body temperature good, peeing and pooping great! He is a great eater and they keep upping the amount they feed him!! He is so sweet and tiny. Right now he weighs 4 lbs. 4 oz. Levi hasn't been able to meet him yet. Last night I asked him where Baby Zane was and he came over lifted up my shirt like he always does and then looked very puzzled...he actually noticed that my tummy looked different!!

My body is doing really well. I haven't been nauseous or thrown up since delivery. This is a relief because with Levi it took me 8 months AFTER his birth to stop throwing up. I have been up and walking around since the day I had Zane. Every single person that sees me is puzzled, they say, "You had a C-Section. Right?" They can't believe I am up walking around like normal. When the ovarian tumor was removed I was cut vertically from my belly button down - it was brutal recovering from that surgery. So having an incision low down and horizontal doesn't seem like a big deal at all.

Thank you all for you prayers!! We are doing really well! It is still surreal that I'm not pregnant anymore and Zane is actually here. It is especially odd since I have absolutely nothing ready for him at home!! Luckily, I had just ordered his bassinet last week and it just arrived!!

Sweet Baby Boy

Here is a link to Levi's pictures right after being born - so you can compare how he looks with Zane!!

Surprise Appearance 33 Weeks

UPDATED:
Last night I kept waking up with some cramping and pains in my back and uterus. I didn't think much of it - I just thought the baby was pushing and kicking around like usual. The cramping was wrapping around my back though - so it was a little more painful than usual. I contemplated calling the doctor but didn't want to make a big deal out of nothing. I headed out to a garage sale at 8:30 to get some toys for Levi. I called the doctors office on the way to tell them I may be having some contractions and wondered if I should go to the hospital to get monitored. While I was there the "cramping" started to take my breath away. The nurse said I should go in just to be safe. I talked to John and he had some estimates to do - so we decided I would go to the hospital with Rachel (Kyle's girlfriend) and then he would come after his appointment. We figured it would be like last time with Levi, I would go in and they would get me on medicine to stop the contractions. I headed home and by the time I got there I was sobbing from the intense pain of the contractions. After seeing that I was in serious pain John decided to cancel his appointments and come with me. John and I headed to the hospital (which is 2 minutes from our house) as I frantically called my mom, who was at a retreat in Breckenridge, and my dad and kyle, who were in a golf tournament finishing up the last day.

We got to the hospital at 10 am - they took me to a room and I got my gown on. I sat on the bed and my water immediately broke - which completely freaked me out!! All the nurses were trying to get me to calm down and breath - I was absolutely frantic and SO scared. The contractions were so painful. The doctor checked me and said i was complete and fully dilated. After an ultrasound they found that Zane was breech. They told me we would be delivering in the next few minutes. 10 minutes later, after filling out paperwork, we were rolled into the Surgery Room for a C-Section. At this point I still was having contractions and in intense pain. Finally, the anesthesiologist met us in the Delivery Room and gave me a spinal tap...AHHHHHHH, DRUGS!!! I was in heaven. Before I knew it they were asking John if he wanted to see them pull Zane out. I didn't even know they had cut me open yet. Zane was born at 10:46 am and was 5 lbs. 1 oz. and 18 1/2 inches long. He's a big boy for coming so early!! He has strawberry blond hair (Levi's was dark), long finger, toes and legs.

Sofia was finally able to reach my mom to tell her I was having Zane immediately. They wrapped up her conference immediately and SPED home. She arrived at the hospital at 1 pm. I was still in the recovery room but she was able to see Zane. Rachel called the Country Club where my dad and brother were playing in their golf tournament and someone went out on the course to tell them I was in labor. The priorities of my family won out...they were doing really well in the tournament and without hesitation they left on the last day to come to the hospital. What an overwhelming day of surprises we had!!

Mom and Dad's 40th Anniversary!!

We went out to eat to celebrate my parents 40th Anniversary tonight!! I have the best parents in the world!!

Fun on the dolly with Andrea

A rare picture of me and Levi. Thats as good as it gets!!

We got to meet up with my college roommate, Peggy, and her two kids yesterday!!