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!!