Jericho's art studio ...

oh boy ... daddy discovered, just a bit ago, that Jericho's been dabbling in some very sophisticated art (seriously, I'm a little impressed with his work) ... and golly what an interesting media he chose as his "canvas" ... UGH!

so, how do I look??? that's, apparently, me!

a very special "outing" ...

today, something very special took place: two sisters met for the very first time! After a conversation with some of the nurses yesterday, it was decided that perhaps some effort should be made to see that Zoey's older siblings could see her. The nurses told me yesterday, "we'll see what we can figure out"! So, today - their plans came to be ... I decided on it being just Annicka - as it needed to be a mellow "environment" and with a five year old, you just never know (but I felt her alone, she'd be fine). So, I got the final word and we had to head out right away - in order to get our little five minute visit done before it was time for Zoey's dinner! Annicka was quite excited (thank goodness, you just never know with her what her response might be) and asked all the way there how close we were. When they wheeled Zoey off the elevator Annicka asked me "is that the baby", I told her "yes" and she got a big smile on her face. It was Zoey's first time out of the nursery (children aren't allowed on that floor of the hospital at all, so they had to arrange a quiet meeting place) and she looked so cute and comfy in her little travel isolette! I was most surprised that they let Annicka reach in and touch her! The nurse had had her "sanitize" her hands before entering the elevator - and said that was good ... I told Annicka to only touch her feet, but the nurse actually showed her how to touch her head and hand! It was very very sweet - in fact, it kind of took my breath away, seeing my girls together for the very first time! Annicka loved it! She said she was small and that her hair was soft! I hope Annicka will remember that moment for always!


I got one photo - ONE! My camera battery decided to quit, so sad, but I'll treasure this one photo forever ...

Eleven Days Old ...

Gary's mom drove here from Albuquerque to visit us! She got in last friday and had to head home yesterday. After her first visit up to see Zoey, I decided to let just her and Gary go each night ... so they could have time together with Zoey (as only two people are allowed in the nursery). The last night they went they took her camera and got a bunch of pics - I've gotta say, they got some super cute ones! Here they are ...

Zoey update:

On Wednesday Zoey graduated from her big bed to a "regular" little bed (the kind that all babies are in at the hospital). She's been eating pretty well from the bottle (it's breastmilk - I pump every three hours, and YES I feel like a cow ... moooooo)! Some times she seems to get a little worn out and needs a break before finishing it, they're giving her 75ml at this point - and yesterday they began fortifying it to add some calories to try and help her gain weight. However, the report this morning was the same as yesterday - she's lost weight. She was under lights again yesterday as her bilirubin levels were up to 14, today it's down to 10 so she'll likely be done with photo therapy! Yesterday she looked purple-ish to me ... and I'm getting conflicting information on that! Some of the docs and nurses have said that that's typical for her condition, that she may have a blue-ish color to her ... but one of the docs last night told me that her condition would NOT cause her to be blue ... so ????? The nurse yesterday also said she noticed her breathing a little fast at times. Despite all that, all her monitored levels were fine. They did a chest x-ray last night and said her lungs looked better than before, so there's no issues there ... and her heart looks fine - in as much as it hasn't gotten bigger or anything.

Our little Zoey is just so precious. It's very hard splitting my time between home and the hospital. Most days, now, I go visit Zoey just one time - and usually only for about an hour. It's a little hard to be there for too long, I get to the point that I just want to leave her with the nurses to be cared for ... at the same time I just wish I could bring her home. It's such a strange experience to have your baby being cared for by other people ... and to think that they know her better than I do! Last night I was really missing her, to the degree that if I hadn't been so exhausted I think I would have driven there to see her (and I had visited twice yesterday, due to forgetting milk the first time - and they were completely out). I know she's safe there and that's a comfort and I don't want to bring her home before she's ready - so my prayers is that the other doctors will be as cautious as this last one (they go in four day shifts) was!

We so appreciate all the prayers being lifted up on our behalf! We are so blessed right now with prayer, meals, and even gifts for our sweet little girl! God is so good!

Nine Days Old ...

here's the pics from our visit last night! Isn't Zoey just adorable? OK, I guess I'm biased! You'll note that, even though she had eaten some, she was still hungry and wasn't too shy about letting me know for a quick minute! She had a good night. They gave her lasix (that's for fluid retention) and the nurse said she ate and peed great all night! She is still jaundiced, but her levels aren't high enough to need the photo therapy! blessings to all, enjoy the pics ...

just a few tears ...

from mama because Zoey can't come home after all :c I just talked to the neonatologist and he said the nurses noticed a change in Zoey. Decreased activity and her saturations were going down when she was in an upright position. They'll be running some tests to make sure there's no infections and will give her the vaccination to help protect her against RSV. I know my little punkin will come home when the timing is right ... but I am truly sad. I guess I now realize just how happy and excited I was (not so nervous) to have her come home! Keep praying strength for her and us all!

we're getting ready ...

fyi - all the "stuff" is now out of her bed, but I wanted
a pic of it looking all cute with her little toys!

to bring our little Zoey Grace home! I'm excited! Still have some slight nerves, but overall I'm just glad to be getting her home and learning more about her. It's kind of weird to have to ask someone else what your baby's "cues" are. This has been an experience so unlike with any of my other babies, we're at the beginning of a very beautiful path ~ I believe ...