I'm Too Sexy for My Onesy

Zachary has done very well over the weekend.  He even set a new personal record by sleeping for 8 and a half hours last night! Friday night the Cochran's came by to visit and have some time spent holding Zach.  Saturday was a bit of a crazy day for Mommy and Zach.  He didn't sleep so well for her during the day, and when Daddy arrived home from refereeing, Mommy was more than happy to have some alone time and run some errands.  Being the little angel he is he proceeded to sleep the entire time Mommy was gone, then wake up when it was time for Daddy to leave for Chili's, leaving Mommy with the hungry beast once again!

Today we had  a very busy afternoon.  The whole family went to the mall to pick out some pictures of Zachary, then it was off to Sam's Club, home for a few hours, then off once again for church in the evening.  Zach didn't really take advantage of any of hat time to get in a quality nap, so we're hoping he's pooped out and will sleep very well for us tonight, so far , so good.  Tomorrow he will have new casts put on once again, and he has couple more ultrasounds scheduled for this Thursday (kidneys and head).  We hope you all enjoy the pictures and the short video above, he's so handsome!  We just thought he looked funny during his bath tonight with his onesey pulled down over his chest, thus today's posting title!  Thank You All, and God Bless - Brian + Kimmie 

Who Wants To Visit?

Zachary has been doing really well the past few days.  He has continued his healthy eating and sleeping, and got his new cast put on Monday (red ones this week!).  Nicole stopped by Monday evening and delivered some wonderful gifts that Mommy and Daddy can use to track Zachary's growth and development. On Wednesday Zach had three visitors, first of whom was Pat from Sanchez (Mommy's school), who brought by some gifts from all the wonderful staff, and some well wishes from the students! Last night Ron and Yvonne came by and brought dinner for Mommy and Daddy.  They were fortunate enough to catch Zach just after his evening nap and were able to spend some time with him while he was awake, which sems to be a rare occurence for visitors!

Overall, Zachary's health continues to improve.  He seems to be a little fussy on Monday nights and Tuesday mornings, but we're figuring he must be a little sore from his new casts, and having his feet repositioned.  He had an appointment with Dr. Handler today and everything checked out wonderfully.  His incision looked great, his head circumference is perfect, and he weighed in at 9lbs. 15oz, albeit with his casts and clothes on.  We're guessing he is closer to 9lbs. even.  He has a head ultrasound scheduled for two weeks out, and until then we continue to  pray for his full healing, and enjoy all the fun moments we are having with our "normal" baby boy.  Zachary sends out lots of hugs and kisses to you all!  - Brian + Kimmie

My Buddy and Me

The last few days have been going very well for Zachary.  His incision on his back is almost completely healed.  The only areas left are scabbed over and it looks fantastic!  Praise God for his quick healing.  The sooner that is completely healed, the sooner we can give him a "real" bath.  We have been sponge bathing him for the time being, and it's working pretty well, but there's nothing like a full bath to get him clean.

He has established a pretty reliable schedule that we're sticking to as best we can.  The best part of it is that he has slept for 7 hours each of the last 4 nights.  Mommy and Daddy could not ask for more than that right now, so we just hope he continues to stick to the schedule.  

Zachary has had a few visitors recently with Elizabeth stopping by on Thursday, and Rachel and Sophie coming over to visit today.  He has become the expert at sleeping through visitors, not matter what time they arrive!  

The weather has been rather warm here the past few days (high 50's, low 60's), so Mommy decided to take Zach for a walk on Friday.... bad idea.  Although Mommy was very excited that 

Zach looked so cute in his outfit, the walk got him off of his schedule and made him a bit of a bear for most of the afternoon and early evening.  Mommy also ended up paying the price with the soreness she was experiencing the past few days from the exertion of pushing the stroller.  It seems the stroller had a bent front wheel, so it was not the easiest thing to push around.  Daddy played metal shop and "persuaded" the wheel back into place and was able to fix the stroller.  

Zach has his usual Monday cast changes tomorrow, then it's off to see Dr. Handler on Thursday for his first neurosurgery check-up since leaving the NICU. We pray he continues to progress, and both of his appointments bring blessings of good news.  Thank You All, and Pray for Zachary's continued healing! - Brian + Kimmie

Mr. Grumpy

Zachary has had a good couple of days.  Yesterday was a fairly "quiet" day, no visitors, no appointments, and doing a pretty good job of sticking to his routine.  He did have one milestone during the day, his cord finally fell off!  We were beginning to think it would never fall off. Now Mommy and Daddy have it a little easier when they change Zach's diaper, not having to fold down the front any more.  

Today was a "crazy" day for Zachary, in Mommy's words.  He seemed a little off this morning, waking up to feed earlier than he usually does, then not really getting in a quality nap for most of the day.  This afternoon Zachary had a couple of visitors, Cheryl and Haley stopped by to say hello.  Haley is the first baby (only 4 months older than Zach) to visit Zach at home, unfortunately he was not in a very friendly mood and was pretty fussy for a majority of their stay.  You can see the two of them in the photo above, Haley looks a bit surprised by Zach's actions!  

This evening Zachary settled into his routine and was much more calm.  Hopefully he will continue to eat and feed on schedule and sleep through the night again. He had his first sponge bath sans umbilical cord, and seems to dislike having his hair washed, but enjoys the rest of his body being cleaned!  Overall, Zachary has been progressing well, his incision looks great, and should hopefully be fully healed in the next week of so.  He doesn't seems to be bothered by his casts, and loves to move his legs and casts quite often.  Tomorrow he has more visitors on the way and hopefully will be in a better mood by then.  God Bless - Brian + Kimmie

Sneezy McGee

Zachary had a great day today. He slept for 7 hours last night, and Mommy was able to wake him up and feed him at 7 this morning.  He slept for a good portion of the day, then he and Mommy headed off to the mall to get his picture taken to celebrate his one month birthday today.  Keeping with his habits, he slept through the picture session (the pictures are still very cute though), and then it was off to have his new casts put on and he slept through that as well.  The PA who put on the casts mentioned that she had never seen a baby sleep through an entire casting in all her years at the hospital. Zachary seems to be very easy going.  Put on casts, manipulate his feet, change his dressings, he is as calm as could be.  If you change his diaper, or take his temperature though, watch out, he is not happy.

Zach had a short visit this evening from Elle and Roger.  They were kind enough to bring by some dinner for Mommy and Daddy as well (Thank You for that).  We hope you enjoy the little video above of our little sneezer.  Sorry it's sideways, you'll just have to flip your monitors!  Tomorrow should be a relaxing day for Zach and Mommy, no big plans, just time spent together.  Enjoy the pictures and video.  Our Love to You All - Brian + Kimmie

The Karate Kid

Here's a little video of our own Ralph Macchio.  It's fun to watch him hold his hands back, then "chop" them out like a karate punch.  

Zachary had an eventful weekend.  Dan, Barb, and Nonni stopped by on Saturday and had the chance to see Zach awake and feeding in the afternoon.  He had a bit of a late night, not really getting any real sleep until Daddy returned home from Chili's (after midnight).  Today Zachary got a later start to the day, but got plenty of rest.  By not falling asleep until late, he slept for quite some time, then arose later in the morning.  Our little fighter is definitely growing, and his appetite has grown accordingly.  He breast feeds now for a rather lengthy time, and some times he still needs a small bottle to satisfy his needs.  No matter how much he eats, we're happy he is feeding so well, and sleeping for rather lengthy times as well.  He's really a good baby, and we're happy with both his progress and his overall pleasant demeanor.  

This evening Zachary made his first trip with Mommy and Daddy to church.  After all the thoughts, and prayers he was finally able to enter the house of the Lord.  Mommy and Daddy were more than happy to offer our thanks and praise to God for answering so many of our prayers, and praying for continued healing.  He did very well throughout mass, only letting out a couple brief screams, and sleeping for a majority of the time (kinda like Daddy, who many say didn't stay awake for an entire mass until he was 6 years old).  After mass he made his first trip to dinner out with Mommy and Daddy, and is now in the process of trying to wind down after all of the hustle and bustle and attempting to fall back to sleep.

Tomorrow, we are off to have his new casts put on and celebrating Zachary's 1 month birthday.  It's hard to believe that much time has already passed, but we are thankful for every moment so far, and looking forward to the wonderful memories ahead.  With Thanks and Praise - Brian + Kimmie

Did You Miss Me?

Sorry about not sending a message yesterday, Mommy and Daddy were very busy, and the days have been very similar with not a whole lot of new events to report.  Zachary has been doing a wonderful job of sleeping for most of the night.  Last night he slept for 6 1/2 hours, and has been feeding less and less from the bottle, making his feedings at breast with Mommy all the more special.  Zach hasn't shown any ill effects from his casts, and seems to barely notice them.  Mommy and Daddy think Zach will definitely be a singer with all the squeaking, groaning, and recently the high pitched humming he does when he's falling asleep, or stirring in bed.  Once he starts to speak, there may be no stopping him!

Today Zachary had three visitors.  Amanda came by in the afternoon, and spent some quality time visiting and helping Mommy feed Zach.  This evening Doris & Steven stopped by and were treated to Zachary being awake for 2 whole hours!  Doris had some wonderful stories to tell Zach, and he stayed awake to hear them all the way through. 

After one entire week at home, Zachary is doing great.  He's healing wonderfully, and continues to amaze us with each new day.  We thank God for that, and pray for continued blessings.  Thank You to All of You - Brian + Kimmie

Who's Got the Hiccups?

Today was fairly quiet for Zachary.  He did a great job of sleeping in 5 hour blocks last night, and continued to feed very eagerly today.  Mommy was able to get some good rest and did her best to keep Zachary on his schedule, despite the efforts of Daddy, who seems to offset that schedule!  

Dave and Denise were surprise visitors this evening, and they dropped off a LOT of diapers and goodies for Zach, Thank You Very Much to them for that. He slept through their visit, but we still enjoyed having them here.  Zachary is getting used to his casts, and doesn't seem to have any major issues with them.  He's lifting his legs, and casts as well, so they don't seem to be hampering any of his development either.  Enjoy the video above, and continue to pray for his continued progress and healing.  Sending our Love - Brian + Kimmie 

Cute Boots

Today was shaping up to be another normal day, continuing with Zachary's sleep/feed cycle and furthering his routine.  When Mommy called to set up an appointment to meet the orthopedist things changed pretty quickly.  They had a last minute opening this afternoon at 2, so our "normal" day quickly became a rather hectic one.  

We arrived at the new Children's Hospital North Campus (we're VERY excited to be able to go there, only 10 minutes from the house compared to 35-40 minutes) and met with the PA who we were referred to.  She gave us all the details of what to expect and what lies ahead for Zach's treatment.  After a short consultation they put on Zach's first set of casts.  He will have to go to the hospital every Monday for the next 8-10 weeks and have new casts placed on each time.  They will slowly move his feet further and further, until they are in normal position.  He will then have a minor surgical procedure to release the tendons that allow him to raise his feet and toes upwards.  This is followed by further casting for a couple of weeks, then he will be placed in boots at all times until he reaches six months old.  After that he will need to wear the boots only when he naps and sleeps until he is 2 years old.  This method of treatment is more time consuming, but has shown to be more successful and less painful for children long term, rather than the other method of more invasive surgery when Zachary reaches walking age.  

We took quite a few pictures of his little feet before the casts were placed, because even though they are fixing them, we were getting used to and enjoying his little curved feet, they were cute.   So for the next several months Zachary will have some form of brace or cast on his legs, and we pray he gets acclimated to them quickly and they help to heal his feet in short time. 

His journey continues.  This time the treatments are much less invasive, virtually painless, but much longer term.  Another hurdle is directly in Zach's path, but with God's love and strength, he will surely cross over it and be much stronger when all is said and done.  Thank You all for your continued thoughts and prayers, and may God Bless our little stiff legged fighter! - Brian + Kimmie

Don't Let That Baby Face Fool You!

Today was our first visit with Dr. Black, Zachary's pediatrician. Everything checked out wonderfully.  The doctor took the time to get quite a few questions answered and catch up on all Zach has been through to this point.   She was very pleased with his progress, and answered some of our questions about Zachary's clubbed feet.  She has two young children who both had clubbed feet, so she has quite a bit of experience with casting, and recovery.  We are scheduled to meet with the orthopedist later this week.  

Zachary decided to revert back to some of his old "bad" habits today and  peed when we were trying to weigh him, sans diaper (7lbs. 8oz.).  As if that were not enough, he faked Daddy out by trying to poop while having his diaper changed, and when he noticed that end was covered, he decided to pee all over instead! He's just toying with us now.  We're "covering" all of our bases, but give him a small opening and he'll take advantage.  

As for the sleep/feed schedule, things went MUCH better last night.  We made sure to feed him as much as he would take, and added a cluster feed around 8pm.  He slept until 11, then until 2:30, and again until 8am, giving Mommy and Daddy some nice extended sleep times of 3-5 hours.  He had a very busy day today with the pediatrician visit and a trip to the store.  His first extended car trip went pretty well, but he stayed awake for a majority of the afternoon.  After his dinner feeding he went straight to sleep and hopefully will continue his peaceful, restful ways for the rest of the night.  With much Love, Thanks, and Praise - Brian + Kimmie

HA HA, Fooled Ya!!

Friday, Zachary's first night home, went very well.  Last night..... not so much.  Daddy arrived home from work just before midnight, and Zachary decided he didn't need to sleep until around 4.  It seems he isn't getting enough milk from Mommy alone. He feeds for a good amount of time, and even falls asleep, but usually less than an hour later he's awake and letting all within ear shot know that his belly isn't full yet and he needs a quick fix.  So our new strategy is to fill him up as best we can, usually letting him feed with Mommy, then giving him a bottle to finish up (we know, this is a big no-no, but until he gets up to snuff breast feeding we're going to cheat a little).  This afternoon and evening we have been following our new schedule, and so far, so good (knock on wood, cross your fingers, etc.).  

The rest of today's schedule was pretty busy for Zachary. We celebrated Christmas this afternoon and Zach did a god job of staying mostly awake to see his presents.  After they were all opened he decided to sleep for a while, as you can see above.

Tonight we were able to give Zachary his first at home bath (really just a cloth cleaning).  We can't get his incision on his back, or the stitches in his head wet, so we're limited to a wet cloth and a soft, dry towel.  The highlight of the bathing was Zach's discovery of the bathroom mirror (see pic above).  He thoroughly enjoyed staring at himself and flailing his arms just like he does when he's sleeping.  After the bath it was time for a cluster feeding before putting him down hopefully for a good portion of the night.  

Tomorrow we have an appointment with Zachary's pediatrician, and we'll find out when his appointment with the orthopedist will be.  For now, we hope to get a little rest tonight, and are excited for the new week ahead.  Thank God for his abundant blessings!  With gladness and praise - Brian + Kimmie

Sleeping It Off

Last night went fairly well for all 3 of us.  Zachary fed and slept in 3 hour blocks, so Mommy and Daddy we able to get a little bit of sleep (although Mommy got less because she's the key to the feeding).  Zachary fed this morning around 6 and decided he didn't want to sleep anymore, so Daddy rocked him and occupied his time for a couple hours while Mommy got to sleep for a bit longer.

Our in house nurse arrived around 9 and gave Zachary a thorough examination, which he passed with flying colors.  Zach now weighs 7lbs. 4oz., almost a full pound heavier than his birth weight!  The Nurse is pretty confident he will be just fine until his pediatrician appointment on Monday, so she cancelled tomorrow's visit.  

After getting a little attention, Zachary decided it was time to head back to dreamland, and slept for a while longer.  Crystal and Meghan stopped by and brought lunch (thank you to them, it was wonderful), then Jodee, Mark, and Mark's Mother stopped by for a short visit.  It was a pretty busy house, but Zachary slept through it all, and had to be woken up for his afternoon feeding.  He ate quite a bit, then dozed off yet again.  He is still sleeping as we write, so let's just hope he does not stay awake all night!  He has been eating wonderfully, and obviously, has been sleeping, and his overall adjustment to life at home has been successful so far.  

Tomorrow we will have Zachary's Christmas, and a bath!  Big plans for the little guy!  Until then wish Mommy luck, she has Zach all to herself tonight with Daddy off to work. Love to You All - Brian + Kimmie