Long Time No Speak!

It's been far too long since the last update to Zachary's blog, so here's a break down of the week that was....

Zach had his new casts put on Monday (white ones this week), and was great for the nurse practitioner who put them on once again. His new casts have his feet past neutral, and his progress has been wonderful (check out his straight feet in the pictures!).  They think it may only be 2-3 weeks longer with the fiberglass casts, then he can have his procedure, and have his plaster casts put on for a month.  This is a couple weeks sooner than we had first expected, so praise God for Zachary's quick healing and progress.  He was surprisingly pleasant Monday night and all day Tuesday, unlike weeks past, where we thought he might be a little sore from the new casts. 

Thursday was a busy day for the whole family.  Zachary had two ultrasounds (one on his head and one renal for his kidneys and bladder), then had a visit with the pediatrician.  He had been spitting up a little more often, and was a bit stuffy, so we took him to get checked out.  The doctor said everything seemed fine, and to continue monitoring Zachary's behavior, but for now he was doing well enough.  You can see from the pictures that he was pretty dead to the world before his ultrasounds, but he still looks good in those overalls!!  He slept through almost the entire procedure and only fussed when the doctor put a big glob of gel in his ear!

This weekend he has been very pleasant.  We had a slight scare yesterday when Mommy talked to the pediatrician to discuss the ultrasound results, and we thought his head might have been retaining a bit of fluid, but after a short time, and some re-evaluation, everything took a turn for the better and Zachary returned to his normal self.  We even had a small milestone yesterday when Zachary looked up at Mommy and gave his first big smile!  We've been anticipating that coming for a few days now, and we're ecstatic it finally happened.

 Super Bowl Sunday arrived and he was a little ball of energy this morning.  We went to church early, then all three of us had breakfast (Mommy and Daddy ordered omelets, Zach got a bottle!), and were able to have a fairly quiet afternoon together before the game.  This week brings Zach's first visit to the spina bifida clinic on Tuesday.  It's the one stop shop for most of Zach's needs, and we should have a few more answers as to a timeline for his continued recovery.  We're overjoyed with his healing to this point, and continue to pray for a full and healthy recovery ahead.  With Love and Praise - Brian + Kimmie