July 4, 2006

This week has been much better for Zach. Zach recovered from his G-tube surgery well and the fever subsided. The doctors suspect that the fever Zach had was a reaction to the surgery, not an infection, as we originally feared, as nothing was ever detected in his battery of tests (definately not for a lack of looking). Zach is back up to a full feeding schedule and is tolerating it without any issues, as evidenced by his latest photo (look at those chubby cheeks and fantastic smile)! Zach has graduated to the super heavyweight division of the NICU weighing in at a whopping 12 lbs. 9 oz. A new baby came into the NICU that reminded us of Zach when he was first born and it is pretty amazing to compare the size differential.

Zach's CO2 levels have been great the whole past week. He is averaging readings in the 50-60 range which is outstanding for him (he's even registering in the normal range for the test consistently for the first time). Unfortunately all of these readings came using the hospital vent which seems to finally be dialed in. We were happy to see Zach comfortable for the first extended period of time as well as sitting up and looking around and becoming more aware of his surroundings. Yesterday the doctors switched Zach back to his home vent. The adjustment period is now underway. His CO2 went back up initially but throughout the night they believe they've been able to stabilize him and his levels have improved.

Mom and Dad continue to learn about the care requirements for Zach once he comes home. Greg did his first trach change (which consists of removing the current trach and inserting a new one). The whole process sounds pretty intimidating but both Greg and T have been able to do it once without incident. We will continue to practice and Greg needs to complete his trach CPR class (Tieryn and Grandpa have already completed it). We still have a ways to go before we will be completely confident to do everything on our own but feel we are getting closer.

We started the process of getting Zach's room ready for him when he comes home. The plan is to have everything ready long before Zach comes home as we think life will get pretty crazy as we get closer to the big day. It's hard to believe it has already been five months since Zach was born. It is fun to see him start to act like a baby (We hope you enjoy the picture of him smiling) We are looking forward to many more milestones.

Thanks for checking in. We hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July. We love y'all, thanks for the support.