Weight Gain

One thing that strikes us, I suppose because we have to pay such close attention to it, is how much weight Zac continues to gain and how consistently he is doing so. As of Tuesday night, he was up to 5 lbs, 5 1/2 oz. You'll recall that he began this life at 3 lbs, 12 oz. That's a gain so far of 1 lb, 9 1/2 oz, and that's in the past 3 weeks. He continues to gain weight at the rate of about an ounce a day, which is exactly what we want, so that's good. Thursday nights are when they measure him, so by Friday we should know if he has grown more (which we think he has) and how much he now weighs.

We maintain that had Zac gone full-term, where he didn't have to work for his food like he does now, he would have been just one big boy. I wanted to get a new picture to put up tonight, as Zac was laying on his right side with his hands up by his head, one on top of the other, just like you and I might sleep on our side. Unfortunately, before I could get the camera he had moved the placement of his hands so I lost my chance at a unique picture. This is how he likes to lay quite often, though, so hopefully I can get one sometime soon here.

Tonight I'd like to share something Katy and I are trying to do for someone else. There is another couple in the NICU who had a son two hours before Zac was born. We're the same number of weeks along and have obviously been there the same amount of time. They are a very nice couple and the husband is very outgoing. He enjoys making everyone laugh, nurses included, and is just a very free spirit. They are originally from Wyoming, but now living in northeastern Nebraska. He works on farms and is highly mechanical, but the big deal is he loves hunting. I don't mean he kinda likes it and does it when the seasons come. I mean it's everything to him.

Well, Katy's mom has a cousin who has been involved with hunting shows on TV and radio and is an avid outdoorsman. We asked the dad here if he knew about him and he absolutely did. After trying unsuccessfully to reach the cousin via e-mail, I did some research online and found he still does a call-in segment on a radio station in Hattiesburg, MS. So I wrote the radio station this week, expressing my desire to get something signed by this guy to send to the son of the dad here. We know he'd love it and it would be very special to him. They wrote me back last night and intend to send a "care package" we can give to this dad and his son. Hopefully it'll arrive before they get out of the NICU, but if not, we'll make sure we get their address before they leave so we can send it along. It's a secret, so they won't know about it until it happens. Don't worry, though, as they don't know about this blog and aren't big into computers, so I know there's no danger of them finding out.

I'm just so excited we can do something for such a nice couple. Having a child in the NICU for this long, we know exactly how they must feel as well. You get punchy and frustrated at having to live in a way that's completely out of your comfort zone. You sleep more than you normally would, because it's emotionally taxing and a little depressing. I know these two don't have the faith to fall back on like we do, so it must be even harder for them. Plus, they don't have family close by and don't live here in Omaha, so it's got to be difficult. We're so thankful we live 5 minutes away. It sure makes this job of travel back and forth every day a lot easier.