He's still our lobster!!

Can you tell he is filling out more?

OK, I just had to buy this bib when we were in Maine! Since he was our "lobster" it was only appropriate. Maybe it won't be quite so huge on him in what, a year?? Pretty cute in my opinion! We did have to rip it out of Emerald's hands b/c she wanted Mango to wear Lobster's bib.

Zach remained in his crib all day and all night. We were warned that there might be a chance that he would have to go back to his isolette if his body temp dropped or if he lost weight. They moved the isolette out of his "cubicle" entirely today, so we are pretty confident that they won't need it now!! Yeah for Zachary! You are such a trooper little man! It is so incredible to walk into his room and seem him in a little bed with our clothes on him, and with our blankets under and over him. He is feeling more like a little baby now, instead of this scary doll that we shouldn't touch.

So many of you have asked what type of living arrangements little Zach has. He is in a 42 bed NICU. They have each baby inside a little "cubicle" which consists of 3 walls that are about 3/4 high, with curtains at the top which remain closed most of the time. The other wall is a curtain that is open most of the time, or you can close it for privacy. It is kind of funny, b/c you sit in your little room and even though there is a privacy issue, you can't help but hear what is going on around you. Zach is on Sunflower Street, as they name each little wing of the unit a different flower name and have the walls painted rather cute. I'll try to take pics sometime soon.

The baby beside us went home tonight. He was born at 24 weeks, and had been in the NICU for about 12 weeks. It is always emotional for me to see a family going home b/c it is nice to know that they really do let us take our babies home at some point! Being side-by-side neighbors, we have talked a lot with that family and are really happy for them. We know our time will come soon. It is weird b/c the 3 babies close to Zach have all left in the last 10 days or so. We are beginning to wonder if Zach is scaring them off?? Maybe it's all those stinky diapers!! Man that boy can go thru some diapers. He also has a very nasty diaper rash right now, and they are trying to make it better. Poor little Zach.

We took an infant CPR class tonight--a requirement for all NICU parents prior to discharge. No, that doesn't mean we are being discharged any time soon, it is just something we can get done now (especially while my mom is here to watch Em and Cal) so we got it done. We took this class for adoption requirements, too. We scared another pregnant couple in the class tonight, b/c there were 2 of us couples from the NICU in the class, both born about 9 weeks early. The poor pregnant couples had this look of fear hearing our story, and I hated letting them hear us.

Calvin and Emerald have loved having grandma here this week. I think maybe they are pushing her just a little and trying to get their way. Our sweet Calvin turns 2 in a week!! How did that happen?? Seriously, I was holding Zach yesterday, then came home and was just holding Calvin. He was tired and just laid in my arms looking up at me, letting me rock him. It was such a super sweet moment for the 2 of us. However, he did feel like a huge monster at the time. I remember when we brought Calvin home and Emerald felt so huge. Now my "big" little boy is seeming to grow up even faster overnight. He really can be such a cuddler at times, when he wants.

Emerald had a great day at school today. When I picked her up the teacher was trying to decipher Zach's status vs what Emerald was reporting. She said Emerald told her "Zach is in Calvin's crib now." Which, impressively, the teacher figured meant he was in a crib, but assumed he wasn't home yet. Our sweet little munchkins--so strange to wonder how they are deciphering all this chaos.

It's nearly midnight and I really need at least a couple of hours of sleep before waking again. So, for now, that is all I will report. I will try to remember my camera tomorrow and take pics of Zach in his crib. I forgot it tonight--too much to think of gosh darn it. I really feel like a chicken with my head cut off now. Running around, feeling like I'm accomplishing nothing and everything just keeps piling up around me. I keep thinking one of these days I will have my house back in order, and everything back together, right??