Baby Zap is ONE

One year ago. Birthday.

He was so impossibly small. 4 lbs 7 ounces when we brought him home. Lil'Bug and Blueberry Girl were both 9+lb'ers. Premie clothes are HARD to find. The 2 days he spent in the light box was impossibly hard. I cannot imagine having a NICU baby. I cannot imagine not being able to even hold your baby's hand while he sleeps. That light booth was heartbreaking enough. I have spent a lot of time praying for NICU babies this month. 

One Year LATER......

Zap is thriving. Tripled his birth weight, grown 7 inches. Sometimes this year was hard. He was diagnosed with failure to thrive because he gains weight slow and grows slow, that diagnosis changed to 22Q11 Deletion Syndrome 7 months ago. You know what that means to me? So much. It means that the impossible happened again. Most children diagnosed with 22Q11 need open heart surgery. Zap's heart is perfect. Most children with 22Q11 have a cleft palate. Nope. Not Zap. He's also got his thymus, kidneys, and parathyroid. We have gone to specialist after specialist trying to check off all the things that 22Q11 can mean for a child. So far, God has blessed this child in so many ways and blessed us too. We do not know what our path holds, but we keep walking it, thankful everyday for the health and joy that Zap brings to our lives. 

So. No. He's not crawling yet. But he will. He's not walking yet either. That will come too. He has not yet found his voice. I will be his voice for now.  Every time someone curious or aggressive starts criticizing his progress, I will be his voice. I will carry him. I will teach him what love looks like, sounds like, and feels like.

 

Happy Birthday Baby Zap. Mama loves you.