Isaac Turns 3!

Isaac is turning 3 this month! I can't believe how quickly time has gone.Isaac was born 9 weeks early by C-section. His pregnancy was a difficult one, beginning with Placenta Previa which got me 7 weeks of bedrest at home. Then my water broke at 27 weeks and that landed me in the hospital on bedrest for the remainder of the pregnancy. Boring. But, thankfully we were able to make it another 4 weeks before I went into labor.
He weighed 3 lbs. 8 oz. at birth

At LDS Hospital they encouraged what they called 'kangaroo care.' It's skin-to-skin contact with the baby. Studies have shown amazing things happen when mothers hold their premature babies like this. For instance, back in the 1980's a woman gave birth to her baby extremely early and despite all the doctors efforts, this baby was dying. The doctors called her in to hold her baby one last time, and she decided to hold him right up to her chest against her bare skin. Within a few hours his vital signs had improved dramatically so she and her husband took turns holding this baby like that around the clock for 48 hours until he was out of the danger zone.

The nurses at the hospital told me that studies have shown that a mother's body responds to the needs of the baby to keep the baby at the right temperature. Someone can stand behind a mother and say "the baby's getting cold" and her temperature will go up to warm up the baby. It's really amazing. So, for the hour I was allowed to hold him each day, I held him like this.

Here he is at 2 weeks old, that's a preemie diaper that he's being swallowed in.
At 1 month

6 weeks
First day home from the hospital being held by Grandpa Shapiro.
5 lbs 4 oz

Debbie meeting her brother for the first time.

Blessing day - 4 months

6 months old

As you can see, he had a really hard time gaining weight once we got him home from the hospital...

1st birthday

2 years old

And now at almost 3!

He's such a sweet boy, we love him so much! He is so expressive with his feelings and he loves deeply. We're so grateful for the power of the Priesthood and for modern medicine, he's 100% healthy! He loves all things boy; dinasaurs, cars, spiderman (basically any superhero), bugs, yelling (rawr!), and wrestling. He also loves his daddy and tries to be like him. He's a very happy child, but he's also sometimes quiet so I worry that he gets looked over because his older sister is so much louder and more demanding when we're with company. He loves both Debbie and Cosette very much and plays so well with them. He and Debbie like to wrestle and play, the other morning I woke up to the sound of them chasing each other around and laughing and playing; pretty much the most beautiful sound in the world! His big, dark, brown eyes and that beautiful smile of his get me every time. We love you Isaac!