Letters to Zoe during her first months in the NICU

On November 19th, my wife and I were blessed with a gift from God.  Zoe was brought into this world a little earlier than we would have liked, but due to medical conditions, we had no choice.  At 10:37 she showed up weighing 15 ounces and 10 1/4 inches long.  Yes, she weighed less than a bottle of soda.

The picture above was taken right after she was born.  You can see my wedding ring all the way around her arm.  Yes, she was very, very small!

The place she was born was not set up for a premature baby of her size, so she and I were flown the next morning to the NICU in Spokane where she stayed for the next 8 months.  I have many stories to tell of her time spent there, some happy and some very sad.

We lived a little over 2 hours away from Spokane at the time.  My wife stayed with Zoe and spent the next 8 months in the Ronald McDonald House (if you get a chance to donate to them - please do).  I traveled back home every Sunday and came back to see my girls on Friday after work.  It was so hard being away during the week, only being able to talk on the phone.  While I was home during the week, and at times on the weekends, I spent time writing letters to Zoe so one day she would know what her beginnings were like.

The posts to follow (when I have time) and between other posts - will be called "Dear Zoe".

Dear Zoe, 11-21-2002
Dear Zoe, I was given a book today titled "Letters to Zoe" about a grandfather writing letter to his newborn granddaughter.  Like you, she was premature at birth - but a little bigger.  I was inspired to do the same, so you would know what was going on during this time in your life.

Where do I begin?  I guess I'll start by saying you are currently 41 hours and 30 minutes old.  You are so tiny, I can't explain how small you are.  You were born on 11-19-02 at 10:37pm, weighed an amazing 440 grams (around 15 ounces) and were 10 1/4 inches big.  At this moment, you are getting prepped to have a tube placed in your leg - a necessity to give you the fluids you need.  I am in the waiting room - waiting.  Your mother was released from the hospital about 1 hour ago - and is on her way her to see you.  You are so beautiful - and tiny.  You have a perfect body - all your fingers and toes, hair on your head, eyebrows, fingernails and toenails.  Sometimes you open your eyes to display to me those wonderful eyes.  I'm sure you are asking "How did I get here".

With that, I will leave the rest of the letter out, as it goes on about my wife and I meeting.