Nine years ago today...

...our little miracle baby, Jacob, was born. Sometimes it's hard to believe it's already been that long! Our lives were forever changed that day. Scared and totally devasted our little peanut was born at 25 5 /7 weeks old weighing 648 grams (about 1.43 lbs) and 12 1/4" long.
This was him at 8 days old. It was the first time I got to hold him. Finally, a little bit of "peace" in such a mind boggling time. If you look close enough you can see the bright orange earplug in his ear! It's hard enough coping with a baby this small and sick, let alone all the medical mumbo jumbo being thrown at you, it's very overwhelming, to say the least!
This is him when he was 15 days old. Now don't let the photo deceive you. It's a close up so of course he doesn't appear to be so tiny but if you compare the size of his head to the bulb syringe...There were times I would just start crying, no matter where I was, and I remember asking God all the time, WHY HIM? WHY US? I didn't uderstand why and how something like this could happen to such a tiny little life and that is so unfair for him to have to fight so hard just to stay alive. But I also realized that he's a little fighter who was/is very very fortunate and that he is such a strong person with a major purpose in life...most of which is causing mommy white hairs ;) But it was also a "make or break" time for Chris and I. We had been going through a lot of problems and it was a real eye opener for both of us, like HELLO!!
This is him the day he came home from the hospital! June 26th, 97! He was 82 days old and only weighed 3lbs 13ozs but we thought he was HUGE! I had been pretty much living at the hospital and it was so nice to know that he was coming home with us and that, hopefully, the hardest part was behind us!
He did so well once he came home. He was such a little toughie! I mean, he had only been home for 5 mths and look at him here.... Look at those chubby cheeks....He has grown to be a very healthy and active 9 year old. The only signs he has of being such a preemie is the little scars on his hands from all the IV's, he's a little smaller than the average boy his age and the fact that he has asthma (which Cody has asthma and he was 2 weeks LATE)...
Anyway, just hard to believe that this little turkey butt is just one year closer to being TEN now....