Age: Zero

"Eight pounds, nine ounces," announces our pediatrician, the Amazing Dr. L. "That's pretty impressive considering he's technically..." She stops to look back at his chart - "...not born yet."

I know it sounds strange to say but we're not really sure how old Zach is. Do we go by his birth age or his gestational age? We got a partial answer to that yesterday from Dr. L.: It depends. For the purposes of vaccinations we go by birth age, so he's four weeks old. But for things like developmental milestones, we have to go by his May 31/June 1 due date, so he's zero, or more accurately, negative one week.

It seems strange to think of him as a newborn because he really is a fairly big, healthy-looking guy. He's gained a pound in the past week and if you didn't know any better you wouldn't look at him and think "preemie." But Dr. L. laid down the law yesterday: He is still at high risk for infection, and thus no matter how healthy he looks, he's not allowed out in public for at least six weeks after his due date. That means he can't go to the mall, Luke's school, kids' parties, or any other "germ fest," as Dr. L. put it, where well-meaning people might touch him or get in his face. It seems harsh, but if the risk is an infection that might put him back in the hospital, we'll wait until the middle of July.

When he does make his formal social debut, the really cool thing is that he already has a built-in gang of buddies. Since January, our various mom-friends have given birth to five little boys - Race, Hudson, Spencer, Daniel, and Ryan - and that doesn't even account for all of our little friends who were born in the second half of 2006. Zach may be the littlest, at least for a while, but I'm sure he can't wait to get out and start whooping it up with the rest of the crew.

Once we're out there, I'm sure I'll have to answer the inevitable question, "How old is he?" Between now and then, let's see if I can figure out a way to respond in less than five hundred words.