Zoe Rox

Pictures and Videos

There are new pictures and videos that can be viewed through the "More pics at photobucket" link on the right hand side of this page.

Cowboy Up

Something funny I overheard this morning:

Mike (jokingly) to Zoe: "Zoe, you sure cry a lot for a baby. Come on, cowboy up. You've been here for what, like a month?"

First Father's Day

This is a picture of Mike and Zoe on their first Father's Day together. Zoe got Mike the girliest, most princessy Father's Day card. Mike got some food poisoning the night before so he and Zoe spent the day relaxing together. It was a great first Father's Day.

Before I Was A Mom...

Before I was a Mom I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Spit on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

--Author Unknown

I got this in an email. I think it expresses my thoughts and feelings perfectly.

Zoe's One Month Checkup

Zoe had her one month check up this Friday. She now weighs 7lbs (25th percentile). Her height is 19.25" (25th percentile). Her head is 15cm (75th percentile).

The doctor was a little concerned that her head is continuing to grow so quickly and just told us to watch it to make sure it stays on the growth curve. If her head jumps off the charts then we may consider getting some tests done. But we'll cross that bridge if we get there. Mike and I have to remember that Mike had a large head when he was a baby. So Zoe probably just got that from him. His head fits his body now, so we're expecting Zoe to grow into her head too.

Zoe is now eating between two and three ounces during a feeding...working her way up to 4 ounces a feeding. This is good. She's growing!

Zoe seems to be in general good health. Next month we'll go in for another checkup and get some shots (I'm not looking forward to the shots!).

Baby Zoe Announcement

This is a cool announcement that my sister-in-law, Rachel, made for us.

One Month and 240 Diaper Changes Later!

Zoe On Her Blessing Day

June 3, 2007

Umbilical Cord

Zoe's umbilical cord stump fell off Saturday evening. This is very exciting. She's free!

Zoe's Doctor Visits

On Thursday, May 24th Zoe went in for her two week doctor appointment. She was almost 18 1/2 inches long and weighed 5lbs 13oz. Though she seemed to be in overall good health, her doctor was a little concerned about the small weight gain. Mike and I explained to the doctor that we would feed her one bottle for about three hours and that with all that time she still didn't seem to be eating very much. So, Zoe's doctor made us an appointment to see a feeding therapist that same day. The therapist watched us feed her and gave us a couple of suggestions: 1) she told us to feed Zoe for no more than 30-40 minutes at a time and then to wait for at least an hour and a half to feed her again. She felt that we were letting Zoe snack a lot so she never would get really hungry. 2) she showed us a trick to hold her cheeks in and chin up. It appears that Zoe's mouth still isn't strong enough to get good suction on the nipple, so we started doing that for her.

We also took Zoe in for a Swallow Study. This was on Wednesday, May 30th. The feeding therapist and a doctor x-rayed Zoe while I fed her so that we could make sure the food was going to the right places. They wanted to make sure the food wasn't going into her lungs. We determined that the food is going down her throat and not into her lungs, or anywhere else that it shouldn't. Yeah!

The same day of the Swallow Study, we also had Zoe weighed to see if our tricks were helping any. They were! On Wednesday the 30th she weighed 6lbs 4oz. Double yeah!

Things I Want To Remember About Baby Zoe

Just like my "Things I Want To Remember About My Pregnancy Post", I'm going to start an on-going list of the little things I want to remember about Zoe as a new born. There is so much to remember from these blurry weeks, hopefully this will help me to not forget the fun little things she does.

- The first time I saw Zoe. She had just been handed to a nurse by my doctor and was being put on a table. She was so tiny and was covered in white goop. She was crying and it was a quiet cry. I didn't know they were pulling her out so when I saw her and heard her cry, it took me about half a second to realize what was happening. There was my baby! My breath was caught for a second, then the tears came. I couldn't believe she was there. I'll never forget the look in Mike's eyes either. Then they started putting tubes down Zoe's throat, she seemed to be so patient with this. It was all amazing.

- Zoe's 'owl face' she makes when she messes her pants and it surprises her. It's so funny.

- The look on Zoe's face when she's crying. It's such a sad look, and it's so cute.

- My early morning shifts with Zoe. Just the two of us.

- Zoe sleeps best on my belly. I sleep best this way also. We curl up on the chair in the game room so that I can't move once I'm asleep. I can feel and hear her breathing.

- The little grunts and noises she makes.