The Boffo Baby "Zoe" Escapade: From the Mind of Melanie

"BOFFO - EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL; GREAT" -------------------- (Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language) Follow the mind of Melanie as she tracks her pregnancy and early motherhood!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Trunk or Treat




For Halloween we went to a trunk or treat at our church. It's where you decorate the trunk of your car (we didn't decorate ours though) and the kids go around to each car for the trick or treat. We had a safari theme going. Zoe was a zebra, Mike was being strangled by a Boa and I was a zoo keeper. It was fun and we ate WAY too much candy.

Happy Halloween!


You know Zoe's hungry when...


she tries to eat my nose!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Dirty Clothes

Zoe has had some interesting, dirty, stinky diapers lately. Unfortunately her clothes are getting stained from it. I've tried a few different things but I can't seem to keep the bright, clean, and new look.

Do any of you have recommendations for how to really fight stains?

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Bumbo Recall


We LOVE our Bumbo chair and I know that some of you also use one with your kids so I want to make sure you know about this. I received a notice today that there is a recall on the chairs. They're not taking them off the market, just adding a warning that kids can easily tip over in them. Some babies have arched their backs or bent over sideways while in the chair causing it to tip over. Click here to see the details of the recall.

We are going to continue to use our chair with Zoe. I've been putting her in it on the couch so she can sit with me while I pump but I'll just be sure to use it only on the carpet from now on.

Double the cuteness

I forgot to mention in my previous post that Zoe has finally doubled her birth weight!

Here are her current measurements:
Weight: 11lb 6oz (5lb 9oz at birth)
Height: 22.3" (16" at birth)
Head: 43.25cm (I don't know what this was at birth)

Geneticist

In a previous post, I mentioned that although all of the blood tests to see if there is a metabolic deficiency completed during Zoe's brief hospital stay in July have came back normal, her doctor wanted a Geneticist to see her in person just to make sure he doesn't notice anything out of sorts. Zoe's doctor would rather us find out if there is something we need to work with now, rather than in five years. He is still a little hung up on the fact that Zoe has a big head with tiny facial features and a tiny body.

On Tuesday I took Zoe to see the Geneticist. I first spoke with a Genetic Counselor about mine and Mike's family medical history. That took a while because she literally drew a family tree and wanted me to go as far back as I could. And we both have big families! The Geneticist then gave Zoe a full physical exam (the same kind she gets during her Primary Care checkups) and then took a bunch of measurements. He measured her height, weight, head circumference, arm span, hands, length of her fingers, eye width, ear placement, and feet.

The Geneticist said that Zoe looks very normal except that she is the size of a 2 month old and her arms are short in comparison to her height. So he suggested we do a Skeletal Dysplasia Survey. This is a series of x-rays of the head, chest, pubic bone, legs, arms, hands, feet, and spine that will allow the doctor to see if there is any abnormality showing up in her bones. Pretty much, it's to see if there is any sign of Dwarfism. So, I went ahead and had the x-ray done. Zoe hated it. She was SO tired (we had already been at the hospital for a couple hours).

The doctor said he isn't expecting to get abnormal results from the x-ray but he just wanted to do it so that we could know. If Zoe is a dwarf there isn't anything we can do about it except just be prepared and know how to manage it. Some reassuring things are that though Zoe is very small for her age she continues to grow at a constant rate. Also, her head is big but it's a different looking 'big' than the typical dwarf.

We'll get the results from the x-ray next week. Then the Geneticist wants to see Zoe again in about 5 weeks and then one more time after that before we move.

How do Mike and I feel about all this? We don't feel there is anything wrong with Zoe. We never did. Mike had a large head when he was a baby (and still does!) and both of us were small babies (in the 6 and low 7lb. ranges). It seems like everything that the doctors have any concern about can be accounted for by one of our family members (Mike's dad has one crease on his palm instead of two, etc.). Mike and I have never had a concern about Zoe's size, big head, or any of the other things. But when a doctor mentions that he's concerned then we kind of have to be concerned too. So we're going along with all the testing because we'd much rather they all come back negative then there be something wrong that we could have found out about and managed now.

No matter what happens we think Zoe is perfect just the way she is and we wouldn't change anything at all about her.

A few good things that came from the visit to the doctor:
1) Everybody thought Zoe was SO cute. Maybe they were just being nice. But they just couldn't get enough of her and everybody wanted to play and talk to her. Of course Zoe loved it and was hamming it up for everybody. She smiled, giggled, and baby talked to everybody.
2) The doctor was very impressed with how well Zoe can sit up. She sat up on my lap (I was not holding her with my hands) the entire time I talked with the Genetic Counselor). Then Zoe sat up all by herself on the exam table while the doctor did her physical--even while he was checking the reflexes on her knees.
3) The doctor made a comment that Zoe acts older than her age. (So if she looks younger but acts older those two things wash and she's perfect, right?)

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Zoe the Zebra



Comparisons between Zoe and Zebras:

Zebras are shorter than most other horses, and they have smaller hooves.
Zoe is shorter and has smaller feet than most other babies her age.

Zebras have strong muscles and large lungs so they can keep running for long distances without tiring or slowing down.
Zoe has strong muscles and lungs from the steroid injections I received during pregnancy.

A Zebra's favorite food is grass, but not milk.
Zoe's doesn't like milk either. She would probably like grass, but we haven't tried that yet. She does like eating fingers, toes, burp clothes, stuffed dragons, hair, toys, and anything that comes in contact with her...except the bottle.

Zebras have many stripes.
Zoe has a stripe on the front of her face. Some call is a stork scratch but it just may be a zebra stripe.

Watch if you dare...

Sunday, October 21, 2007

'ba' and 'da'

In this video I am teaching Zoe how to say 'ba' and 'da'. I had been doing this with her for two days--this video is on the second day. The next morning she woke up saying 'da' then two days after that she started saying 'ba'!

She still laughs every time I say 'ba' or 'da' to her. She also gets the biggest smile on her face when I sing the alphabet.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Can you feel the luv?

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Lil' Piglet

Zoe decided to celebrate turning 5 months by drinking a whole 6oz bottle this morning. Whoa! A new nickname to add to her list: Piglet.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

5 Months Old!


We got the results from Zoe's evaluation with the Children's Developmental Services. She passed with flying colors and doesn't qualify for any assistance. Yeah! The only two things she's is a little behind on (and the coordinator stressed the 'a little' part) is that she hasn't rolled over yet and when she grasps things with her hands she still uses a palmer grasp (meaning she holds an object with her palm using her fingers to keep it in place vs. using her fingers to hold and move the object). Other than that she's right on target for everything: gross motor skills (holding head up, sitting up with assistance), fine motor skills (reaching out for things, picking things up), cognitive skills (talking), and social skills (responding to things, crying when her friend Brooke cries). I'm not surprised at any of this. Mike and I never really felt like she was behind in anything but since it was free to get her evaluated...why not. She's getting a hearing test with the Developmental Services next week then (as long as she passes) her case will be closed.

Other interesting Zoe facts:
Zoe's hair seems to be falling out. We find her hair everywhere and the back looks like it's starting to thin. But the top middle continues to grow (it kind of looks like a skunk).


Zoe talks and laughs all the time. She has a hard time eating because she talks and sticks her fingers in her mouth while she's trying to suck on the bottle. It's really messy.

She figured out how to make the animal sounds and music play on her activity center and LOVES it.


Zoe's back and neck are getting really strong and she can sit up by herself on my lap (because I can move my legs accordingly so she won't fall over). It's a start. We practice sitting up every day. We have also been practicing the "B" and "D" sounds. Well, I've been saying them to her and she just laughs at me.

Zoe pretty consistently eats about 5oz of milk in a feeding. I think she's just about ready to try rice cereal...maybe a couple more weeks.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Nicknames

Nickname: Stemming from the misdivision of the word "ekename" (1303). "An eke_name", literally means "an additional name", with origins from the Old English word "eaca"—which means "an increase"; also related to eacian "to increase".

In Viking societies, many people had nicknames heiti, viðrnefni or uppnefi which were used in addition to, or instead of their family names. In some circumstances the giving of a nickname had a special status in Viking society in that it created a relationship between the name maker and the recipient of the nickname, to the extent that the creation of a nickname also often entailed a formal ceremony and an exchange of gifts.

So, somewhere in between then and now, we went from heralding Viking warriors with special status nicknames to………..names like snuggy wuggy bear.

Anyway, how many of you have a whole cast of embarrassing nicknames for your kids?

Mike and I were noticing recently that we have many nicknames for Zoe.

Top 20 Nicknames for Zoe (in no particular order):
Zoe burrito
Peanut
Zoe the Zebra
Zebra Zoe
Zoester
Roller Zoester
Z
Koala
Gizmo
Cracker
Dude
Munchkin
Big Smurf
Little Pukester
YO......ZO!!!!!
Wiggle Worm
Booga booga
Cutie
Sweetie
Pretty girl

I wonder how long it will take her to realize her name is actually Zoe.

Question: What are some of the embarrassing nicknames you use for your kids; or nicknames that YOU have been given from so called friends and family? Share them with pride, you Viking Warrior cutie patooty you.

Monday, October 08, 2007

Snip Snip

I did something today that I have been worried about since the day Zoe was born. When I was clipping her finger nails I snipped the tip of her left thumb. I didn't clip it off, but I cut it...and it bled. I'm not sure who was more upset about it, me or Zoe. Luckily Mike was right there and came to Zoe's rescue. He took her from me and quickly began playing with her. She was happy within moments of the incident. Whew. Hopefully she won't remember.

I looked for infant band aids at Walmart. They didn't have any, but they did have Strawberry Shortcake bandages! I got some for me.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Short clip of Zoe and Brooke crying

Here is the video of Zoe and Brooke crying. It is just a few seconds long because I was feeling a little guilty taking pictures and recording them crying. The funniest thing about this video is that you can tell Zoe isn't really upset, she's just crying because Brooke is crying. This is also posted in the "PICTURES AND VIDEOS OF ZOE' link (along with a bunch of other pictures and short video clips).

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Having fun?

Today Zoe's friend, Brooke (8 months old), came over to play while her mom ran some errands. We had a great time reading books, singing songs, and playing with lots of toys. At one point though, Brooke was getting fussy and started to cry a little...nothing too bad. At first Zoe just looked at her wondering what was going on, then Zoe started to cry too. Well, that made Brooke cry even harder. It was the funniest thing in the world. They sat there and fed off each other's cries. I probably didn't help the matter because I was laughing so hard. I did manage to get a couple pictures of it (I also have a short video clip of the crying. I'll get that put into photobucket...):



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