Zoe got a very special gift from her great-uncle and great-aunt (Jake and Yola) the other day. She won’t be able to use the rocking horse until she’s a little older; until then, I know someone who will be enjoying the ride!

-M

 

Dec. 10 has been marked on my calendar for almost a year. This is the day that the Packers – led by Brett Favre, one of the loves of my life – are coming to town to play the 49ers. Q got me tickets the day they went on sale, but after I got pregnant and learned the baby was due just before the game date, we weren’t sure we’d be able to make it. We went back and forth all this week about what to do about the game, and we ultimately decided that it wasn’t terribly do-able. We’re both pretty exhausted (despite getting a fair amount of sleep most nights), and it would be difficult to leave Zoe (who needs to eat every 3-4 hours) for such a long period of time. The weather forecast also didn’t help much: 55 degrees and rainy. Yuck.

SO - we wound up selling our tickets (to a friend and fellow Packers fan) yesterday. I still feel bummed about it, but I suppose I’ll feel a little better if I snuggle up with Zoe and watch the game on TV… And I certainly plan to someday fill her in on the legacy of Brett Favre!

-M 

 

 

I can’t remember wearing it, of course, but I was pretty excited that Zoe was able to fit into one of my baby sweaters yesterday. And check out the pants that we paired the sweater with – it doesn’t get any cuter than a butterfly on the butt, IMO.

-M

PS – I forgot to mention yesterday that Zoe’s platelet count is still high (above 200K). Her doctor is pleased, and Zoe needs to get just one more blood test. Yippee!

 

 

Zoe got dressed up today for her first Wisconsin Badgers basketball game.  The Badgers beat Marquette, thanks to Zoe cheering!  I am sure there will be plenty more Wisconsin games for her to cheer to in the future…

Jon Q

Zoe finally got to meet her Sabba (grandpa in Hebrew) and her “weird” uncle Gil (the weird was given to Gil by her “cool” uncle Dan.)  She looks very content with both.

Jon Q

 

As mentioned in a previous entry, I was a super hungry baby. My mom reports that I used to scream at the top of my lungs in between bites of baby food – she just couldn’t feed me fast enough. Apparently, some of my love of food was passed on to little Zoe, who is also a very happy and eager eater. At her second doctor’s appointment this morning, we learned that she has gained close to a pound in just a week! She was 7 lbs, 14 oz last Friday; today she is 8 lbs, 11.5 oz. (Q and I weren’t totally surprised; we’ve been commenting to one another that she has been looking and feeling bigger…) I love that we have a little porker on our hands…

In other news, Zoe got her blood checked again today – and we get the results later this afternoon. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that her platelet count is nice and high. If it’s high enough, she may be done with blood tests for good. (Hooray!)

-M

So, I feel like I officially became a mom last night, when I got thrown up on for the first time. I was holding Zoe and admiring her big blue eyes when she opened her mouth and just let it all out. (It’s hard to believe that an 8-pound individual can produce that much vomit!) My first thought (which I probably shouldn’t admit) was, “Oh my God, my shirt” – and my second thought was, “Oh my God, I hope she’s okay.” I don’t have a lot of experience with babies – let alone babies who throw up – so I called in Q for consultation. He’s the designated burper in the family and he’s seen her get sick before, so I needed him to determine whether she was okay. Once he came in and assured me that she was, in fact, fine, I peeled off my shirt, threw it in some cold water, and let out a big sigh.

Somehow, I don’t think this will be only time I’ll get thrown up on in my lifetime…

-M

PS – Two pics of the little vomiter are below.

A friend recently (jokingly) asked whether I missed being pregnant. Despite having had a relatively easy pregnancy, I certainly don’t miss the side-effects, such as moodiness and swollen feet. (And I love that I’m able to now sleep on my stomach and move around without feeling like a walrus.) I can’t say I hated pregnancy, though, because it yielded little Zoe. AND it turns out it might have had another positive side-benefit. I know we’re all sick of talking about platelets, but I learned yesterday that my latest count was (drum-roll please) 141K. (A normal count, again, is 150-450K; before pregnancy, I hovered around 30-50K.) My count has NEVER been that high – at least not without the aid of nasty prednisone – and the only explanation is that pregnancy and delivery did something to alter my immune system’s nasty habit of destroying platelets.

I did quite a bit of research on this issue even before getting pregnant, and I know that in some cases, having a baby can reverse a mom’s autoimmune disease, like my ITP. (It has something to do with the fact that a mother and baby  exchange body cells during pregnancy. It’s the same reason poor Zoe’s platelet count was low at birth.) It’s pretty rare for this to happen – but not impossible. I’m hoping my counts stay high, and – if they do – I have Zoe to thank!

-M 

My parents left today, and it was really difficult saying good-bye. It’s hard not to feel sad that we won’t see them again for awhile, and their trip and departure reminded me that living far away from family can be hard at times! Still, we had a wonderful time when they were here – and I’m so glad they were able to meet Zoe when she was so young.

On another happy note (and as Q mentioned), Q’s mom is here. His dad will arrive on Thurs. – so Zoe will soon have another set of grandparents to entertain and love! And, along with meeting her Safta, Zoe experienced another first today: a shopping trip! After we picked up Q’s mom from the airport, we spent a few hours shopping and eating in downtown Burlingame. Zoe was the perfect baby (she must like shopping as much as her mom does), and it was fun having various salespeople ogle over her. (I particularly enjoyed seeing their faces when we told them she was just 12 days old. They just looked at me and Q with surprise – and one woman commented about us being out-and-about, “Good for you guys!”)

Speaking of shopping – and on a total selfish note – I was happy to get a few new tops during our shopping adventure. My closet has been a depressing place as of late – my maternity clothes are way too big (something I really should be thankful for), and my “regular” clothes are too small – and it’s nice that I have a few options now. (Of course, I’d have to buy out complete stores to have as many options as Zoe. You wouldn’t believe how many clothes this little girl has – and she got even more today from her Safta!!)

-M

Grandma Browdy (Safta in Hebrew) has made her way to San Francisco to see Zoe for the first time (below are some great pics of the meeting).  We are all having a good time and can’t wait for Zoe to meet her Grandpa Browdy (Sabba in Hebrew).  I have also added a cute picture of Zoe from yesterday – her last day with Grandma and Grandpa Brandt.  A big thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Brandt… Zoe’s first week at home would never have gone so smoothly without you guys.

Jon Q

 

Zoe and Q are!! This was the scene in our family room at 10 this morning.

 -M

Zoe has been home for four nights and has been sleeping in her bassinet in our room.  The bassinet has been in the family for several generations and Zoe is the next to use it.  Below is a picture of me and my brother Dan looking at my youngest brother Gil.  After that is Zoe in the same bassinet…we hope to pass it for her kids someday!

Jon Q

I’ve learned quite a few things during this first week of motherhood, and I thought I’d post a few observations here.

-I think we lucked out and got a pretty mellow baby. (She’s eating every 3-3.5 hours and then sleeping right afterwards – and she doesn’t cry as often as I thought she would.) Her doctor keeps commenting that Zoe is mellow like her parents, which makes me laugh. (If only she knew…)

-Even with a good baby, and a relatively good amount of sleep, it’s exhausting having a newborn! The 3 AM feeding is the hardest.

-Everything takes twice (or three times) as long to do with a baby. I can’t believe how long it takes for all of us to get ready for her doctor’s appointment, for example.

-Zoe is a real porker – she eats tons. (I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, as my mom has reported for years that I was the same way. Apparently as a baby I would cry/scream in between feedings. My mom just couldn’t get food in my mouth fast enough.)

-It really IS difficult finding the time to take a shower!

-Zoe looks different (cuter) every day. The second picture below is my favorite to date.

-M

 

 

 

 

 

As you all know, Zoe went to the doctor yesterday and got her platelets checked.  Well, she also got her weight checked…when she was born she was 7 lb 3 oz, then she lost about 6% of her weight (pretty normal for a baby waiting for mommy’s breast milk to come in.)  Then she got back to her birth weight in about 3 days (very fast), and on her last visit she was at 7 lb 7 oz (again a quick weight gain for less than a week of life.)  So, back to the doctor appointment…only 2 days after her last weight check, she weighed in at 7 lb 14 oz!  As the doctor says, looks like she is getting plenty of milk.

To show you guys how much bigger she is, we decided to take a picture next to her Lou Seal doll again.  You can compare the results with the “So happy!” post below.

Jon Q

 

 

A few people have inquired about the name Alisabel, so I thought I’d dedicate a post to Zoe’s middle name. Q and I wanted to honor both his paternal grandpa (first name: Alvin) and my maternal grandma (middle name: Isabelle), so we decided to combine the two names. It’s actually pronounced like Elizabeth, but with a “bell” at the end. So: eh-liz-eh-bell. As for her first name, we both liked the name Zoe – and it also honors Q’s maternal grandma, Zahava.

Also, I should point out that the second photo gallery is now up. It’s located on the right and is called “Zoe’s First Days at Home.” She looks a lot different than her early (hospital) days, doesn’t she??

-M

PS. After I posted this, Zoe’s doctor called and said her platelets are WAY up: over 300K! (She had blood work done this morning.) That is the best news we’ve gotten in awhile, and we are thrilled! Yea, platelets!