More times than not, I look at Zoe and think, “Where did you come from?” It’s still amazing to me that something that small and precious came out of my belly – and was made by me and Q. I heard from parent-friends of ours before Zoe was born that once you meet your baby, you can’t imagine life without him/her, and that has proven true. Although she’s been around for just a week, I find it hard to think about what things were like with our 2-person family…

Zoe is getting cuter each day, and she’s also proving to be a wonderful baby. I don’t want to jinx things by sharing this, but she has had few crying/screaming episodes, and she mostly sleeps between feedings, even at night. So far, so good – and when I see her little face, I don’t even mind feeling dog-tired!

-M

Today was Zoe’s first bath at home (we’ll spare the naked pics for now) and Michelle picked out some new threads.  Check out how clean she looks!

Jon Q

 

 

As anyone who has had a baby knows, having help the first few weeks really is nice.  Well, Zoe is having both sets of grandparents visit her in her first 2 week of life.  This week is time for Zoe to meet Grandma and Grandpa Brandt.  They must be doing something right because every time they pick her up, she falls fast asleep.  More fun posts to come as the week progresses…

Jon Q

 

 

OK, enough about the cigars and beer that dad had today – he was able to drink and smoke for the past 9 months.  How about mom’s first drink?

Jon Q

 

 

 

A wise man once said, you just haven’t had a child until you have had your first celebratory cigar (well, it wasn’t really a wise man…)  So, Elan (who is my oldest friend and I have known since I was 10) came over today with cigars to celebrate the birth of Zoe.  Elan came with his son Ari and we asked him to take the picture of us. (Note: don’t ask a 5-year-old to take a picture of a moment you really want to keep without checking it out first.)  Anyway, I have added it below for your enjoyment.

Jon Q

 

 

 

The past days have been exciting ones for Zoe. She came home yesterday, and today she has her first pediatrician’s appointment. (I’m sure she’s really sick of doctors by now, though!) She also met her first set of grandparents – my parents – last night, which was exciting for everyone. My parents seemed to fall in love with Zoe right away… When coming back from the airport, I asked my mom, “Do you like her?” She looked at me with teary eyes and said, “What’s not to like?”

-M

As I was crawling into bed (deliriously tired) a few hours ago, I couldn’t help but think that the last time I was in our bed, I was in labor. It’s amazing to me what has transpired over the last five days!

As Q posted below, we are finally home. We got a good feeling that the end (or beginning) was near last night around 9:30. When we went to the nursery for her feeding, the nurse asked us if we wanted to room in with her that night. Her platelet level was up, and there was no reason to keep her hooked to all her little monitors. We excitedly said “yes,” and the three of us became roomies a half-hour later.

At 6 this morning, we learned that her platelet level was still up – and she would definitely be coming home. We quickly filled out paperwork, made an appointment with her pediatrician and took advantage of some last-minute advice from the nurses there. A hematologist came by for one last-minute look at Zoe, and we were officially out of the hospital just after 12 PM. (On a note, things really came full-circle when the attending physician during Zoe’s labor got on the elevator as we were leaving. I thanked him for the wonderful care we received, and he told us to have a wonderful life!)

As you can tell from his posts, Q is particularly ecstatic about being home. I have never seen anyone so excited about a baby – he just can’t stop looking at, taking pictures of, and playing with her. It’s adorable. I’m excited, too – but I won’t lie when I say that nothing looked as good as my bed this afternoon! I never thought I’d be so grateful for 1.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. (Wow – I really sound like a new mom now, don’t I??)

While I was typing away, Q took other fun pictures of Zoe – so we have put a few below. Enjoy.

-M

 

 

Before I head for a quick nap, I thought I would put up a picture of daddy’s little girl in her new crib.  She looks very comfy!

Jon Q

 

Well, after 24 hours of great-looking platelets, the family has made it home!  We are all very tired, so we are heading for naps.  But here are a few more pictures to keep everyone happy until we have time to upload the big batch.  Thanks for all the warm emails, we love them…

Jon Q