Zoë has Arrived: Zoë's home

Zoë has been home for one week now. It is really nice to have her home. The three of us have adjusted to being together. The first night we were really sleepy but both Mommy and Daddy got up to take care of Zoë. It took her one night to get used to her new surroundings. Now that a week has passed we have seemed to find her patterns and we are all doing well. Family nap time during the day really helps. Zoë also was able to meet all of her cousins. They weren't able to go to the NICU. Since all but 2 were under 12 years of age.

She did come home on .2 liters of oxygen and an apnea monitor. I think this is why we are able to sleep in peace, when we do fall asleep. If she stops breathing for 18 seconds the alarm goes off and it is loud. So far it has only gone off a couple of times, all when she is eating. So we have had no scares while she is sleeping. She seems to suck and suck on the bottle and holds her breathe. It like she is too busy eating to take the time to breathe. We also have an oxygen concentrator in the house with portable oxygen tanks when we need to leave the house. She is way over her daily volumes that we need to watch for in her feeding. She is supposed to get 220 cc every 12 hours and she is eating about 260 cc every 12 hours. We have a lot of Drs. to follow up with. We have an appointment every week with a different Dr., this is ok, since it is to make her better and she is home now.

We have always wondered what Zoë used to do when at the NICU. Now we now. She eats, sleeps and when she is wake she looks around at everything. She it awake about 3-5 hour straight during the day. She likes cuddle time. Noises don't even bother her. She is also a big chatter box when she is awake. She loves to look around

And for all those that ask, her room is still not ready. Even though it is not ready, Zoë has taken over all the other rooms in the house. She sleeps in Mommy's and Daddy's room in her bassinet. We haven't left the house, only to go to her pediatrician's visit and the follow up with the surgeon. Maybe we will all leave the house next week. Daddy's says he'll have it ready by next week.

The surgeon follow up visit was a good one. Zoë is healing very nicely and everything looks like it should. Mommy is home from work for the rest of the month. She will go back to work the first week in June. So this time is being spent to be with Zoë.

We will continue to post items here since Zoë's recovery is not 100% complete. Plus a lot of you want to know how she is doing. We are taking visitors at home as long as you are not sick. Just call us, if it is during the day, since we may be away at one of her appointments.

Zoë was 3 months old yesterday. In some ways she acts like a 3 month old, but is in a body of a newborn and has a lot of newborn behaviors. She also is wearing newborn diapers and has grow out of her preemie clothes. She is wearing newborn and 0-3 month old clothes.

We do want to thank all the nurses, Drs., respiratory therapist and nurse practitioners that took care of Zoë, we do miss all of you. That was the hard part of leaving. We left a lot of new friends. You know who you are and have our information. We are glad that we met you all. Zoë also misses you and sends you kisses.

Here are some pictures of Zoë from this week: