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!

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