May 2010

Pardon us for not posting sooner, but things are still a bit crazy around here. We still struggle to feed Zoe, and in fact, she was actually scheduled to go in for surgery first thing tomorrow. The doctors wanted to give her a nissen fundoplication and a g-tube (to help diminish her reflux and increase her appetite respectively), but we ended up getting another opinion over the weekend, and based on all of the information in front of us, have decided to wait a little longer. We're going to take a more therapeutic approach, using a nutritionist and a GI doctor to see if we can get somewhere that way and if that doesn't work, then we'll consider surgery. Needless to say, we are very glad that our little girl isn't going under the knife tomorrow--or getting reintibated--or going under general anesthesia--or being admitted to the hospital for five days . . . you get the picture.

Aside from all the eating drama, we are having so much fun with our little girls. Our flu season restrictions have been lifted and we're actually starting to get out and about with them. We are also so excited that we have had so many amazing visitors, including my old next-door neighbor, Rich's brother's, and the girls' nana, and we've got another grandma on the way out soon!

Here some pics of our little muchkins enjoying themselves.

Here's Zoe gearing up for one of our outings:

And Sadie, plotting her next move:

And both of them, preparing for their first Mother's Day walk:

And here we are, out on the town:

Happy Spring everyone!

All is Well

While it's definitely still a struggle to get Zoe to eat--and to care for two newborns in general--it's really starting to feel as if all our hard work is paying off! Both of the girls are doing really well, growing, developing and getting stronger.

They've just recently started focusing on each other

They laugh and stare at each other

And it seems no matter how we lay them down to sleep,

they always find their way to each others' hands.

They also love to bathe

And read their books

and dress up for walks

But when all is said and done, we find that they enjoy leaning on each other most of all

Things are a little tough around here these days. Zoe has lots of feeding issues--she has severe reflux that makes eating incredibly difficult and when she does manage to get food in, she often times has lots of trouble keeping it down. This coupled with mom going back to work has made for some very stressful days in the katz levi household. But, we're working it out. We don't get a lot of sleep, have little time to do anything else but we're thinking about it. In between playing with babies, pulling our hair out, doing laundry and trying to find ways to feed our little champs, we are thinking of all the things we should be doing like cleaning, writing thank you notes, washing clothes or G-d forbid actually put a load of laundry away.

Anyway, we're not complaining, we're just sayin' things are a little tough around here these days. That being said, the girls are getting bigger and stronger and we couldn't think of two better people to spend most every second of our days with.

Settling in Again

The girls are doing much better and we're settling in yet again. Zoe seems to have recovered from her second bout with the stomach flu and she's back (knock on wood) to eating like a champ again and gaining weight!

Sadie's eating consistently well too, and just this week she passed the nine pound mark!

Mom went back to work this week, and we're all adjusting to this new schedule. But, the adjustment was made much easier by the fact that the girls' Gigi came to visit again. The girls LOVE spending time with their grandma,

and it was so great to have an extra set of hands on deck!

Now that Gigi's gone, we're back to feeling pretty sleepy around here,

but we're quite certain that our little cuties make all our bouts of sleeplessness completely and entirely worth it!

Turn Around Jumper

We're happy to report that everyone is home in the Katz Levi house, but we're not so happy to report that Zoe was BACK in the hospital from Friday through Monday. While there was some cause for alarm on Friday and Saturday and even Sunday, it turns out that Zoe had a little stomach virus that for a tiny peanut like her is just not that little. She's doing much better--she's not 100% yet--but she's definitely on the mend.

While we wouldn't wish hospital trips on our family again, the good news is that Zoe was admitted into the infant unit, and unlike in the NICU, babies in the infant unit get private rooms where moms and dads can spend the night. So nobody had to desert anyone this weekend. Mom stayed at the hospital with Zoe while dad stayed with Sadie. But tonight, thank goodness, we're all back under one roof again!

Well, before I even hit publish on this post, we found ourselves back in the hospital. Poor little Zoe had been given some barium in the hospital for a test and it did not agree with her at all. She's back home again and hopefully that's it for a while, but boy are we tired!!

Getting Settled In

We've had some crazy/wonderful/sleepless days and nights around here lately. On Zoe's first night we actually had to call 911 and were dangerously close to taking her back to the hospital that night and again the next morning, but she really pulled through. She was having some real trouble adjusting to the dry air and the elevation, but after making a few adjustments to her oxygen* she thankfully got much, much better!

Sadie's adjusting quite well too. She wasn't sure what to expect at first.

In the short time she was home, she had grown quite used to being an only child.

And to be honest, Zoe wasn't sure what to expect either. In fact, when she left the hospital for the first time, we think she was a little bit overwhelmed!

But we think they're getting used to the idea of having someone else around,

especially when it's time to do things like go the doctor and get shots, nobody likes doing that by themselves.

So, now that the first few days are behind us, mom and dad are getting into a routine and everyone has adjusted to their new living arrangements, we are all very happy. But we think, for the moment, the happiest little girl might just might be Zoe.

*Zoe is on oxygen because she has chronic lung disease. After being on a ventilator for thirty days, she developed some lung damage and it will take a few years for her lungs to repair themselves. We hope she's not going to be on oxygen for too long, but she will have very fragile lungs for quite some time (as will Sadie, simply because she was premature), so if you come to visit, please only do so when you are feeling absolutely healthy and germ free. Thanks!

She's Here!

Zoe Alexis Levi made it home just in time to ring in the new year with her mom, dad and sis! She got home at approximately 7:00 last night, and she has been soaking in the love ever since. We can't seem to put her down, not even for a second and it is SO amazing to see the two girls together again! Happy New Year everyone.
Love,
The Levis

p.s. pictures are coming very soon, we promise!