Another Check Up

Today Zoe had her routine check up. For the most part things are going very well and the pediatrician is happy with her progress. She is currently 10 lbs 14 oz and 22 1/4 inches. She is growing at a nice steady rate and is still going to be short like her mom.

We also found out we will be seeing some other specialists. There is concern that Zoe's diet may need to change once again due to some anomalies found in a urine test done. The doctor wants to make sure she is getting all she needs so she can reach her full potential with her development.

The other specialist we will be seeing is a GI doctor. We are hoping to finally get this acid reflux/spitting up situation under control. It is hard to believe that such a face could cause such a mess.

We pray that whatever changes made, Zoe has an easy time of it and that the doctors can find a solution quickly.

Six Months Old!

Today is my 6 month birthday. I have come along quite a bit and can do new things every day.

I can now smile and have started to laugh. I like to follow things around, especially my daddy's face. I like reaching for things like my rings and will even play with my Mortimer the Moose. Reading is fun, but only when I am getting sleepy otherwise I want to look around and see everything. I love the feeling of the breeze on my face, makes me grin every time. The best part of my week is still bath time. I can't wait to go swimming.

I got to visit some of my favorite nurses at the hospital last week. Oh I missed them so much but am really happy to not have to hear those beeps anymore. It is kind of nice to have just my mommy do all the changing and cleaning up now.

I have done quite a bit these past six months and have some big plans for the next. I can't wait!

Little Light Reading

Happy Spring Days

Hello All,

Life here in Zoe's world is becoming more and more routine and seeing her grow and change each day is a joy. As of last Thursday Zoe was 9 lbs and 13 oz, finally out of newborn clothing.

We continue to work with Zoe on her milestones. We hope we can keep her on track with the help of her therapists. She is showing the beginnings of a purposeful smile and is working on that head control. All wonderful steps to be thankful for.

The next few weeks will be quiet ones as we have no major doctors' appointments, no complaints here.

We hope you all enjoy the spring weather wherever you are and thank you for continuing to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Kimberly

Passing the Proverbial Torch

Today we pass the torch of ZAC's Blog to Kim. Keep us informed girl. We all still want to remain part of your lives.

- ZAC's GP

Post Easter Update

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter. We felt especially joyful as we received some great news on Thursday.

We did finally get the results of Zoe's tests. The EEG found that there are currently no seizures. This is great, so hopefully her development will not be hindered by this.

Her blood tests also showed she did not have a bleeding disorder. So all great news and we are hopeful for what Zoe can do in the future.

Life continues on in the Casmer home. We look forward to warmer weather and being out and about. We are slowly lifting the quarantine and we should be soon making our way out in the world.

Have a blessed Spring,

Kimberly

Good Afternoon...

Just chillin at the doctors...

All 9lbs, 9oz of me.

Love,

Zoe

Sleep Well...

So, how was your week?

Hi-

Well this week of appointments have Zoe and I completely worn out. Monday's eye appointment went well, her blood vessels have fully matured and the scar tissue is disappearing. This means that her eyeballs are healthy. We will not know for a while whether there is loss of the left peripheral vision since that is more to do with the brain.

The EEG on Wednesday, apart from being an hour long, was good. Zoe tolerated the electrodes being stuck to her head and once she was attached she just curled up in my arms and fell asleep. The only bad part of the visit was the confusion on the blood tests. There seemed to be a misunderstanding on what the doctor ordered versus what Zoe could give up. Four hours later we finally got started and had to listen to her very loud cries as the nurses tried to find good veins. Poor thing was poked 5 times but I was more upset and distraught than she was, Phil will be handling blood work in the future. We won't know the results for a while, once the neurologist gets them I am sure we will get a call. So we keep praying since that is all we can do.

Zoe did go on her first walk today. First time she was out of the house for leisure. The weather was too nice to pass up and bundled in her 'Moby' we took a nice 20 minute jaunt through the neighborhood. She seemed to enjoy it so much she fell asleep immediately. Well had to get it in before the fore casted snow on Saturday.

Kimberly

An Overdue Update

Hello all,

It has been a couple of weeks since I have written but wanted to let you know how life in the Casmer home was.

We had quite a bit of an ordeal trying to get Zoe to eat and keep it down. With changes in formula, added medication, and rice cereal we hope to see Zoe gaining weight again. As of last week, Zoe was 7 lb & 3 oz and 20 inches, great numbers but according to the doctor not good enough. We hope with the recent diet changes we can see a drastic improvement at tomorrow's weigh in.

Zoe has a couple of important appointments coming up in the next few weeks. First, she has an eye appointment, to check if the vessels in her eyes have finally matured and hopefully were not damaged by the oxygen she was on while in the hospital. Second, Zoe will be going in for blood tests, urine tests, and an EEG to see what is going on with her brain. We are praying that things stabilize up there or heal. The tests will hopefully show what is currently going on, possible causes, and potential outcomes. All three are scary to think about so we continue to rely on the Lord.

Zoe's day to day seems great, when she is not spitting up like Old Faithful. We continue to exercise and do our therapy to keep her on track with her developmental milestones. March 11th will be her one month "corrected age" (age if she had been born to term). We hope to see things like, the startle reflex, gazing at faces for brief moments, and grasping on to fingers as a reflex.

We continue to be amazed by our little miracle and thankful for each day.

Kimberly

The Pediatric Neurologist's Report

The pediatric neurologist visit was informative and seemed an overall positive. Based on the MRI we had a couple of weeks ago, the doctor thought there might be some 'fresh' inter-cranial bleeding. Zoe will be undergoing some tests in the next few weeks to see if there is a bleeding disorder. They are also going to check if she did indeed have a stroke, which is suspected to have caused this whole event. So we are praying that whatever the results, it can be fixed with little to no effect to Zoe.

When it comes to her growth and developments, as for now, she is on track. Only time will tell though where we will see the challenges she will face.

The areas for concern though are loss of vision in her left visual field. Basically she only only sees out of the right halves of both eyes. Because she won't know the difference, Zoe will learn how to compensate for this. The other concern is the brain's ability to take in images and understand what they mean. This one I had a hard time understanding, but the doctor explained it like this, "The inability to read the emotions of a face of a person that you see." Again, none of this is for sure, just things we will be watching out for... among many other things.

Positively he (the doctor) thought her frontal lobe (higher brain thinking, like math) seemed in good condition and the concern for the motor development should be there but not as dire as we once thought. Again though this was tempered with the fact that only Zoe can determine her outcome and based on her history and the current data that seems to be where we are at.

So we continue to pray that the Lord cares for Zoe and gives us all the strength and patience to handle whatever comes next.

Kimberly

My Week

... nothing too exciting to update. I have a neurology appointment on Monday, the doctor wants to meet with Mom and Dad and me because of the abnormal MRI. (Well, abnormal in the sense that there is damage.) We expect it to just be informative and more tests, but as always mommy dreads these meetings and the rehashing of the potential outcomes. Well, just keep praying for that little brain of mine (and her peace of mind).

I am doing great on the weight gain front, 6 lb 14 oz on Thursday. They adjusted my feedings so they are not so heavy, but I am still a finicky eater. I bet they hope that these adjustments will help me with my gassiness, pooping and gruntieness. This seems to be my biggest challenge and really limits what Mom and Dad can do for now.

I hope you all are having a good weekend.

Zoe

Midweek Humor

Our Second Week Home

As Friday arrives, Week Two is coming to a close and we are slowly getting into the routine of parenthood.

As of today Zoe is now 6 lb and 8 oz. We seem to have a routine, at least when appointments don't interfere.

Zoe began her Physical and Occupational Therapy this week. Her assessment was great. Some milestones she is achieving or working on;
turning her head left to right and vice versa while on the tummy, grasping objects in her hand, and slowly working on sucking her fingers.

We will have to continue to keep up her exercises and therapy to keep her on track with her corrected age group. (Corrected Age: The age at which she would have been if she had been carried to term.) We have yet to get a good cry from her, but we hear that this is something we should enjoy while it lasts.

Well, have a great weekend.

Kimberly

An Eventful Week

This first week has flown by, especially as we try to get used to Zoe's schedule.

We have been busy eating, exercising, reading, tummy timing and of course sleeping. Getting this into a 24 hour schedule is tough and then throw in the doctor appointments. Whew!

Also this week, we had our first pediatrician visit. The typical check up with the added task of handing over a medical history that is over 100 pages long. We also had an MRI on Thursday. Apart from being extremely loud, Zoe did very well and did not have to be sedated for it. Nothing surprising came from the MRI, damage to her brain is still there and thankfully the left side looks normal. We see a neurologist in March to get their perspective and possibly set up an EEG.

Zoe begins in-home Occupational and Physical Therapy next week. They will asses where she is at and provide the tools to keep on track with her developmental milestones. Zoe also gets two nurse visits a week, for a measurement check and general, "How are you doing?" So far, 6lb and 3 oz., 18 inches and grunty as ever.

We are still on lock-down at home, doing our best to keep the germs and viruses to a minimum. Lots of hand washing and antibacterial goop. The average preemie emergency room visit is 3 but I would like to avoid any since we have lived at the hospital for 100 days already.

Right now we are just getting ready for Grandma Casmer's visit and a quiet weekend.

What a blessing to be home finally.

Love to you all,

Kim, Phil and Zoe

And Phil Writes...

"This is what Moses' basket would have looked like if he had been a girl."

Not so sure about that one, Pastor Casmer...but if it is indeed Moses, then I guess downloading a GPS app on that I-Phone is going to come in handy on that future trip through the desert.

In any event, ZAC sure looks comfortable in her new surroundings. Welcome home little girl. It has been a long, hard trip but you are home at last.

- ZAC's GP

Guess Who Got To Come Home Today

"Mommy, I love my new car seat,

- And I love my new outfit,

- And I love the ride home,

- And I love my new house,

- And I love my new room,

- But most of all I love you and Daddy!"

Homecoming

Just a quick note to all of you to report that ZAC's long hospital stay is coming to a close.

Zoe Ann Casmer is scheduled to be released on Monday, February 1st... wow, that's tomorrow!

All of us would like to thank the staff of WMH NICU, who have gone well above and beyond. They are caring and compassionate angels of mercy and flesh & blood examples of God's grace towards our family. You guys are GREAT! Thanks so very much.

As ZAC goes home and experiences new and interesting things... and faces new challenges, we continue to petition your prayers and praises, but we all also take this opportunity to thank you, the readers. You, who who have followed ZAC's story here and have stormed the Throne of Grace on her behalf have been just as instrumental in her developments as the NICU staff, so thank you too.

And now the 'fun' starts, but we have no illusions about the road ahead and it's potential hurdles... but we also are confident that His grace is sufficient. As for this weekend, we are staying at the hospital for the next few nights in order to ease the transition.

Love, Kimberly

Mommy, When Can I Come Home?

Mommy, when can I come home?

I have been doing better these past few days and I really am trying to master the complex issues with swallowing, breathing and such... but it is hard for me. This is all so new!

I am doing much better now that I am being fed every four hours. The volume of milk per feeding isn't so large so I can take this lighter workload better. This is much more agreeable to me, rather than the heavier feeding. In the future, I promise to be a good eater, but for now 'slow and steady' seems the right way to go.

I am still at a good weight... 5 pound and 1/2 pounds! This is a long way from my starting weight... and it's all good weight too.

And while I may not be the tallest girl on the block, I am happy to say that I am 17 1/2 inches long! That's pretty good too when you consider my birth length. I think I have come a long way in a very short time.

... and that little 'trick' that I do when you try to feed me... you know the one. It's when I stick my tongue on the roof of my mouth and prevent you from giving me the bottle? I promise not to do that so much any more (well, maybe just once in a while, just to remind you who is the boss).


I really would like to come home next week... and if you have to bring all of this noisy monitoring equipment and this cumbersome oxygen setup (just for feedings, mind you) home too, well I guess that's okay. I just want to go home and see my room.

So mommy... when can I come home?

PS - That GP guy is super cool. I like him a lot!

ZAC

Dear Zoe…

Or can I call you ZAC?

Today I got to hold you for the first time. It was an eye-opening experience. It had been quite a long time since I had held a baby as small as you and when you ‘factor in’ that we are family, well I was more than a little dumb struck with the memory of holding your mommy as I was holding you. I will admit that your road has been significantly harder than hers… but it will get easier, for both you and her… I promise you. And until then you are in real good hands.

I am not sure what Providence has in store for you...for that matter I am not sure of what Providence has in store for me either, but I look forward to enjoying the experience of getting to know you better.

I’ll wait while you work out all of the details...

...in your own time and in your own way.

Love Always,

Your GP