Sweet Zoë

Short post today. We got a late start this morning, so our visit with Zoë was short and sweet. She’d had a good night and kept opening her eyes to peek at us. We rubbed her back and talked to her for a few minutes before we had to head home to get to work. Tonight we got there as she was having her heel pricked for her blood gas test. A bath earlier in the day, a heel stick, and a nearby baby crying (Zoë doesn’t like the other babies to cry, it upsets her) had her a bit agitated. However, her O2 level was lower than it had been, and her blood gases came back so good that the respiratory tech turned her pressure down a notch. We read her a bedtime story and rubbed her back to try to calm her down, but she was just wound a bit to tight and kept squirming. She not only managed to pull herself forward a few centimeters, she picked her head up and pushed up on her arms! This burns waaaay too many calories, sends her heart rate sky high, and compromises her ability to use oxygen well. I have the feeling that she may have gotten some sedative after we left. We didn’t do kangaroo care tonight. It probably would have calmed her down, but I was afraid that getting her settled both on me then back in her bed afterwards might have undone the good of the cuddle. Hopefully tomorrow will be a calmer day and we can have a nice snuggle.

Zoë does seem to like when her Daddy wraps his hand around her torso and arms and talks to her. I think it keeps her nice and warm and his deeper voice is soothing to her.