Hello August! Family month!!

I can’t believe it is already August. July flew by in a flurry of diapers, snuggles, and piles of laundry. We’ve been enjoying every moment and living in the present more than ever. Zoey has now met most of our friends (and Skyped with most of our Cali and DC pals). Over the past week, she has enjoyed 2 dinner parties, had a play date with about 10 other Brookline moms, learned the rules of Olympic beach volleyball, slept for 5 hours once, had 4 vaccinations, and shared her first smile. That first smile was amazing. We’ve been trying desperately to figure out how to prompt her to smile… to no avail. She just does it whenever she feels like it, regardless of what we do! Good stubborn little girl. In terms of her growth, she has propelled from the 3rd percentile in weight (birth weight of 5 lbs, 7 oz) to the 29th percentile at 1 month to the 63rd percentile at 2 months (11 lbs, 3 oz). She is growing like a weed! As a note of reference, my two brothers, who were not born prematurely, were the same weight at Zoey at 2 months!! Way to go, Zoey.

In other non-Zoey news, Brad and I are back to consistent running. I’m back to pre-Zoey mileage but not pace. I’m thinking my first race will either be the Rochester Adams XC time trial in late August or something in September. My goal is to be back in moderate shape by indoor track. Brad is back to running without pain, which is a huge accomplishment. It is the first time in over 2 years that he has been able to run without his back, hip, or knee bothering him. Brad’s goal is to train pain free for a bit before thinking about racing.

In our work world, I’m working on a manuscript that, if taken seriously, could make a big splash in the world of education, specifically within school counseling. I’m teaching an online Counseling Ethics and Law class, which is a nice way to stay connected to academia over the summer. Brad is gearing up for a year of new things. He has a couple of new preps at work. Additionally, he is starting graduate school (he received a letter of acceptance the same week as he returned from China and had his first child – big week). He’ll start working on his Master’s of Education degree in Learning, Teaching, and Educational Transformation at UMass Boston this Fall.

Many of you have asked what our lives are like now. Every day is different, but let me share yesterday’s events with you so you have a glimpse into our daily lives.

12:00-12:30 am: Laura fed Zoey and Brad got ready for bed (blame Olympics for late nights)

3:30-4:30 am: Brad got up with Zoey (I slept)

4:30-6:30 am: We both slept

6:30-8:00 am: Laura fed Zoey (Brad slept)

8:00-10:00 am: Quiet time (Brad and Laura split a pot of coffee)

10:00-11:00 am: Laura fed Zoey (Both Brad and Laura caught up on the Olympics)

11:00-1:00 pm: Laura ran and Brad took care of Zoey/ran some errands

1:00-2:00 pm: Brad fed Zoey and Laura did some household chores

2:00-5:00 pm: Laura met a friend for a walk while Brad went to the gym

5:00-6:00 pm: Laura fed Zoey and Brad took a quick nap/did some household chores

6:00-7:00 pm: Family outing to the park. Zoey had her first swing ride. Photo shoot on the grass (evidence below)

7:00-8:00 pm: Zoey napped, Brad cooked, Laura did some work related stuff and marveled at the amount of hospital bills gathering on our kitchen table

9:00-12:00 am: We ate the yummy dinner Brad cooked and watched the Olympics! Fed Zoey twice during this time

There you have it. A day in the life of Haydkoz. A major highlight of yesterday was catching up with a good friend on the West Coast who is healing from a serious cycling crash in early July.

Zoey was tough as nails when she had her shots (note the ridiculously chubby legs)

What do you think? Is this the cutest hat in the world?

Brad and Zoey playing together. He gets smiles from her all the time.

More pictures of Zoey can be found on the Photos tab on the right!!

Gal around town

Zoey continues to be awesome. We had the second installment of family members in town a couple of weeks ago, so Zoey was doted on even more than usual. Zoey has a few experiences under her diaper flaps at this point. She has enjoyed a beach day with the Hayden/Wells clan, slept through her first Boston fireworks and 1812 Overture by the Boston Pops, dined at countless establishments (from fine dining to loud college restaurants), rolled the Freedom Trail, and hung out with tons of our friends. She is quite the socialite.

This week, Zoey's "firsts" will include:

1) A track workout with N, T, and mom
2) Rooftop beers with mom's friends
3) Maybe a movie (thinking TED)
4) Hopefully a smile (we're getting close)
5) Sleeping through the night (wishful thinking????)

Brad and I are happy as can be. Zoey's company is totally worth the sleepless nights. I'm able to run each day, Brad is able to hit the gym, and the three of us can usually fit in a good walk when it isn't too hot outside. We're doing our part to support the local coffee shop - I don't think we've ever inhaled this much coffee in our lives. Zoey really doesn't do anything new -  she sleeps, eats, looks around, wiggles her tooshie, and repeats. Sometimes, we just look at her and can't believe our luck.

We spend a lot of time in this position

Teacher Brad

Peaceful Zoey

Mom and Zoey playing

See the Photo tab to enjoy more pictures of little Zoey!

Zoey's first month

Zoey's first month of life has been so much fun! After 2 weeks in the NICU, Zoey was cleared to come home with us on Tuesday, June 12th. As soon as we let the family know Zoey's homecoming date, Grandma Sue and Nana Gilly hopped in a car together and zoomed over to Boston for a whole week. We had so much fun sharing Zoey and watching grandma and nana love on her and cuddle with her all week. We also totally appreciated all the meals they cooked, free babysitting they offered (every day, we were able to go to the gym together AND we had a fancy date night out), and random household chores that they did for us. The only reason I wanted them to come was for them to chill with Zoey... but the extra help was definitely awesome.

Zoey is pretty relaxed. She doesn't really cry - just sort of whimpers when she wants to eat or has a poopy diaper. She sleeps in 2-3 hr shifts in the day and 3-4 hr shifts at night. Brad and I tag team night time feedings so one of us can get at least 4 hrs of uninterrupted sleep. Zoey likes to wiggle around a lot - she absolutely wiggles out of her swaddler within about 5 minutes. She much prefers to be undressed and mobile than wrapped up. Let's see... she has mastered the Blue Steel look (and looks wicked cute doing it), has met a ton of our friends and is so mellow that she has no problem being handed from friend to friend, and has spent much of her short life in Peet's Coffee house.

To the right, under Photos, you'll see pictures of Zoey during her first month with us! We can't get enough of her. This weekend, we have the other two sets of grandparents coming to visit - it'll be great. Last time Grandpa Jim and Grandma Carol came to visit over the 4th of July, we had ourselves a bar crawl. I think this year might be a bit different!!

The Story

Well, as you readers all well know, Zoey arrived a little earlier than expected. On Monday night, I picked up Brad from Logan Airport at 10:00 pm. On Tuesday morning, I felt a little funny, so I called the doctor at 11 am. By 12:30 pm, I was in the doctor's office being told I was 4 cm dilated and I needed to go on bedrest for 3 weeks. By 1 pm, I was being monitored for contractions. By 1:20 pm, I was told I was having contractions at least once every 5 minutes. At 2 pm, I was at home in the shower. At 3:20 pm, I was in triage. At 4:50 pm, Zoey was in the world.

Uh, labor isn't the most pleasant experience in the world. I had this vision that I would handle it in a calm and collected way (some sort of nonsense about running being good training for pain management). Okay, all you mothers out there, you can totally laugh at me. You're right. I was absolutely 100% wrong. There is nothing like the feeling of labor. It was the most primal experience of my life. I remember grabbing onto Brad for dear life and locking eyes with our phenomenal nurse. Between Brad, the nurse, and the doctor, I had the most amazing support group in the world. Right after I had a few seconds of Zoey on my chest, the nurses went to town on her, making sure all was great. Brad went with them down to the NICU, I got about an hour of quiet time, and then I went down to see her myself.

Brad and I were waiting until baby girl arrived to name her, but we had a few names in the running. Zoey was the clear leader, but we didn't want to commit to a name until we saw her. It was my dad's advice back at Christmas, and we really took it to heart. As soon as we saw and heard her wiggling around, we knew she was a Zoey. The word means life, and, oh boy, is she all life.

Now, I know parents go googly-eyed over their babies... and I know I'm going to sound cliche here... but I don't care. She is the coolest baby in the world! She is only 5 lbs, 7 oz, but she has such a chubby face. Her preemie swollen eyes have gone down quite a lot, so she is starting to look a bit more like a newborn and a bit less like a preemie. Her cheeks are pudgy and she sucks in her lower lip under her upper lip all the time. The nurse positions her at the top of her incubator and, within an hour, she'll wiggle her way down until her butt touches the bottom of the pad supporting her and her legs are over the pad, splayed against the bottom wall of the incubator. Brad bought her back a panda bear from Beijing (which he bought 1 week ago - wild timing), so we're using that to hold her tooshie up in the incubator a bit.

In terms of her health and time in the NICU, she is doing as well as can be expected, but we don't have a definitive time by which she'll leave the NICU. She needs to be able to do 3 things in order to leave.

1. Breathe on her own (which she can do)
2. Feed herself (which she cannot do)
3. Maintain her body temperature in an open crib (which we haven't tried yet)

Once she can do #2, we'll try #3. Given that she is a good-sized preemie, the doctor doesn't think #3 will be too tough. She is also under phototherapy for her bilirubin. Today (Monday), we'll find out if she can stop her phototherapy AND if she can have her IV out (she was on an IV for the past 6 days for dehydration/not doing full feedings/low blood sugar).

Here are a few pictures. Brad has most of the pictures on his iPhone and he is at work right now, so we will post more when we're together.

Zoey, Day 5

Zoey and dad, Day 5

Brad has learned how to sleep in many different hospital locations

Brad bought me a deep green pearl necklace in celebration of mommyhood! That man is amazing!

Wow, this day feels like a million years ago! Brad's homecoming cupcakes 

Zoey is here!

 Zoey Hayden Kozel
5 pounds 7 ounces
19 inches

Mom and Baby are doing great.  Details soon. 

She came early so she is in the NICU but all is well.

This is how I started my day.

Practical advantages of working in education (notably: SUMMER)

Just a quick update for those of you who use this blog as your Haydkoz connection... maybe some of those Michigan folk....

In Laura land, the world spins peacefully. My semester is drawing to a close and, as I approach graduation, I can't help but reflect on the past year at UMass - my 2nd year on the job. This year was remarkably easier than the 1st year, making room for me to focus more on researching/writing and less on administrative duties. While my administrative tasks are still the same (I direct two graduate programs), they're much easier to handle after learning them, rather than trying to handle them while learning them! I wrapped up some solid residual research from BU and began a couple of new projects that will continue even while I'm on maternity leave, which makes me very excited. We're starting a PhD program in the Fall and, as a faculty member within the PhD program, I will have my research team doing research while I'm on leave, which is great for students and keeps me connected to the world of academia. I'm guessing my productivity also increased this year because Brad was on the other side of the world for the past semester, but since I'll probably be significantly less productive for the foreseeable future, it was most likely very fortuitous timing.

In Brad land, he is on a plane from Xi'an to Beijing as I type. He said goodbye to the Gauxin school yesterday, had a few beers with his international pals, and wrapped up loose ends at the place he's called home for the past 4 months. Over the weekend, he'll be exploring the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, the Olympic site, Tiananmen Square, and many other really cool places I've only read about in books. He comes home on Monday night. I.CAN'T.WAIT. I have to say, if you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you check out all the cool places Brad and the students have visited over the past 4 months by clicking here. You can also access it by going through Brad's China Website and clicking on the Xi'an Map. It's amazing to think about how many interesting sites they've all seen.

In Haydkoz land, we're both wicked excited about the upcoming addition to our little family, the summer Olympics (yay), seeing our Michigan family members over the summer, and enjoying the next 3 months together without working!!! Come Fall, when Brad's work life picks back up again, I'll maintain the home front for the semester before I head back to work in early February. We're in for a fun new adventure!!!!

The Ultimate Baby Shower Favor!!!

My Michigan baby shower was organized by the three moms and two sisters! They came up with the best idea that I just have to share. In lieu of party favors, they contributed all the money they would spend on favors (and then some) to a charity of Brad and my choosing. We searched through a bunch of organizations - from the Boston Red Sox Foundation that provides support for at-risk youth through athletics to the Boston Scholar Athlete Foundation that academically supports Boston's student-athletes. The foundation to which we decided to contribute is The Robert Bookston scholarship. The description below indicates just how great of a scholarship it is AND just how aligned it is with the Haydkoz family mission.

The Robert Bookston - Brookline Track Teams Scholarship 

(First awarded in 2000)

This scholarship is to be awarded to someone considered an outstanding team player by the Brookline Track Coaches. It is funded from proceeds from "Robert's Run", a sanctioned cross-country competition. Robert Bookston was a member and captain of the Brookline High School Cross Country Team. Robert found solace in community service and his commitment to running and his teammates. Robert was an incredible role model to those who knew him. He has touched many people in the Brookline community and his life has made an impact on many young students and athletes. Robert's teammates and friends have decided to commemorate his life with something that he would have loved to participate in himself, an annual race in his name. 

People still walked away from the shower with a little goodie!!