Saturday, June 20, 2009

More pictures...
















Pictures
















Why, thank you!

Things I have heard recently :

You are still pregnant! When is that baby due already? ( Said while I was still holding the baby. I've lost 20+ lbs, you jerk )

Just put her down and let her cry. ( That wouldn't have gone over so well with the older one... I'd rather not try it with this one, but.. um... thanks for the advice I didn't ask for? )

The ER is no place for such a tiny baby! ( Really? Because I didn't know that? I thought maybe we could hang out for a bit, lick some dirty chairs, ya know... Normal baby stuff! )

She has a very complex history. ( Yeah... we know. )

You have your hands full. ( Yup, full of blessings. And stop looking at me like you pity me before I tell a child to barf on you. )

Oh, cloth diapering is so much extra work! ( Oddly, not so much. Whats two extra loads of laundry a week? Hot wash, cold rinse. Dry without dryer sheet. Where's the issue? )

You mean you carry around poopy diapers until you go home? ( yep... but her diapers never leak. YOU carry around poopy clothes. )

I don't think my kids woulda liked being carried in a bag like that. ( Its not a bag. I don't think she'd like a bag either. And she doesn't look terribly unhappy right now, does she? I mean... considering how she's fast asleep... )


Thursday, June 11, 2009

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

A very compelling reason to use cloth diapers...




I accidentally carried up a disposable diaper to the bathroom garbage.




This is what I found two hours later.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Going, Going... Gone...

Insane, that is.

Being a mom has tough moments. When Robby was two weeks old and wouldn't stop crying, I thought " I can't do this. How do people do this? Will I ever be confident that I'm doing the right thing? " It turned out that he was just hungry. I fed him more, and he ate more... and he was happy.

When Mila had sleepless night after sleepless night, and was on her dozenth hour of crying, I though " This is too hard. I didn't sign up for this. "

When she was diagnosed with a heart defect, I didn't think at all. I just ... did. I don't remember how or what or really even how I felt about things until they rolled her out from the OR after her surgery. I burst into tears then, thinking " Its over. The nightmare is over. "

When she didn't get better, I thought " We'll get past this. We will find a way to help her. " And we did the best we could.

When Mila's Chiari Malformation was diagnosed, the surgeon told us that he recommended we try to fix the problem but that there was no guarantee. I agonized, privately, over the need for surgery. Surgery hurts. Mila had hurt so much already. But I thought " If there is a possibility of this helping her, we have to try. "
...........................................................
We went - the entire family - to the pediatrician a few days ago. Robby is healthy as a horse, in the 75th percentile for height and weight. He's an amazing kiddo, reasoning with the doctore and maturely waiting his turn. Even the pediatrician said that he's quite the kiddo.

Shayla is fabulous. She eats, she sleeps, she grows. No heart murmer. Nothing of any concern. She's an easy baby, and I hope ( oh, how I hope ) that she stays that way.

The pediatrician looked at Mila. He looked at Alex. He looked at me. She's doing... exactly as a two year old can be expected. Her weight is stabilized. Her personality is sparkly, glittery, happy... and defiantly two years old. She's eating orally, though still somewhat bottle dependant. She hasn't had tube feedings in nearly two months. She's sleeping through the night. There are no more nights of " Ow! Ow! Ow! " at 3am.

There was talk of weaning meds. There was talk of moving her meds to oral instead of through the tube. There was talk of removing her tube.... and I laughed. Mila won't take her meds orally. They are nasty, she's averse, she's two. We may have the tube forever just for meds, and Alex and I were totally okay with that.

Mila is on day 2 of taking all of her meds orally.

And I'm thinking Holy Crap. I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel.