Little Angel

If you don’t believe in miracles, you’ve never had a baby. Babies are miracles. We unfortunately had some friends find out the hard way. They didn’t get their miracle. The wife was 35 weeks pregnant when they found out that the baby was no longer living. The placenta was 1/3 the size it should have been and it couldn’t support the baby. They had had their opportunity to say good-bye, after the wife spent 10 hours in labor to deliver the baby. On Wednesday we will get our chance to say good-bye at the funeral. It was a beautiful baby boy.

It suddenly makes me realize that asthma, reflux and allergies really aren’t that bad. Tonight, our baby will get squeezed a little tighter, and a little longer.

God Bless you little Thomas….

Good News, Bad News

I don’t know if any of you heard, but we had a little mini-blizzard here this week. Tuesday we were supposed to take Buddy up to have his eye surgery in Denver. We got up at our normal 6:30am and the weatherman kept saying: ‘it’s supposed to get really bad’… I kept telling Hubby that maybe we should re-schedule, but he said it would be okay. It was all ready snowing when we left home and we drove up and dropped the baby off at day care. Then we hit the road and started driving north. By the time we got to Monument Hill things were getting really bad. Finally on Monument Hill we decided we better turn around. By the time we turned around and started to head back, trucks were no longer able to get up Monument Hill. We went and got the baby and went to work. Here in town the weather wasn’t bad, but just north of here it was awful, they ended up closing the highway. Here it was just blowing snow. Which means, that had we made it to Denver, we probably wouldn’t have made it home? So, we rescheduled for today.

The really funny thing about that storm was the fact that we got probably 4-5 inches on the grass and NOTHING on the sidewalk or driveway. So we still have yet to use our new snow blower! How did I know this would happen?

So, yes, Buddy finally made it for his surgery today. He is now resting comfortably in his dog bed, and I have to go over and dab small drops of blood up about every 20 minutes. Yuck. If you recall from posts prior, I DON’T DO BLOOD. YUCK. Hubby took him to Denver and when he got back I traded and I came home and he went to work. So, the baby is napping and I am dabbing blood. Yuck.

This morning I took the baby to her doctor. She has a sinus infection, so now she is on antibiotics. Good news is that the breathing treatments are working. So once we get the sinus infection cleared up, life should be good. On the flip side, she has a pretty good case of eczema on her rear end, and we are going to end up taking her to an E.N.T. because she snores. Infants shouldn’t snore. This snoring thing is not new. It’s something she has done for months; I just never thought to mention it to the doctor before for some odd reason. Then my friend mentioned that our baby snores like her 3 year old (who is going to have to have her adenoids and tonsils out next month). I realized then that I might want to mention to our doctor the snoring next time I went in. So, we are awaiting insurance approval to go. Hubby was happy to hear that is our next doctor as we both feel like its time to get her established with a good ENT, we know we will need it for her.

Her tooth is coming in, it’s so cute! But I all ready realize I am going to miss that toothless grin! And it’s not going to be toothless much longer.

Well, I better go and dab more blood. Yuck

TOOTH!

I just noticed this morning, the baby cut her first tooth! Those suckers are sharp when they come in! That must be why her reflux was so bad on Friday, she was teething! Yea!!!!

Adjustments

Well, we are trying to get back into a routine now. Hubby is home for about 3 weeks now. It’s funny, when he is gone and then comes home the baby and I end up re-adjusting all the time.

She is doing okay. We started breathing treatments this past week. I am not seeing any change, but the doctor wants us to continue them. I think she is also starting to get another cold. Her nose has been running and she has been coughing a lot more than normal.

We went and had her swallow test done this past week. She is still the same, when she swallows, the liquid flashes over to the wind pipe. However it does not go past her vocal chords. That is good news. So she has a mild problem. They told us to just continue doing the same things, use a low flow nipple, feed her upright, and keep her upright for 30 minutes after feeding.

We also saw her specialist on Friday. This baby keeps him on his toes. Her reflux has really been bad the last few weeks. But she is apparently at the age where it peaks again, since she is learning to sit up. It should get better as she is upright more and has more control over sitting upright.

We also are going to start trying to mix in a little bit of another formula to see if she will tolerate it. We were going to try it yesterday, but since she is possibly sick again, we decided to hold off. We (Hubby and I) have to be with her and we have to have easy access to her doctors and/or a hospital, in case she has a bad reaction. One possible reaction is trouble breathing, which is why we decided to hold off starting, if she is all ready stuffy, I wouldn’t want to add difficulty breathing on top of that. So hopefully what ever she has now will clear up by next weekend so we can start trying to switch her formula over. Poor thing, she is napping now and coughing so much. I feel bad for her.

We also got her first physical therapy appointment scheduled for May 1 for her torticollis (she tilts her head to the right). Hopefully it won’t take us too many visits, but we shall find out. We will end up going the same time every week, so that she gets used to the same therapist and he gets used to her.

We had won a dinner at a silent auction a few months back, at the Red Ribbon Ball. We won having a chef come in to prepare a dinner for us and 6 friends. So, Friday night, we had 6 friends over and this chef came over and made dinner. It turned out very yummy. He made garlic toast, blue cheese and figs for an appetizer, as well as parmesan puffs. Then we had a baby arugala salad. We had pistachio crusted salmon, risotto, and root vegetables for dinner and flan for dessert. It was very tasty and so nice to have someone come in a prepare dinner in our house. Someday when we are rich we will have to hire a chef.

Well, I need to go shower, we have a picnic to go to in a few hours, and I must use my time wisely while the baby is sleeping!

Hokie Hope Day

HOKIE HOPE DAY

Friday, April 20, has been declared Hokie Hope Day. Alumni across the country are urging everyone -- Hokie or not -- to wear orange and maroon in honor of those whose lives were lost on April 16 and in support of the victims' families and the university community.  Additionally, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine has declared April 20 a
statewide day of mourning.

Fallen Hokies

I have just read a lot of tributes to the fallen Hokies. It makes me so sad to see such wonderful people gone in a flash.

It also makes me think about how I would be remembered. If I were to suddenly parish, I hope I have lived the kind of life that I would be remembered positively.

It also makes me realize that we probably never say these kinds of things to people while they are alive. The comments that other students and family are posting are such nice, wonderful comments. It makes me sad to think that they probably never told that person while they were still alive.

I guess we should all try to let people know we appreciate them while we have the chance! Life is too short!

Natural Pet Food Recall

Now a natural dog and cat food is being recalled. It’s odd because that food does NOT contain wheat gluten. Natural Balance is being recalled, the Venison formulas for cat and dogs. Not sure why at this point. This is one food that I never would have thought would be recalled!

But, here is a very interesting document that helps you decide what to feed your pets:

http://www.wagnwash.com/petsake.pdf

Poor Hokies

What a day! I don’t know what it is, but ever since I had this baby, I am so much more sensitive to bad stuff. Watching the news unfold today at VT just makes my stomach turn. I feel so bad for the students and what they have gone through. Hubby was traveling today, so I kept updating him when I could. I just feel horrible.

On a happy note, the baby is learning new sounds to make. She is now making the DA sound and the BA sound. It’s really cute. She sits in bed after waking up and just says da, da, da. Cute!

We are also moving her up to level 2 baby food. It’s thicker and she prefers her food thick.

I am watching her wrist, it still seems a little swollen and tough to me. The doctor is supposed to call us tomorrow and check up on us. We will see what she says.

Well, I need to go and get her up from her nap.

This Kid....

What a day. I am currently waiting for Hubby to get home. He landed in DIA a few hours ago, after being gone the last 2 weeks straight. He is home for the weekend and then off again.

The weathermen had been scaring us and telling us all about how we were supposed to get this blizzard today. They were telling us that we were going to get ‘feets’ of snow and that travel would be impossible. They had everyone so scared that they closed all the school districts in town! Well guess what. It never amounted to much at all. In fact it never even left any snow on the road. It did snow most of the day, but somehow it never amounted to anything.

Last night, I was giving the bathing beauty (the baby) a bath and I noticed that her left wrist was swollen. It also felt tough to the tough, not squishy. So this morning, first thing I called the doctor and we went in almost right away. She though it could be a buckle fracture or soft tissue damage, so she ordered x-rays.

She also listened to the baby’s chest while we were there as she has still been wheezing and coughing a lot. She thinks the coughing is linked to her reflux (that she still has) and that she could possibly be asthmatic. We are trying some things over the weekend and if she is still that way come Tuesday, she will probably put her on breathing treatments. Fun.

She also noticed (which some how I never did) that the baby also tilts her head to the right a lot. So, we also get the joy of going to see a physical therapist.

Are you kidding me?!

Anyway, we went and got the x-rays. No fracture, so probably just a soft tissue injury. She is not showing any signs of pain, so we just have to keep an eye on it.

Next week she is supposed to go see her specialist. They are moving offices so we might not be able to get in next week, but hopefully we can. She is supposed to start switching over to another formula. One that isn’t quite as expensive and I can buy it at Target, not off Ebay.

She is also scheduled for a swallow test next week. She was due to have it about 2 months ago, but it takes a while to get in, and I dragged my feet a little about getting it done.

Phew, this kid keeps me busy!

Bristol had his second agility class this week. He did much better this time than the first time. He was just freaked out about the new location the first night. Last Tuesday he was all about the dirt. It was hard to get him to do anything because he wanted to sniff the dirt. It’s in an indoor barn, where they ride horses. And for some reason, dogs are very attracted to what horses leave behind. They plow, or rake the dirt before class, but somehow, there are some little ‘gifts’ left over and of course all the smells. And this was so attractive to Bristol last week I had a hard time getting his attention.

I scheduled Buddy’s eye surgery. He is scheduled to have his eyes removed in about a week and a half. This should make him feel a lot better. I will feel a lot better also because I won’t have to look at an eye full of blood anymore!

Maggie, well, she finally got to take her t-shirt off. She has been wearing a t-shirt since her last incident. She kept going after her injury causing it to bleed or ooze. In fact she had to go on antibiotics again because of it. But it finally healed and just in time too. Last weekend, she ripped her shirt on bushes at my parents’ house, so there wasn’t much of it left anyway.

Well, I guess I will go and see where Hubby is.

I'm Dreaming, of a White Easter....

I am so tired. I don’t know how single moms do it! I know a few single mom’s and I have no idea how they raise kids alone! I am exhausted! Hubby has been gone on business for 2 weeks and will be gone about another 2 with one quick stop at home in a week. I actually think the key to surviving is having no life of your own. I think then it’s possible.

My sister came into town on Friday and on Saturday night she attended the Furr Ball with me. It’s a ball to support the Humane Society. It was held at the Cheyenne Mountain Conference resort which is only about 2 blocks (the way the crow flies) from my parent’s house. So, Saturday morning I packed up the kid, the 3 dogs and everything we would need for 2 days and headed to my parents house.

We had so much fun at the Furr Ball. I won a dog bed and some jewelry in the silent auction. My sister also won a dog bed. We stayed until just after 11pm. By the time I was crawling into bed that night, it was almost 1am. And the baby was up and ready to eat her first bottle at 6:45am. This few hours of sleep caused me to drag all day. Right now, I am just trying to stay awake a little bit longer so my system doesn’t get all out of whack.

Well, we have been having yucky weather the last few days. Friday was freezing rain which made the roads really slick at night. Then yesterday was fog and everything was covered in a layer of ice. It would flurry here and there, but nothing much. Then today the snow started. Yes, we had a white Easter. I packed everyone back up and headed home around 4:30pm because I didn’t want to be driving on slick roads when everything started to freeze again. I have about an inch on the deck, but the snow didn’t stick to the street. Right now it’s still foggy and cold.

Well, I am sure I have more to say, but I am so tired I could fall asleep sitting her, so I better just call it a night!

Life

Life, I used to have one of those, right?

So, life is getting a little bit back to normal. My last day with WnW was Sunday. So, as much as I will miss the job, I need the time. The baby went back to daycare today. Her teacher commented that she grew! I think she has, but at the same time, she can still wear some of her 0-3 month clothes! (Only pants).

I was trying to get cleaned and organized for the cleaning lady tomorrow. I know, cleaning for the cleaning lady? Well, she can’t clean off my dresser. She can only move the stuff or stack it out of the way, so I figure I better just take the time to put it all where it belongs. So far I have gotten half of the kitchen table clear, the bathroom sink in our bathroom and my dresser. And that is where it ends. The baby didn’t take a very long nap after we got home, so I didn’t get much time to work on stuff. Oh well, I guess tomorrow she can clean around stuff and as time goes on, she can clean things after I get them cleared off. So be it.

Today was a nice day! Windy but still warm. So, after the baby woke up from her nap, we went for a stroll around the neighborhood. For those of you who have not seen my neighborhood, this always involves hills, no matter which way you go. So, I pushed her in her stroller up the big hill first, so then it was downhill all the way to the house. I have been doing yoga, but my legs were burning pushing her up the hill! I guess I need to do it more often! She love to ride and look at the world go by. By the time we got back to the house, she was even starting to laugh out loud! Since it is still springtime in Colorado, this won’t be a daily thing yet. That wind today was blowing a cold front in for tomorrow.

Well, it’s past my bed time, so I will say Good Night!