Updates

So, I did my first Mic-Key button placement all on my own yesterday afternoon. I was a bit nervous, although I had seen it done at the doctors office twice and it looked pretty easy. Doctors and nurses make things look easy when in fact they are quite hard. So, once I had someone on stand-by (my niece Jenny who is training to be a nurse), I decided to just go for it. Well, this was actually after I had read four versions of the tube placement instructions. So, in the end it was very easy and took no time at all. Lauren didn't even cry, which was good. I gave her the remote control to play with since she never gets to play with it. She was happy as could be.

We did go see her GI doctor today. In March she weighed 15 lbs 8 ozs and today she weighed 16 lbs 9 ozs. I thought for sure this wouldn't be enough of a gain, but she is still following her curve. We are increasing her night feedings by 5 mls per hour and we go back and see her when Lauren turns two. She will be switched from her Enfacare to Pediasure for her night feedings then. During the day I basically just feed her 3 meals and 3 snacks and then she gets fed via her feeding tube for 10 hours at night. It seems to be working, so we will stick with that schedule for now.

Lauren is very close to walking she just needs to build up her confidence. On June 16th a physical therapist is going to come out and evaluate her. Her OT is concerned because her feet turn out when she walks, kind of like a duck. She just wants to make sure that she doesn't need any additional walking support or inserts for her shoes. Her speech has really taken off and she is jabbering more and saying words like Duck, baby, Bye Bye, Thank You. We continue to be amazed at her progress and are so proud of her and thankful to God for all of the wonderful blessings he has given us.

Kristen is doing good too. She now is asking why for everything. It can drive you crazy at times, but I am just thankful that she can ask why because many parents aren't as lucky as us. She is going through a phase where she is scared of everything and afraid we are going to leave her places. On the way to church she says "Mommy, your not going to leave me. You'll always come back." It is really cute, but it breaks your heart. Our refrigerator had broken and we went to go pick up a part and she cried wanting to go back home.

She loves learning new things. She is now starting to recognize her letters and really enjoys the game Polar Bear A-B-C. My sister got it for and I highly recommend it for parents with toddlers. I haven't taken any pictures since returing home from our trip, but I promise to take some and get them posted soon.

Trip and the NICU reunion

Our trip to visit my grandmother went good. The kids did good riding on the trip. It was so good to see everyone especially my grandmother. Despite a recent sickness she looked really good. Kristen loved playing outside and loved having her Meme, Papaw and Aunt Kelly with her everyday. Both her and Lauren had them wrapped around their little finger. Here are some pictures from the trip. We will be making another trip in July for my grandmothers 92nd birthday.

My dad and Granny Ruby with the girls

Lauren loved the porch swing

Kristen making mud pies

Lauren taking time to stop and smell the flowers

Kristen with her signature pose and her Papaw right after eating strawberries

Lauren in the bathtub...she didn't know what to think about it

They really do love each other

On Sunday we went to the NICU reunion. We saw a few nurses and one of the doctors that treated Lauren. It was good to see everyone. We are planning on going to visit the NICU in the next few weeks so we can see more of the nurses. Lauren was shy and didn't look at any of the nurses. It was at Maymont Park and despite the heat, it was very nice. They had ice cream, cotton candy, bouncy things, music and you got food to go feed the animals. We met one lady and her 18 year old daughter. Her daughter was born at 24 weeks and weighed 1 lb 7 ozs. It was good to see her all grown up and hopefully one day we can tell our story to another young couple and give them hope that yes, one day they will be 18. Here are some pictures.

Lauren with Patty, one of her nurses

Lauren with Dr. Tarrant

Lauren with Tracy her physical therapist while in the NICU.

Lauren enjoying the animals at a distance. When they poked their heads through she didn't know what to think of them.

Kristen feeding the animals, well she actually just threw it at them.

Last but not least, on Monday night we had spaghetti. This is what Lauren looked like after the meal. She knew she had made a mess and thought it to be quite funny.

Pocahontas Park

Here are some pictures from our trip to the park this past week. We went to Pocahontas Park with my Aunt and had a good time. There was no one there but us, which I really enjoyed. Kristen liked having the playground all to herself.

We will be heading out of town tomorrow to visit my grandmother and will not be back until Saturday. Paul will be staying home. There should be a little less stuff to pack this time.

Happy Mother's Day

Messy Fingers © Debra S. Higginbotham

Sticky fingers, tangled hair,
scattered crayons everywhere.
Fancy artwork on the wall
drawn by little ones three feet tall.
Tell me why and tell me how,
that was mine, I want it NOW!
Fix my bike. Buy me gum.
If you have it, I want some.
Dirty faces, grass-stained knees,
learning words like pretty please.
Endless hugs & goofy wet kisses,
learning respect with Mr. & Mrs.
Scraped-up hands from falling down.
Tender tugs on my night gown.
Need more paper for Santa's letter?
I wasn't so bad but I've been better.
Watching a movie again and again.
Mommy, please put the tape back in.
Messy fingers, hair gone wild.
All in the life of a precious child.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there. I hope you have a wonderful day.

The Culprit

For the past five mornings I have heard the beep of Lauren's feeding pump, gone downstairs to shut it off and get her up for the day, only to find that her tube had come apart at some point after 2:00am. The first night I thought "How could that happen!" She has what they call an extension that hooks to her MIC-Key button and then the feeding tube hooks into the extension. This is held pretty tightly in place and would need to be pulled out to get it loose. It wouldn't just fall out. I usually tuck the tube under her Dani Sling (which holds her in place since her bed needs to be elevated due to her acid reflux). Even though it is tucked under the Dani Sling, I still leave plenty of slack so she can move around. When I woke up the second morning to find the same mess and a very wet child, I thought...could Lauren be pulling this out. The answer is YES! Apparently, when she wakes up, she plays with her tubing and just pulls it loose, so the remainder of her morning feed just pumps out of the machine right into her bed. Now, this is formula so imagine the stinky mess this causes, not to mention whatever is in her stomach drains out of that tube too. So, last night I ended up taping the feeding tube into the extension and that seemed to do the trick. I just hope one day she doesn't learn how to take the tape off. She is just too cute to be so messy.

!!!Pictures!!!

Feeling Better

Lauren is feeling much better and is back to her old self. It did take a couple of nights to get her back on her bedtime schedule though. She had been staying up when she was sick because she would sleep often during the day. I am happy she is back on schedule and feeling much better!