Wednesday, December 05, 2007

2 AM Smile

It's been a crazy month! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We sure did. Eddie started walking and Abby ate the entire turkey by herself. Just kidding. We did have 22 people here though and it was a blast. With Christmas right around the corner, we're going nuts trying to get everything done.

As for the last month, a lot has happened.

Abby and Eddie got pretty sick. It was terrible actually. They both had this cough and runny nose thing. It was viral so there wasn't anything to do but wait it out. And now that we have one of those video monitors for Abby we were able to watch her toss and turn all night long. Just about every night, she would choke on some of the saliva in the back of her throat and since she has such a sensitive gag reflux, the choking would turn into throw up. Abby is still pretty far behind with learning how to eat, chew and swallow and all that, so hocking loogie's is not something she's mastered quite yet. This means she can't get the junk out of her throat unless she coughs or throws it up. And let's not forget about her poor nose. The little thing was raw by the 4th day and it took a full 2 weeks before she kicked the cold. Eddie didn't have such a bad nose problem but his cough was horrible. It took him about 2 weeks to kick it too.

On a lighter note, Abby got her portable pump this month. It's a much smaller pump and she can actually wear a backpack that holds the pump so when we're out and about or if she's playing she can continue to get fed. This is great because because with the new J Tube, (the one we put in last month that goes into her small intestines) she can't get too much food at once. This in turn means that she needs to have the pump on a lot (roughly 16 hours a day) to get to the level she needs to be at. So anyway, below is a picture of the "Mini Backpack" which as you can see is WAY TOO BIG. So we ordered the "Super Mini Backpack" which by the way Kelly got in a red Hawaiian flower print. (Pics on this to come later) But...it's TOO heavy with the pump and the formula in it. Abby fell backward with it on. I guess we'll keep trying but I have to say I was a bit upset to learn she couldn't wear it while she was playing around the house. That just makes it more difficult to get her to the volume of formula she needs to be at each day. Now that she's mobile and crawling, there is NO way we'd be able have her sit still for any period of time, especially if it's to be hooked up to the pump. The only time we get to do that is if she's in the high chair (we still go through the motions of feeding her so she learns the habit of breakfast, lunch and dinner), the car, or taking a nap. Other than that we're toast without that backpack idea working for us.

This is the Mini Backpack...empty.



Here's another cute one of Abby



Abby is hanging out in her walker outside while Daddy hung the Christmas Lights.



Eddie wasn't nearly as interested in Daddy hanging the Christmas lights. He must have thought it was bright out though because when I checked on him, he managed to pull his beanie down over his eyes!



Eddie is getting close to rolling over! I had to help him in this picture, but he's ALMOST there.




Here's Abby with Uncle Steve




I get in trouble when I spike her hair but I think it's hilarious!



Well, that's all for now friends. Thanks for your patience. Keep Abby in your prayers because we think she actually got sick again. The last two days her nose has turned back into that running faucet we thought we were rid of. Last night we enjoyed another throw up situation too. My heart aches for her when she's like this. Although once we grab her and get the snot out of her nose, change her jammies, get her sheets changed and get her comfortable again, she actually gets in a good mood. And I have to tell you, no matter how tired Kelly and I are, I would be lying if I didn't say that her smile lights us up and we actually enjoy this part of our 2AM rendezvous. Its funny, she's the one with all the issues, and yet, she still cracks a smile and gives us kisses at 2AM. She's the one that just threw up, she's the one with a shunt in her head, and a j tube in her stomach and a left leg and arm that don't work very well, yet with that smile, she's the one telling me that it's all good. With that 2 AM smile she says, "Don't worry daddy. If I can handle it....so can you."

Man she is one tough cookie. I love you Abby.

 
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