finally updating a little more

I've fallen off the blogging wagon lately. I WANT to blog, I do... I just don't. I've found other things to fill my free time, but I want to get back to blogging and am going to attempt to make it fill some of my free time.
The girls are doing great.

Jordan is still so in love with her sister and Norah can't get enough of her sister either so, for the most part, it works out. Jordan does like some time away from Norah now & then, but she can't turn her away for long. She ALWAYS has to share whatever is making her happy, even if she turns Norah away at first, and that makes me smile daily.

Norah is chunking up. Girly is getting some meat on her bones! At the cardi last week, she'd gained 1lb, 4.8oz in 2 weeks. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!?!?! It's been such a huge struggle to get the weight on her and now she's turning into a little porker. I LOVE IT!

Both girls, while extremely trying at times, make my days so much more than I ever dreamed they could be. How could I not love these crazy butt babies?!

 

the rest of surgery/CHB (this will be a long one)

now that we're over a week out, I really want to get it down while it's still fresh(ish).

I've got to start out by saying that the stay at CHB was like the weirdest hotel stay ever.  We got to know a few people on the floor with us and learn about some of the kids while we were in the CICU. We "went out" for meals mostly or brought food back to our room (once she was on the floor, not in the CICU). Norah especially liked the ham & cheese croissants from Au Bon Pain -- did you know ham is not "age appropriate" for a nearly 10 month old (she IS 10 months old now :) )? I learned that our last day there when I tried to order her a ham & cheese sandwich from room service.

I guess I should start at the beginning.
When we got to see her, she looked great. Yes, she had tubes & wires & there were monitors everywhere, but Norah looked so good. It was a little jarring to see just how good she looked. I guess I was expecting to see her more like after the Ladds, where she didn't look baaaad, but she didn't look good either. She looked so, so good. Her coloring was great, she was mostly comfortably resting (I'll get to that in a second) and we got word that her blood sugar was perfect, on it's own. It did spike a little and she got some insulin, but she fought that and eventually they stopped it for an hour & she brought her glucose levels right back into normal range.
***Did I tell y'all that we oped for a blood sugar/insulin study? Anyway she was in the test group, so she was able to get insulin when her glucose levels spiked after surgery, whereas a typical pedi patient would not. In adults, it's standard practice to give insulin after surgery to correct glucose levels. CHB & several other hospitals are 3+ years into a study to see if pedi patients have the same results as adults (easier/faster healing time)***


She was comfortable, but no longer completely sedated when we got to her. She needed to be sedated until the breathing tube came out, and that had to stay in until the oozing from her chest tube slowed down. She had a lot of oozing and ended up getting a unit of platelets around 6:30 on Wednesday night & then a unit of blood over night. The breathing tube came out a little after 7:30 Thursday morning. Oh, I was talking about the comfort level -- yeah, she didn't seem to be in pain, but she was uncomfortable and I think it was b/c of her position. She still sleeps all curled up in the fetal position most of the time and being stretched out, on her back, unable to roll didn't agree with her. Norah got A LOT of versed & morphine (more versed than morphine) over that first night and finally got to a comfortable spot around 11pm.

That first day, after surgery, there was a couple taking a tour of the CICU and we were asked if we'd allow them to look at Norah. About 2 weeks prior, they'd learned that they were expecting a heart baby (tricuspid atresia) and they were trying to prepare themselves. I was instantly back to being pregnant and hearing that my perfect baby, wasn't perfect. I cried. I cried for people I'd never met & will probably never see again, just b/c I've been in those shoes and I know how terrifying it is and how much you love your baby and how much you want it to be perfect and how afraid of everything you are in the beginning. We let them into Norah's room without hesitation and I pulled myself together.
They asked if she played.
I laughed. All she does is play and torment her sister and get into trouble and bring so much joy to every day. She's such a typical 9 month old that the question caught me off guard. She does everything.
She hugged her belly. He crossed his arms a little tighter and smiled.
I remembered being in their shoes and how hard it was to smile in those days. How hard it was to be excited about the baby when you didn't know what was going to happen to them. To be excited about anything really.
I told them that their baby was perfect. Not the perfect they expected, but perfect in it's own way and as hard as it all is, it gets easier once you get to know your baby and all that makes them their own special perfect.  I also passed along the web address to the babycenter heart board and told her how much of a help it was and continues to be for me while trying to learn all I can about Norah's heart.

with all her monitors & getting some blood - she does the vampire thing wrong.

pulse oximeter (just b/c I posted a pic of it after her Ladds :) )

if you don't donate blood b/c you haven't been asked, consider this my asking you.
 

She made it through that first night without to many problems. She was uncomfortable on her back, we got her settled on her side and she rested for awhile.
Her breathing tube came out a little after 7:30am on the 15th. A bit later her LA & RA lines came out (wires to measure the pressures of the left & right side of her heart), and we waited for her new crib & a her room on the floor to be ready.

We requested & got a "can't-get-out" crib b/c we know what she does at home and we didn't know what to expect while there. Norah liked being able to maneuver a little without the breathing tube and was able to drink some juice which she really, really enjoyed!
Day 2 was pretty uneventful, except for when Norah saw Jordan on the computer. I had the brilliant idea to set up skype on the netbook & asked my parents to get it too. Yeah. Norah climbed over me, the arm of the chair and across the netbook to get her sister. I had no idea how to stop her & honetly don't know how I got her down. oops.

after she rearranged her crib to her liking before leaving the CICU

resting comfortably

Day 3, Friday the 16th, had us up bright & early for x-ray. Her film was clear :)
Her chest tube came out that morning. Yeah, it wasn't fun. I felt so bad helping to hold her down for it, but was glad to get her up right afterward. I made all sorts of promises to her, like that I'd let her sleep how ever she wanted when we got back to her crib, in a sad attempt to make her feel better. She peed all over the treatment table. I wrapped her in a hospital towel (which, she loves. ALWAYS. She LOVES hospital towels, the kid is weird) and let her cuddle into it on the walk back to her room. Then, I let her nap, on her side, as long as she wanted. She kept waking to glare at me (I swear she would have flipped her shiznit had I repositioned her & thrown my promises right back at me) and then would snuggle in harder on her side and sleep. She took a good 2 hour nap.
Then... it was time for her sedated echo. Crap. I KNEW she was scheduled for it and I still let her sleep right up until 20 minutes before. On the plus side, she didn't fight the sedation and slept peacefully through the echo. I kinda played the she's so tired angle and asked that her post chest tube x-ray be taken while in the cath lab. I don't think the nurse in the cath lab liked me much after that, but she called upstairs & got it cleared so Norah got her x-ray while she slept. She woke up about .4 seconds after it was done & we went back up to her room for the night.

sans chest tube. pieced that I'm taking more pictures.

Saturday she let us all know what she was thinking. She was mostly mobile, and since I wouldn't let her crawl around on the floor, she had to cruise her crib. She tried climbing it, eating it, opening it - you name it, she attempted it. She was eating real food now and there was no stopping her. I managed to get a high chair for her and just seeing it made her want food. The girl was packing it away!
She got her pace wires out on Saturday with Mumma AND Daddy in the room. I think it made Daddy a little ill. He has no problem seeing other people in rough conditions, but seeing his baby girl doesn't agree with him (he's probably disabled pics while reading this post on his phone). And, Nick, I know you're not happy that I just shared that with the interwebz, but it's my blog, so there!
Norah really was a champ through it all. I forgot to order her dinner though, so she got a special ham & cheese croissant from Au Bon Pain, which she devoured. She ate a lot of food from ABP on Saturday & Sunday since we popped in while we wandered the hospital and got little pastry snacks.
Norah also decided to be a wild animal that night. She was crazy chasing me around the crib and just laughing so hard.

I see you!

I touched a button on the camera before you realized it!

hahahahahaha I'm a silly baby!

it's WAY past my bedtime, but the crib tastes good.

And Sunday, September 18th, we went home!
She had her last iv taken out. We took a quick trip to x-ray early in the morning after a horrible night sleep (hmmm, maybe b/c someone played until an hour & a half after they should have been asleep & THEN they were up for almost 2 hours in the middle of the night), and wandered around for awhile waiting to get the official word that we could leave.

HEY! I remember this game from last night! COOL!

Mumma, again with the camera?! Just play with me or I'll eat this crib again.

FIX MY FEET!  put the camera down &  help me, lady!

seriously?! You couldn't pack up before getting me ready to go?!

Yes, Mother, we're home.
PUT DOWN THE CAMERA AND UNLOCK THE DOOR. 

Actually, they were both really happy to be home and J kept giving N her doll & then passing her her own Princess Movie doll and telling her she loved her. It was really cute and sweet. Umm, yeah, they both wanted into the house, not to deal with me taking pictures on the front step.

 

oh, and one more, just in case Nick didn't really turn the pictures off when he got around to reading this:

right after surgery, she held her Daddy's hand. She is Daddy's little girl :)

while the waiting is fresh

We're waiting in the family waiting room on 8 South at CHB right now.

Norah did very well with the surgery. I brought her down to the OR and was with her while she fell asleep - it was an amazing experience for me. I wish I'd asked to do it when she had her ladd's done. I think I may have asked once, but never pushed it, but honestly don't remember. I asked yesterday and again today to make sure I'd be able to see my baby fall asleep.

She went down a little before 9 and we were expecting our first update around 10:15/30 to tell us that they were starting - we got it a little after 9:30. They were cruising!
Our next update came that they'd opened her chest & she was on the heart/lung machine. We waited a little while, and then went for lunch, expecting the last update around 12:45.
At 12:15 I got a phone call telling me that she was off the bypass & they were closing! Girly did great!

We talked to the surgeon who said they found exactly what they expected, which was a huge relief. He did check out her mitral valve, which did have a small spot of thickening, but nothing that he would try to repair. The remaining (<1mm) ASD was re-opened to get a better look at her valve & to help facilitate the closing of her VSD, and then closed up.

She did great and now, I'm just waiting to see her.

HOPEFULLY, very VERY soom!

today's THE day

It's 4:48 as I start this post. Jordan & Norah are sleeping peacefully unaware that today is the day. Jordan knows that Norah is going back to the hospital, but I don't think she understands much more than that. Norah seems to get that something is changing, but I know she doesn't know what.

In 2 hours we need to be at pre-op again. Hopefully they'll start with anesthesia around 8, and then, if all goes smoothly & there aren't any additional repairs that need to be made, we can be back by her side around 3 or 4.

I'm ready for today to be a memory. I'm ready to have my baby healthy and as far away from surgeons as possible.

surgery is scheduled

so we have a date.
I'm scared and excited all at the same time.
It feels weird to be excited about it, but I am. I'm excited to see her grow and to watch her body relax a little. It handles the extra stresses with such ease - it deserves to relax for a couple decades.

I know my girlie is going to come out on the other side wonderfully. I KNOW it because, that's Norah. She makes everything look easy with her strength & ambition to accomplish (and bulldoze) everything in her way.

I'm glad she won't need any catheter procedures, that feels like a million pounds of bricks lifted off my shoulders - like as long as her valves are good, this repair will be a cakewalk.

I'm so proud of my Buglet - she doesn't even know how brave & strong she is, but she's an inspiration and I strive to be just as strong.

and that's that. Surgery is in 15 days. Let's do this!

why me? why not me?

I think I've touched on this before. I don't know - I've been thinking about it for ages (since I was pregnant) in one way or another, so I'm sure I did, somewhere. I should really take some time to tag these posts. Ok, that'll be a task for another day, but not right now, b/c I actually do have a point and a post that goes with it.

I had my appointment with the counselor yesterday and we were talking about the upcoming consult and how I felt and blah,blah,blah. So she mentioned how someone had once said to her they stopped feeling and asking 'why me?' and started to ask 'why NOT me?' which led to the conversation of how I'm a crap-tastic Catholic, and yet, I still believe that God won't give me/us anything we can't handle and it took awhile to get there but I did and I just have to get back there and then it clicked. I had stopped asking why me and started asking why NOT me months ago.
holy crap, if you could follow that, I applaud you. And, if you know me in real life, I'm sure you read it in the same rushed voice I wrote it in and then, you get a standing ovation b/c simple applause would not be enough.

I used to read, or hear, watch shows/news reports about children with health problems, or that were born prematurely or had some handicap/hindrance (real or maybe just assumed, by me & others? idk anymore) and I'd feel badly for the child & their families. I think most of us do, even if it's just a fleeting, passing 'how awful' or 'I'm sorry' ir 'I can't imagine' -type thought.

Then, I had a baby that went to the NICU. In my opinion she didn't need to be there, and if she actually did need to be there, her care should have been handled differently upon her arrival there. I remember all the little and needy babies and thinking Belly was taking up a space that one of them needed so much more than she did.
There was a father one night that told me he didn't feel bad that his newborn was there b/c he needed to be and they had a care plan in place, but he felt bad that mine was b/c there was no plan for her there. She was just *there*, showing no issues, not dropping her oxygen (which is why she was sent) and they kept keeping her, waiting for her to have a problem. I remember thinking I already felt bad enough for myself, for the same reasons actually, but I didn't know what to say. I told him his son was beautiful and I hoped his latest round of blood work was clear and asking if I could check in on him when I came into the pod the next day. It was a humbling to be told by the parent of a critical infant that he felt sorry for me & my healthy one, but not for his. He was scared and worried, but didn't feel bad about being there. It was the best place for his baby to get care and the best option he had for survival.

It took me a long time to understand that feeling, and honestly, I still didn't *completely* get it.

THEN, I had a baby with health issues that had to go directly to the NICU. No transfer, no time to cuddle & show her off, just a couple minutes to get a good look and then off to another floor for testing. I didn't feel bad about the Buglet gong to the NICU. I remembered the father from WIH NICU talking about having a plan. We had a plan this time. I felt so much more prepared for our stay and when I got up to see her, I didn't feel badly for the other babies - not the super tiny ones or the ones that'd just had surgery or even myself. This was where they all needed to be to get the best care possible. They all needed to be there - whether their parents thought they did or not (and I think we all know, I got to the point where I didn't think Norah did... BUT I wasn't alone in thinking that, her drs knew she didn't need to be there anymore as well).

It was in the 2nd NICU that I realized: the NICU was just a part of our story. It wasn't the best part, but who has only perfectly happy stories of their lives? We have good and bad memories from both NICUs.

I have a baby with heart issues. So what? Is she any less Norah? Nope. Do I love her any less? Not an ounce. She's perfectly Norah. She wouldn't be *MY* Norah without a wonky bowel, holey heart, extra spleen and misplaced liver.

Some kids have birthmarks or blue eyes or wear glasses or braces - it makes them who they are. That doesn't mean they're less than perfect. It's just who they are, and you don't love them any less b/c of it.

so there's a hella long back story to say - why NOT me?
Why shouldn't this be a part of our story? We're fortunate enough that I can stay home with the girls, which means I can be flexible with Bugga's appointments and not have to worry about losing my job or having irked co-workers b/c of the amount of time I'd miss. We're blessed with family nearby that love us and are always willing to lend a hand. They're there whenever I need a sitter for whatever reason, or just to listen to me whine about my life (hey, we all do it - no matter how happy or lucky we are; we're all human). We have excellent health insurance and a growing knowledge of how it works. We have the resources and desire to learn more about everything that's been thrown at us. We love our children unconditionally and will do any & everything we can for them. Even when that means letting them fail.

Yeah, we've been dealt a suck hand if you're looking at it from the outside, but from the inside, this hand looks like a winner.

Why me, why us, why her... because we can. We can learn and teach and handle it. I'm not saying it isn't overwhelming (often), but we can do it when others may not be able to. So, why not me?

the is NO ESCAPE from the kiss of a Norah-monster!

the consult has been scheduled

next Monday, August 22nd, Norah bug will be 9 months old. She will also be meeting with a new cardiologist who'll decide if she moves onto surgery or we wait and watch a little longer.

I can't believe she'll be 9 months old.
That's a far cry from "probably won't make it to term"

My little girl is full of big things. She can (and WILL) do any and everything.

better today

the shock of actually hearing that Norah will (MAY) need surgery soon has worn off.

She's still Norah. I'm still Mumma. I'll still do anything and everything I can to make sure she's as healthy & happy as she can be - even if I don't like what has to be done. I don't think surgery is something to take a stand on. At least not this surgery. Just like her Ladd's I knew it was in her best interest and that's what OHS is as well. It isn't like I'm getting her a boob job or something.

We'll get through it. She's a spitfire and will come out on the other side of the next knife fight just as well as she did the last.

cardi day sucked.

Maybe sucked is a bad word for it.
I knew a day like today was coming, we've been waiting and preparing for it since before Norah made her debut.

The left side of Norah's heart is enlarged. It's stretching out. There doesn't seem to be any change in her VSD or her pulmonary valve stenosis, it possible that her mitral valve stenosis is *slightly* worse, but with the amount of blood pushing through, that really wasn't a surprise to me at all.

We're waiting on a call to tell us when our next appointment will be, It'll be the first consult with Children's Hospital Boston. At that appointment, we'll find out if it's time to consult surgery. Surgery will be an open heart procedure that will repair her VSD and then decide if her valve need anything done. That decision won't be made until after the VSD is patched - it'll be made while she's still open.

I'm so angry and hurt. Not at, by or b/c of Norah, but b/c I let myself get too comfortable with her heart. I really started to let myself forget just how serious her issue is, b/c it's common.
Cancer is common. Doesn't make it any less serious.

I don't know. I just need to get through her next appointment before I worry about another surgery, I guess. I just don't know how to handle the news. I KNEW it was coming. I EXPECTED it months ago. WHY am I so surprised that it IS happening?

I just want to forget about today.

oh, and before I forget, stats: oxygen 98%, height 26 1/4", weight 14lbs 11oz. She has trouble putting weight on. Just one more thing to work on I suppose. Maybe counting her calories will keep me distracted until the follow up.

Here's hoping.

AAAAAAHHHH GET DOOOOOOOOWN!

CHILD! IF YOU CLIMB ONE MORE PIECE OF FURNITURE ONLY TO GET STUCK ON TOP OF A HIGHER PIECE AGAIN, WE WILL NOT HAVE IT ANYMORE!
try me, Norah. go ahead, try me. You will have a crib & the rest of us will sit on pillows on the floor and you will have NOTHING to climb on. C'mon, baby. Test Mumma and see what happens.

OMGWTFBBQ! If the climbing doesn't stop, I will lose (what's left of) my ever loving mind.

went to see the aminals

We went back to the zoo yesterday & the girls had a blast. Ok, Jordan had a blast, Norah enjoyed playing at lunch time. Well, she *is* still young, and I don't think I'd be thrilled confined to a stroller for the day while my sister got to run around all happy either.

At this point, I think I've got nearly enough photos to put together an animal book for the girls. They both enjoy picture books, and I think it'd be neat to have one with animals they see on a regular-ish basis.

she did like seeing all the people while she strolled

so happy :)

we went to the zoo... on Monday

oh yes, we did.

The girls really had a good time.
Buglet tried so hard to stay awake the entire time we were there, and she finally caved and fell asleep while Belly & I were watching the elephants get their baths.

Oh yes. We watched the elephants get cleaned. AND, the soap/shampoo stuff smells pretty good. Like, really good. Like, I want to know what it is and if I can use it on the dog & cat & mayber even the kids good.
AND. It was ELEPHANTS getting a SHOWER. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?! I love elephants. Belly says they're all my elephants - sometimes one is hers, but she always tells me that she knows they're my favorite.
And, Belly asked a million times when we'd get to see them. Well, them & the "a-raffes" (giraffes for those who don't speak toddler-ese).

Now Belly, she likes the peng-juans (penguins, again for those who don't speak toddler). She could watch them all day long. She loves to watch them swimming and she just thinks they're great. She prefers to 'go downstairs' to watch them (the glass part of the enclosure is down a short flight of stairs) than to watch them from the observation deck that's set above/beside it.

Buglet seemed to like whatever she could focus on that would keep her awake. She spent most of the day chewing on a teether.

loving her new teether

Mumma & her girls

she loves her Daddy

PENG-JUAN!

After the zoo, we went out for pizza somewhere new (for us). We had a gc from one of the local deal sites so we tried it out. It was good and we'll probably either eat there again or Nick will pick it up on his way home one night.
Belle danced around the place while we were waiting for our food -- she was really good, not obnoxious, and we were the only people there. If she was a menace, we wouldn't have allowed it. She's been eating in restaurants since she was only a couple weeks old and is always very well behaved. Buglet got to sit in the hook on chair and she thought that was just the bees knees. She LOVES sitting up at the table with us. She even got some pizza crust all for herself.

8 months. what the what?!?

NORAH GRACE IS 8 MONTHS OLD (yesterday).

oh.my.goodness.

I'm not prepared for this. AT ALL.

If she continues to follow in her sisters footsteps, she'll be walking alone before I snap her 9 month pictures. She cruises on everything (her sister never did though); crawls at the speed of light - no, seriously, babies crawl fast - I've seen it many, many times - but she seems to crawl at super-sonic speeds, AND with the lightness of an angry elephant; she climbs, and climbs, and climbs EVERYWHERE - the anywhere chair, walker & her sisters bed are her favorites; speaking of her sisters bed - Jordan NEVER teethed on her crib (which was converted into her bed)and yet, Norah seems to think it's a fabulous thing to munch on.
Norah does not have any teeth yet. The toothless tank has a mouthful ready to pop through, but non seem to want to be first out.

OH, and! She went paci-free yesterday. It was tough and I'm sure today won't be a picnic either, but it's time. If she's going to toss the paci from her crib and then refuse it when I give it back, it's time for it to go.

aaaannnnnd pictures:

see the bite mark - all those teeth are still BENEATH her gums

the 3-6mo top is getting snug,  but the 0-3mo skirt still has room for her to grow!

it's been awhile

and it's entirely my fault. I've had time, but not much I wanted to share.
I've been selfishly trying to keep everything the girls do to myself. Those are my happy moments and I want them all. The flip side of that is that I do want to share them, I just want them for myself more.
I guess I should mention that I finally went to my doctor b/c of my anxiety over things like this. She gave me a tentative PPD/PPA diagnosis and a prescription for celexa (which, here's a shock, turns out, I'm allergic to) and referral to counseling for a more accurate diagnosis.

Anyway, enough about me.

The girls are great. N is crawling & climbing and walking with help. J is the best big sister, ever. EVER. IN THE HISTORY OF BIG SISTERS. Ok, seriously though, she's awesome. The first thing she wants in the morning is her sister and the last thing she wants at night is to kiss her sister before bed. I know I must be doing something right seeing them so in love with each other.

and that's about all I'm going to share, b/c it's naptime in about 10 minutes for the Belly-monster (Buglet fell asleep on the floor - silly girl!), and then, I'm going to take a little benedryl & hopefully calm these hives the celexa caused (told you I was allergic - I'm just waiting on the reaction to go away now).
here's hoping anyway!

what's that? no sign of what now?

Norah's atrial septal defect?!

oh, yeah. 
I wrote that. 
I also heard her cardiologist tell me "there must be at least a thin layer of tissue, b/c I can't find her ASD. Anything 3mm or larger would be clearly visible and I can't find anything"

So he's going to compare the images from her earlier echos, but y'all...
Her heart IS FIXING ITSELF.
ok, so the pulmonary stenosis & VSD are unchanged, but that's an issue for another day. They're canceling each other out and keeping her out of heart failure, so as long as they're "unchanged" and not "deteriorating" I'm a happy Mumma.

other news... she weighs 13lbs 14.6oz and is 25.25in tall

oh, and Jordan.
She's amazing as always.

Miss me?

Blogger ate my last 2 updates, and I never had time to come back & re-write them.

Things are good. Girls are good. Growing far to fast for my comfort.

Belle is always dancing or singing and trying to make Buggy laugh. She is such an amazing big sister, and I love getting to watch them interact.

Bug is growing up and trying desperately to do all things her sister does. She's sitting now and learning to walk if you hold her up and climbing if given the opportunity.

I love them.

life is always getting my blogging way.

And really, not much has been going on. Just everyday life. It's pretty amazing though :)

I love watching the girls grow and learn everyday. It's such a gift that I get to be home with them to see that. I'm not trying to knock daycare or nannies - I did both, and honestly, this was my favorite part of those jobs too. I LOVE seeing the look of wonder on a kids face when they learn something new. Or watching something just "click".

Norah's been getting rice cereal for a couple weeks now. I started prunes with her the other day b/c she's (as ALWAYS) backed up (and, let's be completely honest here - I'd already given her 2 suppositories within a few days before I started the prunes, and I hate giving them to her b/c I don't want her to need to rely on them). So we started prunes. The first day she was like a fish out of water. It was like she forgot how to eat from a spoon. I'm not saying she was a pro to begin with, but she was getting pretty good at it and suddenly, she was worse than she'd ever been. Then, day 2 of prunes, halfway through her feeding, it clicked. She started eating just like it was only rice and you could just see her put it together. She could eat the prunes just like rice, and she was so proud of herself.

Jordan is remembering her books more and more. She loves to read and being read to and now she's telling the stories. It's so cool to ask her to sing Snuggle Puppy and she does, or to start singing it for her when she asks and then she finishes it.

She got to give Norah a bite of her banana the other day and it made her week. She was so sad telling her, "no Norah, you baby, no food" and then she'd just look at me with these sad puppy-dog eyes and i said ok. I knew she wouldn't get much, and she didn't, the banana barely grazed her gums (and that was b/c Norah wanted it and kept trying to get more) and Jordan was so, so happy to feed her sister real, big girl food. *that's also the day we started prunes. I'm completely paranoid about starting more than 1 food at a time, so my head was spinning for 2 days that I really let my toddler give my baby an extra food. hmmm... maybe I'm getting a little more laxed in my parenting with Norah. HA! That'll be the day!

that's about that. Oh, and Norah, is just under 12 pounds as of the 29th. She was 11 lbs 15oz. WOOHOO!!!

catch up time, yet again

where to begin!
We made a trip out to the Children's museum and Belle had a blast. It was so cute to see her explore the bones and especially the water. She LOVED the water. I'm so glad we saved it for last, since I had to buy her a new shirt before we could leave - if they sold pants, I'd have bought a pair of them too. She was that soaked.

Then.... she caught this nasty cold. Complete with wheezing and shortness of breath and a possible ear infection. Her first.
So she's 27 months old, and got her first ear infection. She was formula fed from day 1. I have nothing against bf'ing, it's just not for me, but I'm really tired of hearing how my children will always be sick b/c I fed them formula. Jordan has been sick, really sick, not just a cold, 3 times in her life. First, she was 5w old and spiked a major fever, but that only lasted about a day (we did go to the hospital and she was admitted b/c we went. It was a bad experience for no reason at all, and I'll never make the mistake of speaking to an on call pedi again). Then she had "something" that presented JUST LIKE H1N1, complete with testing negative for it, when she was around 10 months old. And now an ear infection at over 2. Yep. My child is so sickly. Again, I'm not trying to knock bf'ing, but if someone chooses to ff, it's their choice and other people, mothers especially, in this world need to respect that. As long as the child is healthy, just let them eat. umm, /rant. sorry about that. It's a touchy subject with me :/

Buglet had a kidney u/s yesterday that was a GIANT fail. GIANT. She screamed so much I was asked if I was positive she had a heart condition, b/c she should have been passed out. Not the best way to measure her hypertension :/

otherwise things are good around here. I'll try to be a better blogger. promise.

and today...

went relatively well.

Belle did fuss when I left her, but she had a good time playing with her cousin while I was gone.

No ultrasound for Bug today, but she will need one (on the 18th) to check out the blood flow and if her hydronephrosis has resolved yet.
Buglet also had 2 good blood pressure readings. Like, perfect good - 78/46 and 75/35. So we're going to keep watching it with the cardiologist and follow up with nephrology if she continues to have wonky blood pressure or if her u/s shows a reason to.

Today, Norah Grace weighed: 11lbs 5oz. I nearly started crying I was so happy. Not gonna lie, we did a little happy dance in the exam room. THAT'S how excited we were.

Today was a good day.



I should mention the parking since I made a big deal out of it yesterday. I did valet b/c we were cutting it close. We were out of the car very quickly, with the stroller frame and that was surprisingly pleasant. We waited 25 minutes for the CR-V to be brought over from the garage though :/ We made it about 3/4 of the way home before she went into meltdown mode.

oh my, oh my, oh DINOSAURS

Jordan is in love with dinosaurs, again. At first, it was just the Oh My, Oh My, Oh Dinosaurs book and it was a favorite for a long time. Slowly it faded into just another book and she couldn't care less about dinosaurs. Then. Then, she heard We Are the Dinosaurs by the Laurie Berkner Band. It's all about dinosaurs now. It's all very cute, too.

Norah is holding the course. We go to the nephrologist tomorrow and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I have no idea what the appointment is going to be like. I asked today, and no one seemed to know either. What I do know is she won't be having an ultrasound tomorrow b/c it hasn't been scheduled and all the techs are booked.
Of course, I fear this means she'll have one, be squeezed in between appointments and I will be in Worcester for a million hours.

I don't mind taking her to the doctor appointments.
I don't even mind that it takes an hour to get there and another hour to get back.
I just hate that it takes all day for an appointment.
I hate that it takes no less than 10 minutes to check in. EVERY TIME. They have her information, I should be able to hand them her blue card, my co-pay and have a seat, but nope, 10 minutes at least with the receptionist. Oh yes, that's with the receptionist and not including time spent waiting in line. There is almost always a line and receptionists complaining about the line... hmmm, maybe b/c it takes 10 minutes to check in!
I hate parking. Parking in the garage, if you can find a spot, has taken us up to 40 minutes in the past. Yeah. 40 minutes of driving around a parking garage hoping for a spot. You have to find a spot once you get in b/c the only way to get out is with a paid or validated ticket. The only way to get that is to go to the cashier or the pay machines in the lobby of the parking garage. That means parking your car, or hoping the roaming cop doesn't ticket you if you run it and leave your car running. There's always valet, which is a viable option, except it takes at least 20 minutes for your car to be brought back to you. Not such a huge deal, and it is only $5, but those 20 minutes can be (and have been) the difference between getting Norah home calmly or her having a meltdown b/c she's tired of being in her carseat or hungry, or wet, or over being all by herself in the backseat.

The snow is finally almost gone in the yard, thanks to the recent rain. I cannot wait for it to be dry enough to play outside. I'm sure the girls will love it.

That's all for now, I guess. I'm sure I'll be updating with what happens at the nephrologist within the next few days. Hopefully that's an extremely short post :)