Winter Weekend

3 Years
20 Weeks

The weekend started like a tornado and ended like a cool breeze. 


Friday was bonkers for me:

- Help Me Grow was at the house at 8am to assess Hannah’s progress [she’s doing great]
- my pumping schedule was thrown off, so I pumped while driving to work. It’s do-able but since I’m not relaxed, I produce very little.
- lunch with Katherine [nice break, we went to Senate]
- happy hour in the office at 4pm - woo!
- get home, pump, order pizzas, tidy up
- some fun cousins were all in from out of town and came over at 6:30 to meet Hannah and just spend time together. My cousin who lives in Spain was here with his wife and daughter who is nearly one. We enjoyed seeing all three little girls in one room! 
- Nora was up waaaaay too late past her bedtime and didn’t fall asleep until 10:15pm. Doh. 

Saturday was nice and mild - Tim and I were both able to run. We spent the evening at a good friend’s home where Nora played with her BFF, Ava. Again, Nora was up way too late but thankfully went to bed fairly easy. 

This morning we all slept until 7:30 which was amazing. I got groceries. Tim and Nora went to Aunt Amy’s house for a bit and I had a peaceful time with Hannah and was able to get a lot done. I even made gluten free brownies [for Tim’s acid reflux] - and they’re good! The girls were great and it was just a nice day. 

These may be the first big smiles I’ve seen from Hannah - so glad I had my phone!

I got out the old Bath Bucket Nora used as a baby - she loved it much more than the sling-type bath. Of course Nora had to sit in it and cracked us up. Hannah even enjoyed sitting in it! Nora - being Nora - decided to actually bathe in it. Whatever - water and soap, it worked. Then came Hannah’s turn and she hated it - screamed bloody murder. It was worse than her screaming during normal baths - I think the girls 1. doesn’t like to be naked and 2. hates baths. 

Yup. There it is.

Feeding Time

20 Weeks

I thought friends/family would be curious how we feed Hannah since she takes nothing by mouth anymore. 

The speech therapist assures me these babies pick it back up after surgery, but I still get worried - we have another 6 weeks before our scheduled date and Hannah is taking nothing by mouth. 

I still give her a few drops by mouth just so she doesn’t forget she’s supposed to eat by mouth, not by tube. 

We’ve become very used to it and I remember the first week with the mic key and how nervous I was. I dream about the day that button is gone and Hannah can wear regular outfits again. We only dress her in sleepers to that we have easy access to the button. 

Surgery Date!

20 Weeks

We finally have a “tentative” surgery date: Wednesday, March 4th. That was the first available day - ! I say “tentative” because we could be bumped due to any critically ill newborns or heart transplants. Fingers crossed that does not happen - we just want to get through this already! I’ll have to ask the surgeon how frequently repair surgeries are bumped for emergencies. 

We will meet with our surgeon, Dr. Roosevelt Bryant this Friday afternoon. We’ll bring our list of questions that include “How long will the repair take?” 

If that Wednesday is a go, the day before [Tuesday], she will have another EKG, bloodwork and chest X-ray. Boy, oh boy. 

Again, Hannah’s repair seems to be straightforward, and from what I’ve read of other babies, they are usually home in 5-6 days. I would be delighted if we fell in that camp, too. 

As a reminder, this will be open heart surgery. Hannah has an Atrioventricular Septal Defect [AVSD]. She is missing the wall between the two main chambers of the heart as well as valves. Therefore, her blood is mixing in her heart and working very hard to get out to her body and she wears out quickly. 

If you are the praying type, we ask for a smooth surgery, an even smoother recovery, and that Hannah learns how to drink from a bottle not long after! 

Thanks again for all the love and continued prayers - we need the most for this next hurdle! 

We’ve Graduated College!

You know what room is always last to get attention in décor? The master bedroom. No one sees it. Bottom of the design totem pole.

For over two years I’ve had my eyes on new West Elm bedding. Our current duvet/cover was from our wedding 9 years ago - ! Plus, you spend a third of your life sleeping - so spend the money, right?

I’m not sure what the trigger was, but I finally pulled it. January is “White Sale” month so I bought the West Elm bedding on slight sale. We got the nailhead headboard, flannel sheets and bedside lamps all at Target.

So finally, at ages 35 and 39 and after nine years of marriage, we finally feel like we don’t have a college bedroom anymore!

Now for the day when I can sleep through the night in our fresh bed... : )

PS: the reason the bed is not centered below the windows is due to an air vent we don’t want to cover up with the bed.

Just Some Pictures!

19 Weeks
3 Years

Nora dressed Hannah up in her doll’s clothes - ha!

 Last weekend we had a playdate with some good friends. Stuart Cowan was born Aug 15th - two weeks before Hannah. Keep that in mind : ) Hannah will always be small for her age; she’s just over 11.5 lbs and we’re comfortably fitting into 3mo clothing though she’s 4.5 months old. Stuart however is pushing 17lbs and was wearing the gift we gave him - a NINE month old outfit - amazing! Even without an extra chromosome, kids grow at different rates, so seeing Stuart always blows me away - what a suave dude!

Nora [3yrs], Ellie and Evelyn [2.5 years]

Fast forward to this weekend - we crammed a lot into our Saturday. Tim amazingly took the girls to Nana & Papa’s house for a visit. They hadn’t seen them since Christmas! So what did Mommy do? Run seven amazing miles in sunny 55˚ weather in January in Ohio! Long sleeves and shorts. It was awesome. 

One of the battles we chose NOT to fight was Nora wanting to wear Minnie Mouse to Nana’s house. I guess at least we’re getting our use of it. 

Goo Goo Ga Ga

19 Weeks 

Hannah “talking” - enjoy!

Surgery [Non]Update

19 Weeks

Tuesday was our last pre-surgery Cardiologist appointment. It was probably the fastest we’ve been in and out - everyone was on schedule! 

Hannah’s echo and x-ray looked straightforward, her thyroid work came back “normal.” 

Tuesday Dr. Kimball will present Hannah’s case to the surgeons and sees no reason why we wouldn’t proceed. Dr. Kimball will call us next Tuesday to confirm surgery. Between Tuesday and Friday, schedulers will contact us to set a date. 

Let’s go!

2 Kids + 1 Exam Room = ?

18 Weeks
3 Years

Another anxious day: taking 2 children to the Pediatrician. Alone!

Nora had zero fear of the doctor. Girl is Chatty Cathy. I liked that the pediatrician talked TO Nora and asked her questions. 

Nora is above average in height, below average in weight. She had her eyes checked by this crazy camera that worked with the lights out - her eyes look great. 

“Is she potty trained?” ... Yes. “Do you think she could give a urine sample?” Wait, what? She’s three! I said, “I can try...” So I picked up Nora and told her we were going to play a game called Peeing In A Cup. Sat her down, I got the cup ready and - success! Bizarre. Lots of hand washing. 

Hannah is up to 11 1/2 pounds - woo! Overall good in the Pediatrician’s eyes - again, the Cardiologist and therapists are the professionals who are really keeping their eyes on her. The Pediatrician didn’t have any more wisdom on Hannah’s reflux... Her suggestion was to give smaller, more frequent feedings. We’ll see if we can manage that with our schedules : P

Unexpected - another round of FOUR immunizations in Hannah’s thighs - doh! She obviously hated it, but got over it quickly. 

Nora’s tears? Wanting to play with the waiting room toys as we’re leaving. Threw a fit on the floor. Ugh. 

We made it out eventually and I survived my first pediatrician appointment with two littles!

Hannah: Hearing Appointment

18 Weeks

Friday the 2nd, Hannah had her second hearing test [her first was in the NICU]. As always, I was nervous; the test was at 8am and the instructions were to keep your child awake until they arrived so that they can SLEEP through the test - are you serious? Trying to control her awake/sleepiness?? * Groan *

I fed Hannah and she was obviously asleep in the car to the appointment. She woke up there, but as a mother, I knew Hannah was still sleepy...

The audiologist was nice enough but smelled of cigarette smoke - nice. Poor Hannah had these tiny earbuds shoved in her ears so she essentially screamed for a while and I had to console her so she was calm enough for the first readings. 

Then I had to sit there in a tiny room with a crap chair with no arm support, trying to get Hannah comfortable enough to sleep - about 40 minutes. It was rough - between the crying and me singing in front of a stranger [I didn’t care!] - I was worn. 

Hannah finally slept for a bit that the test was good; the audiologist said, “Her hearing is about as normal as it gets,” which didn’t feel like a professional response, but I’ll take it. 

Nighttime Potty

3 Years

Nora has been very independent with the potty lately; “I’ll do it myself!” It’s great. Especially when I’m in the middle of feeding Hannah. 

Last night at 1:30am I heard Nora get up and go into the hall bath, turn on the light and go potty by herself! Then she went to her bedroom and turned on the light. I watched from my bed with one eye open and saw her putting on her PJ pants. She forgot her underwear, but who cares, right? 

I was still “sleeping” and Nora came into our bedroom and laid down with Ailo! I shifted a bit in bed and Nora leapt up and raced back into her room and turned off the light. 

The bathroom light was still on so I got up to turn it off and Nora was standing in her dark room. She asked me to lay down with her a bit, so I did and sang her a song. 

The whole event was very sweet. 

Christmas: Part 2

Saturday morning after Christmas I met up with some girlfriends for a short run and a lunch drink afterwards - one of my favorite traditions. We all enjoy getting out of the house for some friend time - our connection is through London; whether we lived there, or visited there, it’s a thread that ties us. I love them all! 

Sunday was brunch at my parent’s house - very chill with just the few of us - it was perfect. We had an amazing brunch and just relaxed the rest of the day. Nora was pretty well behaved since there were no other children to feed off of - she thrives on other kids’ energy! 

Our Christmas days ended on a calm, relaxing note! 

Oh geez...

Hannah loves sucking her hands now!

This about sums up our life right now : )