Friday the girls had a yearly check-up with the pediatrician. You're probably wondering why Carlie would be having her yearly check-up three months after her birthday...well because she had open heart surgery in January, I waited to get the okay from her cardiologist knowing that she would be receiving shots and then just decided to take the girls at the same time, you know "kill two birds with one stone". Everything checked out good; Caiteyn weighs 43 pounds and 44 inches tall and Carlie weighed in at 25 pounds and 33 1/2 inches tall. I was pleased to hear that Carlie had put on weight (it seems like she has been stuck at 23 pounds forever), but at the same time we were just at the cardiologist in May and she was 23 pounds then. While Carlie does eat, I'm not sure I believe that she put on two pounds in two months. A while ago when we were making more frequent visits to the cardiologist, their scale always gave a different weight than the pediatrician's and because we visited the cardiologist more than the pediatrician, I liked going with the weight that the cardiologist's scale gave. We have a follow up visit with the cardiologist in July, so I'll be curious to see what Carlie's weight is then.
On a funnier note, at our visit they checked Caiteyn's eyes by having her read shapes off of a chart (like the E charts that we read off of). When the nurse asked her to read one of the smaller lines, she looked at it and said, "But I can't see that far."
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Losing a child to a CHD
I am so thankful that Carlie is considered "healthy" and that we have not had any issues since before her Glenn, but the reality is, many babies die from a CHD each year, each day, and it is so heart breaking! Being a heart Mom, I have followed the stories of MANY families; the first one I want to share is of Baby Cate. I only learned about Cate and her family about a week or so ago, but I was drawn in right away. Her family's faith is so inspiring that when I would read their blog, my heart would ache for them but somehow it felt as though they were comforting us, their readers. Tuesday morning Cate passed away from complications of surgery that she had a couple weeks prior (she had Tetralogy of Fallot), she was just seven months old.
Another family's journey that I have been following is Baby Emily. Emily was born on June 17, six weeks before her due date, with HLHS and was doing well. She had her Norwood on Monday and the updates on Emily's carepage were good; everything seemed to be according to plan. Yesterday I checked her carepage, and I was shocked to learn that Baby Emily had passed away that morning, she was just a week old.
The last family I met through an on-line support group that I belong to. Seamus was born in November 2006 with HLHS. For whatever reason, Seamus had problems recovering from his surgeries. After his Norwood, Seamus was in the hospital for about six weeks. In May 2007, Seamus was taken into surgery to attempt his Glenn and TAPVR correction but the surgeon wasn't sure if Seamus would be able to handle the surgery. Once they opened him up, the surgeon determined that Seamus would not be able to handle it and so it was postponed. In November 2007, Seamus' Glenn was attempted again and this time was able to be completed but a couple of days later, they had to redo his Glenn because of complications. After many ups and downs, Seamus was released from the hospital on Christmas Eve. Things seemed to be moving along smoothly when suddenly, Seamus passed away on January 20. My heart broke for this family, I couldn't believe that they lost their little boy, he was just 14 months old. Through all of this, Kati and Bruce knew that they were meant to parents. They long for another child and have decided that they would like to adopt. This is what Kati wrote on her blog, "...As we work through our grief, one thing keeps coming up, how much we loved being parents and how excited we are to have that opportunity again...We've set up a website and are actively looking for birth parents. We know we're not the traditional adoptive parents that mothers looking for homes for their kids find, but we're hoping that it works in our favor and that something about us resonates with the right person. We're open to a boy, a girl, twins, any shape, any color, as long as they are healthy. As our friends and family, if you hear of any situations where a mother or family is planning to bring her pregnancy to term but can't keep the baby, remember us. We are also open to babies that are a couple of months old. We would love to share the child with the birth family through letters, pictures, and also visits once they are old enough to understand who their "Tummy Mommy" is...". If any of you reading this know of anyone who can help Kati and Bruce become parents again, please reach out to them, they have so much love to give.
I believe that one day all babies born with a CHD will live long and healthy lives, but that won't happen until awareness and research receive more funding. Too many people are unfamiliar with CHDs, I know that I was prior to becoming pregnant with Carlie. As heart Moms and Dads we have to spread our child's story so that one day everyone will be familiar with Congenital Heart Defects and how CHDs are taking the lives of our precious children.
Another family's journey that I have been following is Baby Emily. Emily was born on June 17, six weeks before her due date, with HLHS and was doing well. She had her Norwood on Monday and the updates on Emily's carepage were good; everything seemed to be according to plan. Yesterday I checked her carepage, and I was shocked to learn that Baby Emily had passed away that morning, she was just a week old.
The last family I met through an on-line support group that I belong to. Seamus was born in November 2006 with HLHS. For whatever reason, Seamus had problems recovering from his surgeries. After his Norwood, Seamus was in the hospital for about six weeks. In May 2007, Seamus was taken into surgery to attempt his Glenn and TAPVR correction but the surgeon wasn't sure if Seamus would be able to handle the surgery. Once they opened him up, the surgeon determined that Seamus would not be able to handle it and so it was postponed. In November 2007, Seamus' Glenn was attempted again and this time was able to be completed but a couple of days later, they had to redo his Glenn because of complications. After many ups and downs, Seamus was released from the hospital on Christmas Eve. Things seemed to be moving along smoothly when suddenly, Seamus passed away on January 20. My heart broke for this family, I couldn't believe that they lost their little boy, he was just 14 months old. Through all of this, Kati and Bruce knew that they were meant to parents. They long for another child and have decided that they would like to adopt. This is what Kati wrote on her blog, "...As we work through our grief, one thing keeps coming up, how much we loved being parents and how excited we are to have that opportunity again...We've set up a website and are actively looking for birth parents. We know we're not the traditional adoptive parents that mothers looking for homes for their kids find, but we're hoping that it works in our favor and that something about us resonates with the right person. We're open to a boy, a girl, twins, any shape, any color, as long as they are healthy. As our friends and family, if you hear of any situations where a mother or family is planning to bring her pregnancy to term but can't keep the baby, remember us. We are also open to babies that are a couple of months old. We would love to share the child with the birth family through letters, pictures, and also visits once they are old enough to understand who their "Tummy Mommy" is...". If any of you reading this know of anyone who can help Kati and Bruce become parents again, please reach out to them, they have so much love to give.
I believe that one day all babies born with a CHD will live long and healthy lives, but that won't happen until awareness and research receive more funding. Too many people are unfamiliar with CHDs, I know that I was prior to becoming pregnant with Carlie. As heart Moms and Dads we have to spread our child's story so that one day everyone will be familiar with Congenital Heart Defects and how CHDs are taking the lives of our precious children.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Sisters
When we found out that we were pregnant with Carlie, I was hoping that we would have another girl. I wanted Caiteyn to have a sister to grow up with and have that special bond that sisters have. From the moment that Carlie came into the world, Caiteyn has shown so much love towards Carlie and can be very protective of her as well. Now that Carlie is older, they interact with each other much more (although sometimes it is just when they are fighting over a toy) and it melts my heart to watch them run around the house giggling. I am so glad that my girls have each other as a best friend!
Each morning I try to squeeze in my shower before the girls wake up (it makes things so much easier!). In the last couple of weeks, if the girls wake up before I'm done getting dressed, I have walked into Carlie's room to find this...
When I asked Caiteyn what she was doing she said, "Well I couldn't get Carlie out of her crib and she wanted me to play with her, so I got in her crib with her." Like I said before, it is sweet moments like these that melt my heart.Monday, June 23, 2008
A day with Cousin Hailee
As Disneyland annual pass holders, we were invited to ride Toy Story before it opened to the public. My niece Hailee's 3rd birthday was around the time that we were going to go, so I decided to take her with us. Some thought that I was a little crazy for taking three girls to Disneyland by myself, but they were good and we had a lot of fun. The rides I think the girls enjoyed the most was Toy Story, which is an interactive 3D ride, and Peter Pan. We waited in line for Peter Pan a while and I thought that all four of us would be able to fit into one 'ship' but when we got to the front, they said that we wouldn't be able to ride all together. I was upset that we weren't going to be able to ride it, but the operator let Caiteyn and Hailee go by themselves. I was a little nervous because it is dark on the ride, but in the end they loved it and thought that they were 'Big Girls' because they were able to go by themselves. After a long and VERY hot day, Hailee came back to our house and spent the night for the first time. The girls stayed up until about 10 o'clock giggling and playing before they crashed out. The girls had so much fun spending time with their cousin and can't wait to do it again!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Preschool Graduation
Last week was a special one for Caiteyn...she graduated, or as she says "gradulated", from preschool. Even though she only went to school two days a week, she enjoyed every minute of it. She is very excited for Kindergarten, while I am having issues with the fact that my baby will be starting school. I think about how quickly (more so than now) time will go by once she is in school. I look forward to her school years, but sometimes I wish that I could stop time so that we could enjoy our time home together a little longer.
Taylor and Caiteyn
Caiteyn and Micahiah
Taylor, Caiteyn and Bella
Waiting for graduation to start
Receiving their diplomas
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Disneyland
The girls and I went to Disneyland last week and Caiteyn was finally brave enough to go on Pirates again. After we were done she said, "Mommy that wasn't scary at all!" I tried to tell her that it wasn't scary, but I guess she had to figure it out for herself. She also went on Big Thunder Mountain for the first time. I wasn't sure how she was going to do, but in the end she loved it and went on it a second time. Here are some pics from our visit...
At the Playhouse Disney Show
Before Big Thunder
During Big Thunder
End of Big Thunder
Carlie saying "choo choo" on Casey Jr.
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