The girl likes her food! She gets a feed every three hours or so, and on the clock she gets cranky if we aren't pouring some chow into her. Can't argue with that, it means she is going to continue to gain weight and grow like she is supposed to.
Deb took her to see the general surgeons today. The plan is for repair of her omphalocele when she is about 9 to 12 months old. I have to hand it to Deb for getting Grace packed up and out the door this morning. With everything that she has in order to get mobile, there must of been less planning required to invade Iraq. Maybe that was a poor analogy.
Sleeping at Night
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A minor breakthrough today. Grace finally slept at night. Hopefully this is not a fluke because I am really not sure how Deb could go on with so little sleep. She is a good mom though and never complains. I on the other hand get to sleep through the night. I feel guilty that she lets me sleep, but as she says, it really wouldn't be fair to my patients to have a somnolent surgeon. I can't imagine how people with twins or triplets or even more (eight anyone?) manage to do this.
Technical Difficulties
Sunday, February 22, 2009
I think the technical difficulties are fixed. Let me know if you can't read the posts.
Oh the Drama!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
The last few days, we have been dealing with a saga of proportions not seen since The Great Depression. Due to a prescription error we overdosed Gracie on her iron and she has not passed anything from below in 4 days. To say that she is angry would only just touch on the amount of screaming and wailing our bound-up little fighter has dealt us this week.
However, the constipation saga appears to have an end in sight - pun intended. I know you are all watching this with the same concern and scrutiny with which you are monitoring the banking crisis so I am keeping you informed. After two nights of minimal sleep, constant soothing, bouncing, patting and cuddling, as well as several ounces of prune juice, Gracie managed to squeek out a poo. Now it was not much, but it seemed to provide instant relief and she has been sleeping soundly for 3 hours for the first time in days. Deb actually cried when she found out Grace had her little BM. What has life become?
You will also be glad to hear that this crisis was fixed with a 72 cent bottle of prune juice which we paid for in cash. It will not be financed, rolled up into shady investment schemes, charged to tax payers, or included in any bail out plan.
However, the constipation saga appears to have an end in sight - pun intended. I know you are all watching this with the same concern and scrutiny with which you are monitoring the banking crisis so I am keeping you informed. After two nights of minimal sleep, constant soothing, bouncing, patting and cuddling, as well as several ounces of prune juice, Gracie managed to squeek out a poo. Now it was not much, but it seemed to provide instant relief and she has been sleeping soundly for 3 hours for the first time in days. Deb actually cried when she found out Grace had her little BM. What has life become?
You will also be glad to hear that this crisis was fixed with a 72 cent bottle of prune juice which we paid for in cash. It will not be financed, rolled up into shady investment schemes, charged to tax payers, or included in any bail out plan.
Grace and Mac Go To The Vet
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Actually Mac went to the vet and Grace went to the pediatrician. Mac has been off a little later and not his usual self. We think he is still adjusting to Grace's presence since he seems reluctant to come into the house. He has also been limping and whimpering occasionally. The vet thinks he has just strained his hip and a short course of anti-inflammatories should put him right. Hopefully he has not started to develop early signs of hip dysplasia.
Grace went to establish with her pediatrician yesterday. We are very happy with the doc, so that is a good start. I guess we must have looked a little frazzled, so she readjusted the feeding schedule so that we get more sleep. Speaking of sleep, here is where I found my girls last night.
Grace is still putting on weight. In fact, she seems to be a bottomless pit. We still haven't got her routine down yet, but we are slowly adjusting. We are either feeding her, giving her an inhaler, pumping (Deb, not me), or caring for her. As we get smoother at this we should get more efficient. Right now we are a little chaotic. Grace has also pulled her NG out 3 times since being home. We hate having to put it back in since she gets spitting nails mad! The other hassle is that she is on a "leash" most of the time. We have to drag 50 feet of oxygen tubing round the house, as well as the monitor and her NG. Makes it hard to just carry her into the kitchen to grab something. We are still thrilled to have her home, and will have this down to a science in no time.
Grace went to establish with her pediatrician yesterday. We are very happy with the doc, so that is a good start. I guess we must have looked a little frazzled, so she readjusted the feeding schedule so that we get more sleep. Speaking of sleep, here is where I found my girls last night.
Grace is still putting on weight. In fact, she seems to be a bottomless pit. We still haven't got her routine down yet, but we are slowly adjusting. We are either feeding her, giving her an inhaler, pumping (Deb, not me), or caring for her. As we get smoother at this we should get more efficient. Right now we are a little chaotic. Grace has also pulled her NG out 3 times since being home. We hate having to put it back in since she gets spitting nails mad! The other hassle is that she is on a "leash" most of the time. We have to drag 50 feet of oxygen tubing round the house, as well as the monitor and her NG. Makes it hard to just carry her into the kitchen to grab something. We are still thrilled to have her home, and will have this down to a science in no time.
Scared Witless!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Well we made it through Grace's first night home without doing her any harm. To say that we were wound tight would be an understatement. We are taking a shift approach for the moment until we get more into a routine.
Grace has her days and nights mixed up a little, so we will have to put a stop to that. The dang apnea monitor went off a fair amount, but seemed to be all false alarms. If you don't have those electrodes just right, they don't pick up the signal. Grace does sniffle a little bit and seems a little congested. We think it is the dust. Our home is older, and we just had work done, so there is bound to be a bunch of dust in the house no matter how much we cleaned before she came home. The home care folks are trickling in. Oxygen has been delivered, dressing supplies have been dropped off and we have a pediatricians appointment tomorrow.
...
Had to take a break there. While Dad was distracted, our little angel pulled her NG out. Guess who got to put it back in. There was much wailing and gnashing of gums until it was put back in, and then Mommy swooped in to comfort her. Establishing roles early. She also filled her diaper (Grace, not Deb) so that needed a change too.
All will be fine, just some big adjustments. Will keep you posted.
Grace has her days and nights mixed up a little, so we will have to put a stop to that. The dang apnea monitor went off a fair amount, but seemed to be all false alarms. If you don't have those electrodes just right, they don't pick up the signal. Grace does sniffle a little bit and seems a little congested. We think it is the dust. Our home is older, and we just had work done, so there is bound to be a bunch of dust in the house no matter how much we cleaned before she came home. The home care folks are trickling in. Oxygen has been delivered, dressing supplies have been dropped off and we have a pediatricians appointment tomorrow.
...
Had to take a break there. While Dad was distracted, our little angel pulled her NG out. Guess who got to put it back in. There was much wailing and gnashing of gums until it was put back in, and then Mommy swooped in to comfort her. Establishing roles early. She also filled her diaper (Grace, not Deb) so that needed a change too.
All will be fine, just some big adjustments. Will keep you posted.
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