Scarlette's Adenoid/Ear Surgery

Yesterday, Scarlette had a minor surgery, though to a mommy no surgery is minor when your baby has to go under anesthesia! She had part of her adenoids removed, ear tubes placed in her ears, and an ABR, which is a test to look for hearing loss. We went in very early yesterday morning and she was completely done by 11 a.m.

The ear tube placement went very well, they will most likely have to be replaced in a year and hopefully she won't need them anymore by the time she's 4 or 5. Her ABR did show minor to moderate signs of hearing loss in her left ear, which has not yet been fitted for a hearing aid. We will be doing that ASAP so that we can maximize her hearing potential. The last procedure they did was the adenoidectomy. When they went in they realized that there was actually very little adenoid tissue in there so they didn't take as much out as they had originally thought they were going to.

When we went to see Scarlette she was very upset and crying hard. It took us a good two hours to fully calm her down and once she finally calmed down she was in a very happy/giggly mood. Unfortunately she chose the one time the anesthesiologist was peeking in on her to have a very bad vomiting episode in which her oxygen levels dipped drastically. At this point they decided she needed to be kept overnight for observation. Mitch and I were frustrated because we knew how to handle the situation and were really looking forward to taking Scarlette home in the early afternoon. It took them about five hours to secure her a bed in the PICU, and at about 5 p.m. we finally got transported over there. At approximately 5:30 the surgeon came in, took one look at her and asked us if we were comfortable taking her home. After a few emphatic "yes!"'s they said they would get the discharge paperwork ready. We didn't hear from anyone again for about an hour and a half, but around 7 p.m. we were on our way home, exhausted from the very long day.

We got home and put Scarlette to bed around 10 p.m. (apparently SHE wasn't tired from our very long day) and she slept through the night and woke up happy. She has been a happy, giggly little girl all day, and aside from coughing occasionally isn't acting like anything is wrong. The ENT surgeon did say that she will need her tonsils removed, but they won't even consider doing it for another year because they want her to be much bigger prior to that surgery.

Yesterday I hit 38 weeks in my pregnancy, and today I had my 38 week appointment. They measured my stomach (measuring on track now) and listened to Savannah's heartbeat (strong, high 140's). We scheduled my 39 week appt. (11/3) and if I make it until my due date (11/9). I'm actually hoping to go to my due date because we have a lot of fun busy plans for this week and next and I kinda want Savannah to come after them! Obviously she is welcome to come whenever she wants, but we also want her to stay in there as long as she needs. AND it would be cool to have an 11/11/11 baby to go with my 9/9/09 baby! Hear that Savvy?

36 weeks today!

I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. In just 4 short weeks (approximately), Savannah will be here! It became an exciting reality when we rearranged the nursery yesterday to accomodate TWO cribs! Everything fit in the room really well, and I absolutely love the new layout. Having a second crib in the room has not affected the floor space at all, which is helpful because we do most of Scarlette's therapy in her (now their) room! The only furniture that had to be removed was the glider and ottoman, but we ended up putting that in our room, along with the bassinet because Savannah will probably be in our room for the first few months at the very least. The glider will be very helpful for nursing so it's nice to have it right next to my bed. Now that all the furniture has been moved around and taken out of storage I feel like it's just a countdown until she's here! I have started packing our hospital bags, and prepping all of her diapers (Savvy will be cloth diapered like her big sister, only this time I get to do it from newborn on!) We ordered her a carseat that should be here sometime this week, and we have our double stroller all set to go. As soon as I finish packing my hospital bags and cleaning the kitchen, living room and master bedroom from top to bottom we will be ready! I plan on working on that this week and next, and then doing absolutely nothing for the last two weeks! I have my 36 week appt tomorrow, and after that just one more appt until she's here!

We also have an incredibly busy October, with plans nearly every day! This week we have small group, Mitch has men's group, we are going to the pumpkin patch, dinner with friends on Saturday night, and hopefully going to pick up our new car tomorrow (I SO cannot wait!)!!!!!! Next week I have my women's group, a Stella and Dot Jewelry party, and we are taking Scarlette to see Disney Princesses on Ice, our last special outing as a family of three! The next week is a much quieter week, until Thursday, but then it's a costume party, international chocolate day play group, a Halloween Party and of course Halloween! and then it's NOVEMBER! And only a few days until we get to meet our sweet baby girl!!!!

Scarlette ATE today!!!!

I am so proud of my baby girl! She has been teething like crazy, and as a result chewing on her binky, her shirt and her sleeves, so today I thought I would try a little bit of food. She has been exclusively g-tube fed except for water for at least six months. We had pretty much given up on her taking any baby food by mouth until she gets her adenoids removed, due to breathing constriction. But seeing her chewing on her shirt and knowing she's obviously producing and swallowing a lot of saliva gave me hope that maybe she would tolerate a little bit of baby food. So I grabbed a container of plums/bananas and while she was watching Mickey (her favorite show) I started feeding her. She recoiled at the sensation at first but I think she really enjoyed the taste because she started eating bites off the spoon with relative ease. She wasn't super excited or anything but she wasn't rejecting it. I started with very small amounts and gradually put a little more on the spoon once I saw she wasn't spitting it out or pocketing it in her mouth. She at a 1/3 of the container in one sitting. She may have taken more but I didn't want to push her on her first time. Now we will be trying solids at least 2 times daily and I am so excited for what this means in the future. It would be amazing for her to start taking more by mouth. Please pray for continued success! :0)

Scarlette's Scar 1 month Post-op

I am posting this a little late, but this is what Scarlette's scar looked like one month after her surgery. still pretty red, but nice and smooth for the most part!

My baby girl big girl is TWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe my sweet little girl turns 2 today! So many mixed feelings when I woke up! Obviously, Scarlette doesn't act like a typical two year old in a lot of ways, so some things haven't really changed. But looking back on her pictures from when she was in the NICU, and from her first year, I realized how many things she has learned to do in the last year!

Just a few......

1. Sit unassisted for at least a couple minutes!

2. Say dada

3. Clap

4. Giggle uncontrollably

5. Roll over both ways and easily!

Some other major events that have happened to her in the last year.....

1. She got g-tube/fundoplication surgery

2. She got her first hearing aid

3. She had open heart surgery

4. She got to go to Kentucky for the first time and California for the 3rd and 4th times!

5. She got to go to Disneyland 3x but sadly does not share mommy's love yet!

Today was so lovely, after Mitch got home I ran to the store and got a watermelon for her "cake" and some balloons since she loves balloons. We put a candle in the watermelon and sang Happy Birthday! Then she got to open BEAUTIFUL presents! She really likes her Dance Dance Mickey, although at first she was a little hesitant! We are going to dinner tonight at TGIF's. Even though Scarlette can't eat like we can we want to celebrate her beautiful amazing life, and the fact that we get to share it with her. I love you sweet beautiful princess, MUAH!

BUSY LABOR DAY WEEKEND!

This weekend started off with a bang.....LITERALLY! A semi-truck smashed the side of our Corolla as Mitch was driving to the gas station to fill up our propane tank. The car ended up getting stuck underneath the semi! Three hors later, Mitch was able to drive the car home, fenderless, and with major cosmetic damage. We were able to get a rental car today, and they are estimating the car to be fixed by next Tuesday. The jury is still out on how much total the damage will be, but thankfully Mitch was 100% NOT AT FAULT, so the truck driver's insurance will be picking up the tab!

Our friends from New Hampshire were driving down to spend the weekend with us, and arrived around 4 a.m. on Saturday morning. They have 3 boys, but only brought their youngest son, Sammy, with them. He is just 4 days older than Scarlette! On Saturday, Megan and I went yardsaling and had a total blast! There were so many sales on base and we totally cleaned up. Then later that afternoon we went to a BBQ with our neighbors. I attempted cornhole (and I totally SUCK!) and we ate a ton of food. We played Scrabble that night and the boys totally beat Megan and I (even though we had much better words).

Sunday, we wanted to take them to do fun touristy things, even though it was super hot. We parked near the White House and walked over to the American History museum. We spent a couple hours there, and then walked over to the Washington Monument. They also got to see the White House, but Scarlette and I sat on a bench because touring DC at 30 weeks pregnant takes a lot out of you. We came home and I made dinner, and then at around 7 we left to go back to see the monuments at night. We went to the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Korean War Memorial and the brand new MLK Memorial. We had a great time and enjoyed the somewhat cooler weather.

Monday was Sammy's 2nd birthday and we had a special breakfast in his honor. Then the Barker's were off to New Hampshire and we had a somewhat lazy day of cleaning and vegging. We closed out the weekend with a BBQ at our friends' the McFarland's house and met some awesome new friends. It was a wonderful weekend with lots of food, fun and friends!

Scarlette's Scar 2 weeks post-op

I want to keep track of how SJ's heart surgery scar heals over the next year. We get to start putting vitamin E oil on it tonight, so in 2 weeks and every month thereafter for a year I'm going to be posting updated pics of her scar. Hopefully by this time next year it will be very hard to see!