In just 5 short months.....

On January 18 it will be 5 months ago that Scarlette had her heart surgery. Goodness I remember it like it was just yesterday! I was so terrified, probably more than I have ever been in my entire life. Me and SO many of you cried out to God for healing and the safety of our sweet girl, and that the surgeon's hands would be steady and guided by Him! And her surgery went so well, so AMAZINGLY well, that she was released just 3 days after her surgery. THREE DAYS! (anyone seeing any parallels here? :0) )

Scarlette was 17 lbs 1 oz the day before her surgery. Today she is approximately 21 lbs! That's a gain of 4 lbs in 5 months! She is sitting on her own very easily, although she doesn't know how to get down from sitting other than falling so she can't be left alone while sitting. She is working on kneeling with her physical therapist now, and she has made large strides in occupational therapy as well. She can grasp objects with ease now, hold two objects at one time, transfer objects and bring her hands to midline. NONE of this was being done prior to her heart surgery. She is babbling up a storm, and making tons of new sounds, but still no words!

Here is a picture of her heart surgery scar from yesterday, I think it's healing beautifully :0)

And here's a link to her scar two weeks post-op: http://theskrovefamily.blogspot.com/2011/09/scarlettes-scar-2-weeks-post-op.html

We are just so thankful that God has His hand on our sweet girl, and I am bursting with pride at the accomplishments she has made in the last 5 months! I can't wait to see what she will be doing when she turns 3!

59 days.....

Tomorrow is a big day for me, Savannah will be 59 days old!

It may seem silly to a normal person, but 59 days has special significance to me! Scarlette was 59 days when she was released from the NICU. We got to bring home our first baby girl on Nov 6, 2009, 59 days after she was born. It was so amazing, no machines (except oxygen and her NG tube), no more obnoxious alarms, no nurses, no doctors, just us and our sweet little girl. She was so wonderful, she was so quiet and calm, she was so content to just be with us. She adapted to home life pretty quickly, and although it wasn't very long before her first surgery and another hospital stay (Nov. 26, 2009), it was just wonderful to adapt to some sort of "normal".

That brings me to Savannah. These last 59 days have been amazing. I am in LOVE with my sweet girl. I feel so incredibly blessed that she was born healthy and I got to take her home just 24 hours after she was born. I am proud to say that I haven't taken these days for granted. NOT having Scarlette home with me the first time made me realize how important it is to just be with and take care of my newborn at home. Savvy and I are rarely separated (thanks in LARGE part to my Moby wrap) and I have been so happy just bonding with her!

It does make me kind of sad to think I missed out on that much time with Scarlette, not having her home for 2 months, but I'm so glad she has taught me not to ignore the small things, and to celebrate every accomplishment, big or small!

Here's a picture of Scarlette the day we brought her home from the hospital:

And here's Savvy today!

And here's Scarlette today!

Savannah is 1 month old!

I can't even believe that tomorrow Savvy will be 1 month old! Time really does fly! Both my mom and my mother-in-law were here for a week each during this month, and we got to do so many fun things! I got to take my mom to ICE! at national harbor, and we went shopping at the outlet mall for Christmas presents! We took Mitch's mom on a tour of the Capitol building, as well as our community Christmas party and took the girls to see Santa.

Savvy is SUCH a good baby. She really loves to be held, and I'm perfectly okay with that right now. She is an avid nurser, and wants to eat when SHE wants to eat. She only wakes up once during the night so I actually haven't felt very sleep deprived except for the first week.

I weighed her today (fully clothed) and she weighed 10 lbs 10 oz! That is 2 lbs and 7 oz above birthweight! Having a baby that gains weight is a WHOLE new experience! She has been awake more and more and I have even gotten a few sweet smiles!

Scarlette is also doing very well. She is nwo officially over 20 lbs! She also got her new glasses and her left hearing aid this month. She has not taken well to either of them but we are trying to ease her into them. Her hair is getting so long and she is sitting so well. She is now working on kneeling with her physical therapist. I'm so proud of my big girl! We are also working on eating solid food now. We offer her stage 1 fruits or vegetables at the beginning of her meal times 3-4 times daily and usually we can get a few good bites in. The key is practice practice practice!

Mitch went back to work yesterday and so far I haven't gone crazy! I have been able to maintain a relatively clean house, keep on top of laundry and cook dinner so I consider that a success! The problem is when I want to do anything that requires more time than a few minutes Savannah gets fussy and wants to be held, so nap time is prime time for me to get things done! I still have a few presents to wrap and a couple projects that need to be finished by Saturday, so tomorrow will be busy!

Christmastime is such a busy time for us! We have 3 christmas parties, one birthday party, and 2 dinners already planned! I love it though! I love the decorations, the music, the movies and the time with friends and family! And the shopping! ;0)

Introducing: Savannah Faythe Skrove!

She's here, she's here! Well, she's been here for five days already, but I'm just now finding the time to update the blog. First the essentials:

Savannah Faythe Skrove

born 11/9/11 at 2:55 p.m. at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Bethesda

weight: 8 lbs 3 oz height: 19 3/4"

she has dark blue eyes and peach fuzz for hair

I am so excited to say that I got to go into labor, AND I labored for approximately 7 hours while I was sleeping. It started late on 11/9 I kept waking up from dreams that I was having contractions only to find that I was having sharp stomach pains. Apparently I was so tired I didn't realize I was having ACTUAL contractions. At 5 a.m. I woke up to go to the restroom and felt a very sharp tightness in my stomach that actually lasted. I had been having a few contractions here and there for a week but this felt different. I decided to get up and move around and see if I had another one. When I had the next one I started my contraction timer app on my iPhone (ahh, technology). I tracked about 4 contractions and they were 12 mins apart. At this point Mitch got up and was surprised to see me up and about. I told him that I thought this was it and we started preparing the house, Scarlette's feeds for 2 days, and let the babysitter know. Over the next hour the contractions intensified and increased to every 8 minutes. I then called Labor and Delivery who told me to just go to my 40 week appt unless my contractions got closer together.

At 8 a.m. Mitch and I headed to the hospital. I had about 3 REALLY strong contractions that I had to actually breathe through, but overall I was only mildly uncomfortable and in a really great mood. I was so excited at the prospect of having Savannah that day! We got to the hospital and my contractions completely stopped. I went to OB and got my chart and we checked in to L&D, but I just KNEW they were going to send me home and I was so disappointed. They hooked me up to the monitor and I only had ONE significant contraction the entire time. Then they made sure Savannah looked okay and we got to see her big fat cheeks on the monitor. Next, they were going to check to see if I was dilated, but they had all but told me I was going home so at this point I wasn't even excited anymore. The midwife checked me, and SURPRISE! I was already dilated to a 5 and almost fully effaced, they were admitting me, and FAST!

When we got in to the hospital room, my labor hadn't progressed at all, so they started me on pitocin and gave me an epidural. The epidural was painful (and I later found out not placed correctly). As soon as the pitocin started the contractions started ramping up. At this point it was 1 p.m. They checked me again and I was at 7 cm. This is when they came in to break my water. By 2 p.m. my water was broken and I was in some serious pain, so they came back in to check me and I was at 9 1/2 cm. The anesthesiologist came in to top off my epidural, but all it did was numb my legs and hips, for some reason none of the medicine was going to my mid-section. The nurse checked me again and it was time to go. Let me tell you, I have never felt anything like that in my ENTIRE life. I was screaming so loud I probably scared all the other pregnant ladies on the ward. My contractions were coming one on top of another, so all I could do is push/breathe/push. There was no resting between contractions, I just had to get her out as fast as possible. The nurse and the doctors (there were like fifteen people in the room, teaching hospital) were very encouraging, and Mitch was right beside me talking to me the whole time. I pushed as hard as I could and after ten minutes she was out. I was sobbing, Mitch was laughing because I refused to believe she was out, even after they showed her to me, ya I think I'm a bit dramatic. The pain was gone immediately though, and I was so excited to meet my little Savannah! They cleaned her off a bit and then gave her to me, and of course, it was love at first sight. She doesn't look as much like Scarlette as I thought she would, but she's so adorable. All of us in the room guessed how much she weighed and I got it EXACTLY!

After that we spent some time nursing and just spending time the three of us. She's a good little nurser though breastfeeding has definitely had it's frustrations already and she's so sweet. She just wants to be in mommy's arms all day long. I know I will have to break her of that soon but right now I adore it! We were released from the hospital on Thursday, exactly 24 hours after she was born! I was so excited to see my Scarlette I can't even tell you. We got home after 2 hours in traffic and Squish was so happy to see us. I just wanted to love on both my babies at the same time. So far she has done so well with Savannah and is actually interested in her a little bit. She does NOT like when she cries though. Can't believe my sweet little baby is already 5 days old. I just want to freeze time for awhile!

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)