Hospital Photos

Here is our journey in pictures . . .
On Wednesday morning I was really worried about

keeping her NPO until her surgery. I woke her up at
0400 to feed her one last bottle. (Fortunately I have

stored breast milk for 3 months just for this occasion!)
Her last formula feeding would have been at midnight.

Big difference!
Anyways, after her bottle at 0400, I kept her up until we
left for the hospital at 0545. She just thought it was morning!
She fell asleep immediately in her car seat, and didn't
wake until 0730, when we woke her for her pre-op vitals.

She was a happy camper up until the moment they
took her away. She even went willingly with the anesthesiologist!

Here she is playing before surgery . . .

But, alas, all good things must come to an end

Post-op she was NOT a happy camper (imagine that).

She was in lots of pain, and she had blood coming

from her mouth and her ears. The nurses had us start

trying to offer her pedialyte immediately.

Little did we know it would be days until she

would take her bottle.

Here she is post-op. Oh so sad . . .

I want to cry just looking at her.

By Friday she was looking better,

and more importantly, feeling better.

But she was really swollen.

Her little cheeks and eyes were so puffy.

She took A LOT of naps in our arms at the hospital.

In fact, she didn't sleep by herself in bed

until Friday afternoon.

We got an adult hospital bed in place of her crib

when we realized she wasn't going to sleep

without being held. This worked well for all of us

because it allowed both Kent and I to stay with her.

He slept on the parent roll out bed and I

slept in the hospital bed with her.

Despite the circumstances, it was actually

kind of nice to snuggle her all night.

We were offering her bottles constantly,

but she still wasn't taking ANYTHING!

Here she is sleeping with the bottle.

We were hoping she would become one with

her bottle and start eating!

As you can see, she started feeling a lot better by Friday,

and she was ready to play!

We took her to the playroom several times.

She had a blast, and even made a friend.

I couldn't resist posting this picture . . .

She looks so cute with this ornery face!

It's like she is just fed up with that toy.

She is going to give a great crusty when she's a teen . . .

On Friday night she started letting us

dribble milk into her mouth with a straw.

She ate several ounces that way!

I think it was Adrienne's mojo that turned

the tides. She visited us on Friday night,

and it was like magic.

And, finally, on Saturday, her first bottle!

That afternoon our favorite nurse,

Tammy, got to walk us out!

Taylee is just lounging in
her wagon. Taking it all in.

So, as a little post-script I would like to say something

about our IMSU (infant unit) nurses.

I was warned by many co-workers that we wouldn't

get good care from them. Most of our nurses don't

want our patients to go to IMSU because they

think the nurses there are less than stellar.

I would like to dispute this rumor.

I know that Taylee wasn't exactly a critical patient,

but we were pretty needy at times, especially

for the first 24 hours.

Our nurses were amazing. I loved every single

one of them. They were attentive, thorough,

kind, and loving.

Outside of the fact that my baby had to

have surgery, and go through lots of pain,

our stay was great. There were even

lots of good times. Thanks PCMC and IMSU!

Home (mostly) sweet home!

Yes, we did indeed make it home last night. We left the hospital just before 5. It's strange seeing my normally overactive baby so sleepy. She woke from her nap in the hospital at 3:30, and was asleep again in the car by 5. So unlike her. Tylenol with Codeine is our friend!! Anyways, we are limping along. She is eating, but not that well. Averaging 2-3 oz per feeding, with a little rice cereal on the side. We are pushing fluids big time, and she seems to be hanging in there. I wish she would eat more, but since she's had good pee-pees, we are satisfied. We did feed her during the night last night, and gave her pain meds. Guess we might have to redo sleep training all over again when this adventure is through. Thanks for all your love and support!

Day 3 - More Progress!

Home Sweet Home! That's what we will be saying later today (hopefully). She actually drank, under her own power, 4 oz. Yay Taylee Bugs! We are waiting for her to wake from her nap, then we will feed her one more bottle to make sure it wasn't just luck, and off we go!

Day 3 - Progress!

We have gotten some food into the baby girl!! Whoo Hoo! No, she still won't take her bottle. But she will let us dribble milk out of a straw into her mouth, and sometimes will take it dribbled from a syringe. She took 3 ounces last night, and about 2 1/2 oz this morning! It makes for some long slow feedings, but at least it's a feeding. So, depending on how the rest of the day goes, we might be going home this afternoon! Yay! As much fun as it has been visiting with all the staff here at PCMC, we are ready to hit the road! We'll let you know. Keep those positive vibes coming!

Update Day 2

We are still here, but doing well. She seems to be feeling pretty good, and slept well last night. This allowed Kent and I to get some good sleep, so we are a happier bunch today. Unfortunately she still isn't eating a thing. We are just offering her bottles continuously throughout the day, and she seems to be warming to the idea. We had been trying to squeeze milk into her mouth with a special cleft palate bottle, so she wouldn't have to suck. I guess she doesn't want to swallow either. She would just get MAD about it. So, we are focusing on allowing her to set the pace and make her bottle a positive thing. I guess we'll see . . .

Update

Taylee's pain is finally under control! Yay! However, she STILL won't eat. Not a drop. She sees her bottle and gets excited, then as soon as the milk hits her mouth, No Go. The nurses just stopped her IV fluids, hoping that letting her dry up a bit will encourage her to drink. I am not sure what I think about this program, because my nurse instincts tell me she needs fluids. Plus, she is really swollen, and I know that the only way to get swelling off is to put fluids in so she continues to pee it off. So, we will see what happens. Otherwise, all is well with us here at PCMC. She has had great nurses throughout her stay, and is now only fussy some of the time. We even saw a couple smiles this morning ;) It's fabulous to see my baby acting like herself a bit more. Now, we just need her to eat. Please pray for her to heal quickly.

Surgery

Taylee had surgery this morning. The procedure took about 2 hours, and she was in Post-anesthesia by about 10:30. She did well in surgery, but has had lots of pain since she woke up. We are trying to get on top of it with alternating Morphine and Tylenol with Codeine. I think we are making progress, as she will now sleep comfortably for 20-30 minute stretches when held. We are soo glad she made it safely through her surgery, and are hoping that she starts to heal and feel better quickly. Thanks for all the kind thoughts and prayers. Pictures to come when we get home. They anticipate that we will be here in PCMC for about 2 days. She needs to eat well to go home, but her mouth seems to be bothering her too much to eat at all yet.

5 Years!

May 21st was our Five year anniversary! We had a great weekend celebrating. On our "versary" as Kent and I call it (this stems from the foreign waiters on our honeymoon cruise serenading other passengers with a "Happy Versary To You" tune. Yes, we were treated to a Happy Honeymoon serenade as well!), Kent brought me a dozen roses. Oh what a guy!

Apparently I was SHOCKED by these flowers!

We dined at Olive Garden, which was sooo peaceful, cuz Taylee slept through it! We used to dine out a lot, but since the arrival of our little sweets it has been a little harder to do. We thoroughly enjoyed this dinner. Mmmm!

Saturday my mom came over to stay with Taylee, we dropped Skyler off at his mom's house, and Kent and I headed to Park City and the outlet mall. We both got a few new things, but I must say I got spoiled! Kent insisted that we were shopping for my birthday (which came and went when Taylee was 8 days old - shopping wasn't high on the priority list then!) But I'm not so sure I should have been quite so spoiled. And a husband who tolerates 3 hours at the outlet mall?! Whoa! I also picked up several cute new items for Taylee.

We headed down to SLC after shopping, and we encountered SNOW in Parley's Canyon. Jeez, isn't it supposed to be May?! We checked into our suite at the Anniversary Inn when we got into town. I booked "Romeo's Retreat" to celebrate. Yes, we go ALL out for our anniversaries. It has been a priority in our relationship to make each other feel special for birthdays and anniversaries. It's too easy to get wrapped up in the day to day stuff. I'm so glad we are able to do such fun things. Anyways, our room was amazing. We had dinner at PF Chang's (I know, 2 dinners in 2 nights!), and it was DELICIOUS, as always. We tried a new dish - the pepper steak - and true to it's name it is SPICY! Next time we plan to order it MILD. And of course we had our old standby Chang's Spicy Chicken, and those nummy lettuce wraps.

We got to SLEEP IN on Sunday morning, and enjoyed our breakfast in bed. We headed home to get the kids at about 10:30. It was a fabulous weekend getaway!

Random Ramblings

Ok, fair warning - this is a 4 am night shift post. Sorry. So, this weekend was our anniversary - also our FIRST night away from the baby girl. Eeeek! I should know better. She has either developed a cold or allergies or some stress-induced illness?! Yes, that's right, surgery is 2 days away and she appears to be sick. Crap! Well, here's hoping it's only allergies. I REALLY do not want to reschedule. For anybody who knows me well, change is not my strong point. I have been planning on May 26th for months now, so that's what I'm hoping for. Obviously, I will be watching her closely, and if I think that she DOES indeed have a cold, we'll reschedule. It's all about the baby girl, and we will do anything we can to make sure all goes well.

So, later today (after I've slept!), I will post some photos from our anniversary date, and talk about all the FUN we had! But while I'm griping, let me just mention, Taylee got up every hour for my mom, and was up for good at 0530 am. Sorry mom. They did have a great day together though.

Also, does anybody know if they make baby dentures? Taylee is ten months old now, and shows NO signs of ANY teeth. I am going to ask her surgeon if he can do tooth implants while he's working in there.

By the way, Taylee got up A LOT for my mom, which was mean, but the 0530 wake-up call wasn't uncommon for her lately. We have been starting our days between 0530 and 0600 a lot lately. So, now she sleeps through the night, but we are up BEFORE the roosters. Any advice? Anyone?

Family Photos

We had family photos taken this weekend. It's sure an adventure trying to get good shots with a 10 month old! We had lots of fun. This would also be a great time to announce that Skyler cut his hair!! I know that the shaggy look is popular these days, but Kent and I just weren't digging it. We like his faux-hawk MUCH better! Enjoy -

Two Weeks

Taylee's surgery is two weeks from today. She is having her cleft palate repaired and tubes in her ears. I wrote a novel of a post about my feelings, but I have decided not to post it because, frankly, I was annoying. I see babies go through major surgeries every day, and parents who handle it with strength and grace. MY baby is having a minor procedure, and I want to handle it with just as much ease. Let me just say that I am excited to have it done, and terrified about having it done. And please, please, let everything go well.

Hallie

Recently my sweet Hallie went to Cincinatti to undergo some extensive testing on her bowels and to formulate a long-term plan. If you are interested, her amazingly strong mama has posted an update at http://www.helpinghallie.com/updates.htm. And, you can always link to her website on the right side of my blog (helpinghallie.com).

Mothers Day

I am so lucky to have LOTS of moms in my life. Growing up I was always really close to my mom's sisters, Aunt Ginger and Aunt Tota. When we lived in Colorado I saw them all the time, and although I don't get to see them nearly as much, they are still like my own little personal support system. I wish I COULD see them more. Maybe now that the baby girl is getting more mobile we can get out there a little more.
And, of course, I gained a new mom when I married Kent. (well, probably several years before we actually got married!) Karen has treated me like a member of her family since the very beginning. And that's tough to do, since I was only 19 when I started dating Kent! Plus, she had to accept me not only as a new daughter, but also as a new mommy for her grandson. I am so glad to call her mom.
And last but certainly not least, is my mom. My mom and I have always been very close. Yeah, we had a few rough patches when I was a rowdy teenager, but for the most part we have always been best friends. I didn't realize that we could get even closer until I had Taylee. Now that we share mommyhood, our bond is that much stronger. Plus, we get to share the joy of my little sweets! I call my mom every morning with an update. Plus, it seems like we talk another 5-6 times a day still. It is so nice to have a mom that you can rely on, and talk to, and LOVE so much!
I am one lucky mommy to have such great women to look up to! Thank you!! We celebrated mother's day with a visit with Kent's mom, and enjoyed the opportunity to try one of her yummy desserts. She is always trying out new dessert recipes on us. And I LOVE it! Then we met my parents for dinner at Chili's. We had a good time, although Taylee was a little tired and therefore a little wild. I was worried we were headed for a major meltdown. We made it through dinner just in the nick of time. But the best part of the day?! I got to sleep in! It was a little slice of heaven. But, I will admit, I did kinda miss snuggling my girl while she ate her morning bottle. It's often the only time she sits still all day! She keeps her mommy and daddy moving!

MORE Birthday Fun!

Last Saturday we culminated Kent's Birthday Celebration with dinner at Tepanyaki's. We had a great time. Kent, myself, my mom, dad, and Taylee all went. Skyler was at his mom's on Saturday, and missed out on the fun. But, really, he is such a picky eater that he wouldn't eat anything at Tepanyaki's anyways. We're still hoping someday he will grow out of it . . .

Taylee ate some of Grandma's soup, and tried really hard to eat her chopsticks. I'm excited to someday feed her REAL food, but so far her gag reflex kicks in if we feed her anything other than mush. Maybe when her palate is closed it will be better? Or maybe she will just grow out of it? So for now, it's just baby food for Taylee.

Angel Baby?

I have been thinking about putting Taylee's hair into piggytails. Last night during her bath I was experimenting with how it would look. I'm not sure I got a feeling for pigtails, but I was surprised to find that her hair very easily formed into a pair of devilish horns! Maybe her true nature is revealing itself? You know, there was a time when Kent and I called her our demon baby! (Lovingly, of course ;) Angel or Demon, she is a cutie!

Christmas 2009

We had a great Christmas last year. Obviously, it was Taylee's first Christmas, which is definitely exciting. (For us, if not for her). I did have to work Christmas Eve night, but it's not TOO bad. (as far as working Christmas goes). I just have to survive on little to no sleep, that's all. But with all the festivities, it's not hard. While I was at work on Christmas Eve, Kent, Skyler, and Taylee partied at Grandma Judson's. This dinner was a tradition of Melba's, and we are so glad that Grandma Judson is keeping it alive by hosting every year. (even if I do have to miss it every other year!)

When I came home Christmas morning I got a couple hours of sleep, then we headed up to my parents house. This year Skyler was at his mom's house overnight. We opened gifts and pored over every item in our stockings. This is a favorite family tradition. Our stockings are stuffed full, as well as a couple shopping bags for each person. Recently my mom decided that we should get USEFUL items in our stocking. So, now we get things like toothpaste, dish soap, and toilet paper. Sound kinda boring? Not for us, because we are weird! We Love it! Plus, there are always a few fun things thrown in as well, and plenty of candy! Kent has even been known to find a holiday 6 pack in his stocking. Lucky Dog!

In the early afternoon we picked Skyler up and headed back to Grandma and Grandpa Judson's for MORE gifts and festivities. Skyler got some new Broncos gear, and Taylee got this soft and cozy blanket grandma made for her. And that was only the beginning. Lucky kids!

We ended the day back at our house, where we still had all of our gifts to open. Grandma Deb and Grandpa Dave came to see Taylee open her first Christmas gifts. Skyler got new clothes, lots of video games, and a PS3! We had a great holiday!!

And it looks like all the excitement was just too much for the baby girl . . .