Assorted Thoughts

Whoops. It has been two weeks since I have updated anything. We're just doing our thing over here ... not too much new to report besides two new teeth (you can see them in the picture).

And that we have begun a countdown (dry erase on the bathroom mirror). Twelve days from tomorrow morning. Not that we are counting.

This cast, like I noticed when she first got it, is very similar to the other, except for the diaper opening. This one is way wider and that makes it really hard for diapers to stay in - even with a bigger diaper (size 3 - had been using size 2 before) and an incontinence pad. All orthopedic surgeons out there - watch the size of that opening! It's a pain for us when the diapers fall out! :)

The other really great thing in Evie-world is that she is just starting to really imitate us. Yesterday morning, I was making her french toast (only with the yolks of the egg, for any concerned readers) and it was too hot to give it to her. After putting it in the fridge and pulling it out, I blew on it. Because that's what you do to cool off hot food. She thought it was funny (but she thinks everything is funny), so she laughs and I hand it to her. She looks at me, takes the piece of french toast in her hand, and tries with all her might to blow on it. Ppp - phhp! She looks up at me and smiles like, Mom, I know what to do.


My word. So I actually - really - am watching what I do around her now. Because she also has a pretty good memory. This morning, with no prompting at all, she blew on her french toast (not that she can actually blow only air out of her mouth ...). 


She is also learning to smile for a camera. This is what I got in response to "Ev! Say cheese!"

She might be smiling so big because cheese is her favorite food these days ....

Hungry

Evie was so fussy all afternoon. It didn't take long to realize that nursing just wasn't enough for her and did not make up for not eating between 3 am and 1 pm. We sat her down in her booster seat and she went crazy (in a good, cute way) - like she was screaming, "Feed me!"

And we did. That girl ate 6 slices of cantaloupe, a slice of cheese, some sweet potatoes and green beans,  about a quarter-pound of turkey meatloaf. Wowzers. I truly don't know how her stomach held it all.

And then she got tired and put her head down on the table. She does this often when she is done eating. It is super cute.

Home

We got home from the hospital about an hour ago. Evie had a rougher time with recovery this time (last time she was unhappy for a moment but calmed down quickly once she got some food in her). Today, she screamed inconsolably until Steve finally rocked her to sleep. She slept for about an hour (such a deep sleep we had the anesthesiologist come check her and make sure she was okay) and then woke up, nursed, and we took her home (finally more content at this point). Now she is sleeping in her crib, and I'm hoping that, like last time, she is back to her normal self quickly.

This cast is pretty much identical to the last one, except her legs are more symmetrical and at a slightly different angle. She is pretty swollen, so it's somewhat challenging to change her diaper. This happened last time and the swelling went down within a day or two. [Medical-friends - what makes her swell? What about the anesthesia does that?]

You can see that the cast is very similar (and that she is really sad).

Mr. Monkey got an ID bracelet too ...

Never slept so soundly in her life.

All in all, we are pretty pleased with today! We were praying that the outcome would be good, and this is as good as can be, according to the doctor. I am about to call the orthopaedic office to make an appointment to get the cast off - I'm excited to have that on the calendar!

UPDATE: Cast is coming off on Wednesday, July 13 at 8 am. Wooo!

Four weeks!

And today begins the real countdown ... Four weeks left in the cast! The doctor said that her hip looks great ... It is as good as he could have expected. She will have this cast until July 14 (happy birthday to my dad!), and after that his expectation is that she will be all done. There is a chance that she wears a brace at night, but they will do an x-ray when she gets the cast off (in the doctor's office, not at the hospital) and see how things look. She is being taken to recovery now and we will see her soon.

A pink cast

They just called from the OR to ask what color cast we want. Yes, pink again. We assume this means they were able to get the hip in with no problem and are casting her now.

It's a little later than we anticipated (her surgery just got started but was scheduled for an hour and a half ago) - and she was not a happy camper for the extra 90 minutes we were in pre-op. Sweet thing was so hungry and tired. But fortunately she enjoyed waltzing with Dad and that cheered her up a little while we were hanging out in the playroom.

While there, we had a pretty awkward conversation with a chaplain and her sidekick (who, also awkwardly, just sat and listened to us talk). They prayed for Ev, which was sweet - and called her Emily. Haha.

Waiting. She looks scared!

Waiting :)

We are checked in and waiting to be called back in for prep. Just like last time, we have been surprised by Evie's resilience in dealing with her hunger! She has enjoyed looking at the fish and playing with dad and grandma so far this morning!

Almost Ready

I am sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast while Steve & his mom are outside with Ev (trying, so far successfully, to distract her from her from hunger). Her last time to eat was 3 am last night. I picked her up at 2:40 to nurse her - and she wasn't hungry. At all. So we did the best we could, and then she woke up at 7:15 this morning (very hungry, but too late for a cup of pedialyte).

We'll leave for the hospital in 15 or 20 minutes - I will update from there how her surgery is going! Thank you for praying for her :)

Surgery: Almost-plans and Actual-plans

We got a call this morning from Evie's surgeon's office. It was the surgery scheduler. She tells Steve that Evie's surgery on Thursday is scheduled. For 2 pm. So she launches into the "She can't have any food or breastmilk after  7 am, no clear liquids after 11 ..."

It took us a second to really understand what she was saying.

"You mean the surgery's not in the morning?"

"You mean she can't eat all day? She's only 8 months old. Not sure we can do that."

"Um, are you sure there is not any other way, because this is not acceptable. We're going to have to figure something else out."

Fortunately, this lady is about one of the nicest people ever so she called back about 20 minutes later to let us know that she talked to the hospital and they were able to get an OR open at 10 am. So now it's just no eating after 3 am. Not quite as bad (let's be clear - not as good as just not eating between midnight and her surgery time of 7:30, like the last time), but that's the time - surgery at 10 am. 46 hours and counting!

A Safari of Our Own

My dad and brother just finished a week plus in South Africa  hunting wild game. We're not hunting these animals (obviously) but we wanted to take advantage of the cool weather (in the 70s!) and visit Henry's Ark, a local petting zoo.

My brother will come home with a zebra rug - we came home with some pictures and some animal poo on our shoes (oops).

Oo! Animals!

"Our" zebra :)

I thought this guy was going to bite her hand off.

Oh she wanted so badly to touch the llama. Not on my watch.

By the end she was looking a little tired.

Rolling!

Evie has always been a squirmy kid - even before she was born. The first time the doctor tried to find her heartbeat, at 12 weeks, she couldn't find it and sent us back to get an ultrasound. And there was our baby, just doing summersaults, flipping back and forth. She kicked like crazy for a lot of my pregnancy ... and so when she was born and was a feisty little thing, we weren't surprised at all. This is one of things that made getting the cast so hard for us! How would she react to not being able to move a lot?

We quickly found out there was nothing to worry about. Her arms and upper body are still as active as ever, and are becoming more and more coordinated every day. Her feet have come to be affectionately called "helicopter feet" - she just spins them around and around. She even will do sit-ups when she is lying on her back.

Of course, though, the cast does inherently limit quite a bit of her mobility, especially since it goes down to her ankles (well, almost. Her legs seem to have gotten quite a bit longer since getting the cast on). It is hard for us to see other kids her age sitting up, scooting around, crawling - knowing that she would love to be doing those things herself! So when she rolled over yesterday (twice!) I was super excited for her (as you can tell in the video). She is also doing this thing where she sort of lifts her cast up off the ground like she wants to scoot around in it. When she gets the cast off for good, I can't wait to see her take off!

(Side note: It was Wednesday that this video was taken/post was written. On Thursday and Friday, she rolled over no less than 25 times each day. Totally incredible!)

Thankful

I have been feeling really thankful lately. There are so many things that I could list here, but here are a handful that come to mind ...

1. Stevie (my sweet husband). He is constantly loving me & Evie so well. He takes great care of her. The big news in the "Daddy" department is that Ev has started saying da-da-da-dy. It is the greatest thing ever.

2. Reuniting with friends! What a treat it was to have so much time to spend with friends from near and far (Birmingham, Philadelphia, and Romania!). We haven't seen most of these friends since before Ev was born (and Steve & I had yet to meet two of the six kids we saw), so it was just special to get a chance to visit. We are thankful for these friendships that have persisted despite many miles between us and months & years between seeing each other. It was refreshing to have long conversations and spend leisurely time with friends on this trip.

Evie and Brynn are less than a week apart

Zeke in Spring 2008

Three years makes a kid grow up fast! 

Victor & Ava in Spring 2004

Whoops! No pic of Victor! Ava & Tim last week!

Frerichs, Deaton, and McLean kids

3. Traditions. We have spent each Memorial Day since 2007 at the Jersey shore with the McLeans. What a treat it always is to gather and be with our family there. Of course it was a special treat to have Evie there with us (last year we had just found out that we would be having a girl!), but somewhat bittersweet, as ever since we knew she was coming into our family, we imagined her sitting & playing in the sand for hours on this trip. As things turned out, she just loved watching the water and riding in the boat - and being held by grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-grandparents ... probably the best part for her! She had a grand ol' time. We are thankful for family that love her so much!

4. Time flying by. It is hard to believe that it was only a month ago that she was in surgery and got this cast on. In many ways it seems like this is such a normal part of our lives now and it is almost hard to remember what it was like to hold her before (every time I hold another baby it just feels ... weird). But it has gone quickly!  Only 11 days until the new cast gets on, and then somewhere between 2-6 weeks in the new cast (pray with us for less than four weeks!). We are so thankful for the timing of all of this - it is early enough that she isn't miserable at being immobilized, but late enough that she can hold herself up in the cast & be in different positions comfortably. And also that at the end of this, Lord willing, she will be 100% and ready to crawl and walk just like every other kid!