Eden at EuroPeds!

Eden did two weeks of intensive physical therapy at EuroPeds in Pontiac, MI, at the end of February. The timing worked out nicely because we all had the last week of Feb off for winter break, so she only ended up missing 4 days of school. We were supposed to go 5 days a week, 4 hours a day for two weeks, but had to miss the very first day because of a snow storm that dumped 10 inches of snow on us.

It was a serious break from our usual routine because I had to wake Eden up at the crack of dawn to feed her and get her out the door in time for an hour drive, and we had to be there at 9am. It was a sneak peak of what life might be like next year when the girls are in school full-time and have to leave at 8am every day (YIKES!). But we did it, and I was pretty proud of myself for getting her there on time...for the most part.

Overall I was very impressed with the program and the therapist that Eden worked with. She pushed her to work really hard, while still keeping her motivated and (mostly) happy. And Eden did work hard. She was doing one legged squats with weights on her legs. It was intense. I am sure if I did half of what she did I wouldn't be able to move the next day, but she is tougher than most of us and really didn't seem sore or over-tired at all. She also ate GREAT....like I have never seen her eat before.

It seemed a lot like she was an athlete with a personal trainer for the time we were there, and she made some nice gains in her overall strength and stability. I think she enjoyed it and felt a sense of personal accomplishment when it was finished. We are already looking forward to going back, but probably not until the same time next year when insurance will cover it again. In the meantime, we will continue with our once a week private PT at home, along with therapeutic riding (we started a new program in March) once a week, and hippotherapy once a week. We are also planning to attend another 4-week conductive education camp this summer.

Should be plenty to keep us busy.

Wordless Wednesday

Flu Bug

Holland is sick right now with our first case of Influenza. The FLU. It's one of those things, like RSV, that strikes fear in the heart of every micropreemie parent. She has had a flu shot every fall since she came home from the NICU, with 2 extra shots last year to help protect her from H1N1. Unfortunately, the shot can't protect us from every flu bug out there, so here we are.

She had a low-grade fever on Friday night, but it came right down with Motrin and didn't return on Saturday. I actually took her in to after-hours care, thinking I should make sure it wasn't another case of strep (we had that a couple of weeks ago), but it was so crowded with sickos that we ended up leaving without touching anything and without being seen. She was okay that night, and on Sunday during the day, with the exception of a really runny nose. On Sunday night the fever returned and she began to feel really, really crummy. I took her to the pediatrician on Monday morning and they diagnosed influenza. We have been managing okay during the day with Motrin, fluids, and lots of television, ipad, and video games.

Night time has been a lot more difficult. For three nights in a row she was up at least once an hour crying, moaning, and generally feeling miserable. She could not breathe through her nose, was coughing, and had all over aches and pains. She complains about a tummy ache and a yucky dry mouth and lips. A few times she actually called out, "Somebody help me!" :-( Last night, night 4, was the first that she (and I) got longer than an hour stretch of sleep at a time. She actually slept pretty good from 2am until 8am. So far today her fever has not returned and I am hopeful that we have turned a corner.

Through it all her lungs have seemed to remain remarkably clear, and at both checks at the doctor's office she was satting 99-100. Happy, happy, joy, joy. I will take 3 miserable night at home with clear lungs over ANY nights in the hospital on oxygen. So, today we remain over one year hospital-free, and it looks like we might have kicked the flu bug's butt at home. (I hope I am not speaking too soon...)

Holland will be out of school this whole week, and missed her kindergarten Valentine's Day party. Eden is amazingly still healthy. I am crossing all of my crossables that she will STAY that way and not catch this, because she is supposed to start 2 weeks of intensive physical therapy at EuroPeds on Monday. Her getting sick now will be a major setback in so many ways... We are so ready for spring!

Snow-Body like Us!

The State of Affairs

Happy New Year!!

Life is a crazy whirlwind around here, as usual, and I have not been able to find a whole lot of time for blogging. We had a great holiday despite the fact that at least one person in my household has been sick since Thanksgiving. It seems that Eden and I bore the brunt of it starting with congestion and coughs...the kind of cough that once it starts you can't stop coughing, so much that you start sweating and tears start flowing and you think you might hurl, but you don't. I had that kind of cough on Christmas day. In the midst of that we had a bout of stomach cramping and yuck-poo that lasted for at least a week and made the rounds through each member of the household. Then, just when we thought we were back on track we had another round of fevers and congestion for the New Year. John made it through the entire holiday relatively unscathed, but is in bed today with a nasty stomachache that appears to be something entirely different. I hope this is not an indication of how our entire winter is going to go because I am feeling pretty much done with being sick!

On the bright side (this is me, ever the optimist), WE MADE IT THROUGH THE ENTIRE YEAR OF 2010 WITH NO HOSPITAL STAYS!!!!!!!!!!!! Isn't that so great, amazing, and splendid??? Also worth
mentioning is the fact that in February Eden will be TWO YEARS hospital-free. It is clearly not that we haven't been sick. It is just that the girls are developing new, undamaged lung tissue and gaining trunk strength and control making it easier for them to cough and clear their lungs and maintain their oxygen saturation and not develop pneumonia. This makes me so happy.

2010 was a great year for us in other ways as well. These are some of our major accomplishments and experiences for the year (in no particular order):

* Eden learned to use the potty and is 100% pull-up free during the day.
* Holland learned to stay dry through the night.
* The girls started regular kindergarten in our neighborhood school.
* We moved to another city for 4 weeks so Eden could do conductive education.
* We went to an amusement park and the girls rode rides for the first time.
* We went camping.
* I fractured my rib after falling off my bike (ouch).
* We went to the beach more than once.
* Holland learned to swim independently wearing a life vest.
* Eden got a bike and learned to ride it.
* We made numerous home improvements and put our house on the market.
* Holland and Eden learned a ton. Both girls have started to read, and Eden's reading has especially skyrocketed. I bet she is at nearly a late-first grade level in both word reading and comprehension. This really makes my heart swell, because I love to read and I know how many doors a good book can open for anyone, but especially a kid who has physical limitations. You can go anywhere in a book!

All in all, 2010 was a great year for us. I was sad to see it go, and will remember it fondly.

There were, however, some major things I would have liked to see happen that didn't...mostly related to feeding and growth. We haven't made much progress at all on either front. Each girl grew 2 inches, putting H at 43 inches and E at 42. Eden gained a pound and a half, putting her at 31.5 pounds. Holland didn't gain any weight. Zero. She is still pushing 32 pounds.

I also would have liked to see Eden doing some independent standing, but maybe that was too lofty a goal. She is able to bear more weight on her legs while holding onto something, but progress is really slow in this department.


Maybe 2011 will be our year for physical growth - gain some weight and work toward Eden's independent standing. Those will be my goals for the New Year, along with selling our house and moving into a new one, and doing a couple more sessions of conductive ed (we are looking at going back in February and again for summer camp). Also, we will start looking into a bilateral cochlear implant. I think a second implant is the way to go and would really help Eden at school and in her future music career (lol), but I am so anxious about pulling the trigger in terms of another major surgery. So, I still have a lot of thought and research to put into it, but if we are going to do it I think this is the year.

That should keep us busy!

How about you? Got any plans?

Visit with the Big Man

Holland asked Santa for Jessie and Woody from Toy Story 3. Eden asked for the Magic Rise Oven to use in her pink cupcake making factory. I bet they will get what they wish for. They have been really good girls this year!

And the Winner Is.....

Thank you all so much for sharing your holiday traditions. I read them to the girls and they really enjoyed hearing about how different families celebrate:-)

So crazy that the very first commenter was the winner! Congratulations Stacy! I hope you enjoy your jewelry as much as I do. Lisa will be in contact with you with details on how to redeem your gift certificate.

And to everyone else...don't forget that you can still use the code preemie15 to get 15% of your jewelry order at Lisa Leonard Designs.

Here is a photo of the finished product (our tree), as well as some of Holland and Eden with their new ornaments from Bronner's (another one of our favorite traditions).

Holiday Spirit and a Giveaway!!

Holland and Eden helped me put up our Christmas tree tonight. Holland was especially interested and helpful this year. She is usually the kid who loses interest in a project pretty quickly, so I was pleasantly surprised that she stuck with me until the last ornament was unwrapped and on the tree. It was very sweet. I must admit however, that it was a bit of a trial for me. I am kinda what you might call...hmmm...a perfectionist?..about the tree. I like everything a certain way and I generally methodically put it up according to my own agenda. John gave up on helping me a long time ago because...I guess, maybe...I can be a little controlling when it comes to the tree. So it was tough for me to relinquish my control and just enjoy letting the girls help. But I did it! I let them help and I didn't freak out. I might move one or two (or several) ornaments (that ended up piled on two branches of the tree) while they are asleep, but I am pretty happy with myself for not getting all stressed and anxious about it! I still have a couple of finishing touches to put on the tree this weekend, but overall I am quite relieved to have it mostly done with. Now for the outside lights...

The girls were pretty healthy over the Thanksgiving holiday and we had a nice weekend spending time with both sides of the family. We both feel very lucky to have such lovely families who adore our kids so much and shower them with love. Holland and Eden enjoy nothing more than spending time with their cousins - they like their aunts and uncles too, but nothing compares to cousins! Last Friday we spent the day at my parents' house doing our annual tradition of stringing popcorn and cranberries for our Christmas trees.

I have had a little bit of trouble this year getting into the holiday spirit. I have that familiar feeling of being overwhelmed by life's usual demands, then pile on all of the extras like family parties, a dish to pass, putting up the tree, decorating the house, and SHOPPING (which I haven't even begun), and it can get to be a little much. But, now the tree is up and I am headed to Bronners on Sunday with my sisters for our annual trip, which will also include dinner at Zhender's and a couple of stops at the outlet mall on our way home. I am sure to be feeling the Holiday Spirit in full force any day now.

I did get an early Christmas gift that has me feeling all warm and fuzzy. I love, love, love my new daisy chain bracelet from Lisa Leonard! When I saw this bracelet on her blog I knew I had to have it. Daisies are my very favorite, and in a way I consider them my "signature" flower. As a bonus, the bracelet is personalized with Holland and Eden's names and I have been wearing it pretty much every day since I got it. Lisa makes such beautiful jewelry. I have a couple of necklaces that I also wear often and I continue to get compliments on them ALL the time. With the holidays coming up, it's the perfect time to get yourself (or pass along a hint to your special someone) a new piece of Lisa's jewelry. She has graciously offered to give my blog readers 15% off their entire order if they use the code preemie15. In addition to that one of my lucky blog readers can win a $50 gift certificate from Lisa Leonard! For details on how to enter your name in the drawing...read on.

I really love, and have always loved, holiday traditions...even when it takes me some time to get in the mood. For me, the holidays are even sweeter now that I have a couple of little munchkins to share them with. I can snap myself out of the funkiest of moods just by thinking about life from their perspective. They continually teach me about appreciating the small things in life and they help me to enjoy the magic and beauty of every season.

To enter your name in a drawing for a $50 gift certificate to Lisa Leonard Designs, please leave a comment on this post. To have your name entered twice, tell me about your favorite holiday tradition, or if you aren't quite feeling the holiday spirit, tell me what lessons the little people in your life teach you. Be sure to leave your name and an email address where you can be reached if you win! I will close the comments at the end of the day on Wednesday and all names will be entered into a hat (or maybe a bowl). I will let Holland and/or Eden draw one name and will announce the winner by next Friday, Dec 10th! That will give the winner time to place an order before xmas:-)