Be gone Cross Eyes (Strabismus), Be GONE!

Thanks SO much for your thoughts and prayers for Beckett. Beckett had his eye surgery yesterday. So far, so good as far as recovery. Dr. Packwood said everything went perfect, according to plan/expectations. It was a textbook case of strabismus surgery. He didn't have any troubles with anesthesia, and actually woke up really well - alert, active and hungry! He downed 12 oz. of pedialyte right after he got back from the PACU. We had to cut him off for fear that he would throw it all up. He had a bit of a barky cough due to the irritation of the airway from the intubation, but an Albuterol treatment helped, and we were sent home! Last night he slept OK. Restless, on me in a recliner half of the night. But that's to be expected. He gets frustrated when he tries to turn over in the crib with his no-no's (arm restraints) on. I got him to take a nap this morning in his own crib, and he's been so happy ever since. He resumed his normal diet last evening, and has really just been a champion with recovery. He's learning to master crawling with the no-no's, and looks like a zombie when he walks. His eyes are bloody in the interior where the surgery incisions were, but his bloody tears are already lessening. So that's a good sign. I can give him breaks from the no-no's as long as we are right there to watch and make sure he doesn't rub his eyes. He'll have to sleep with them on for a week until our post-op follow up appointment. His eyes will kind of be all over the place now, as he adjusts to the new measurements. We might be able to tell at a week if it's going to have been a success, but won't really be conclusive until about 3 months post surgery.

Here are pics from this morning. His eyes already look a little better than yesterday.

 

Here's a little info on the Strabismus Surgery. Sorry it's a picture, but I that's all I got for time.Click on the pic, and it will make it bigger so you can read it!

QUINNcidence: March 12

 

http://ohmydearone.blogspot.com/2013/03/celebrate-quinncide

QUINNcidence on the news

Happy Birthday, Quinn! This story is for you, sweet girl!
So I head to Cook Children's this morning with Beckett in tow for his eye surgery pre-op appointment. On the way, I am thinking, and praying for Alison and Tim, and wondering what random act of kindness I am going to do today in Quinn's honor. I think to myself, ok, there is a Starbucks right by the hospital, I'll just pay for someone's coffee behind me. So turn into the wrong driveway (yes, Casi Faulk the same wrong driveway when I was with you!), and get frustrated. I now would have to back up, cross lots of traffic to get back around. So I chose the less stress option of giving up.

So we go through our appointment, and they give us the go ahead with eye surgery tomorrow. 7:15 am. Second case. The nurses reminds me to make sure I have everything for recovery. I remembered I didn't have any motrin on hand, so decided to take Beckett in the mancave (what I call my travel stroller, carseat combo the rare times I have him out in "public" with me) to Target on Montgomery Plaza since it's near the hospital.

I get the motrin, look for a new sippy cup, and head to the baby section to find sunglasses for Beckett and the ride home tomorrow. He will have "no-nos" on so they will actually stay on. As I'm there, I overhear a couple talking to each other about where they think preemie clothes are. And of course, my preemie mama radar goes off, and I just have to say something. :)

I ask them if they have a preemie in their family, and she says yes. As of today. Their daughter just delivered a baby boy, at 32 weeks gestation. I quickly opened the man cave to show off miracle Beckett. (Which for all of you that know me KNEW this had to be a God thing because I never open the mancave in public) I shared how he was a preemie too. And they were so thankful for hearing the news of hope. Their sweet grandson weighed 4 lbs. 3 oz. TODAY at birth, and they wanted to get him some clothes. So I lead them to where I had just literally seen some preemie clothes. I pick some off the rack, and say, OH, the NICU nurses will love this...it has velcro which is nice when the baby is hooked up to all those wires. They both were so thankful, and agreed that I would know if anyone. :) We all picked out one we thought was cute! (was really hoping for one with airplanes, but that's ok!)

I asked if they would let me buy these two sleeper outfits for their new preemie grandson. Grandma had tears in her eyes, and I did too as I shared with them that my friend, Alison, lost her daughter at 4 months of age due to SIDS, and that today was her birthday. So to celebrate we were supposed to do a random act of kindness. I shared with them that I really felt like this is what I was supposed to do for them. We continue talking as we walk to the check out line, and she keeps telling me what a blessing this is to have run into Beckett and I.

Quinn, girl, this act of kindness was meant to be...and I believe orchestrated by our God! 
Good assist on that one!  

I asked what NICU he is at, and they say "Baylor Hospital, downtown." I said, no way...that is where my husband and I are sharing tonight at the NICU Family Support Dinner for NICU Helping Hands. I gave her my contact information, and said they were welcome to look for me at 6:30 just outside the NICU...and that I'd love to be an encouragement to their daughter, as a fellow preemie mama.

So we continue to talk waiting in line, and Grandma shares with me that she lost a baby at 6 months. And so this is all so scary. It suddenly reminded me of my mom, walking this preemie journey with me. How scary it must have been for her to watch our kids fight for their lives after loosing my sister at 8 months gestation herself. I agreed that yes, it definitely is a scary road ahead. But that I'd definitely be praying for their sweet grandson.

We exchange hugs, and I am hopeful that we will connect again...

Thanks Quinn for giving me a reason to be BOLD and reach out...to someone in the middle of Target, none the less. Thanks for the sweet connection, and may your family and friends pray for Sweet Brayden as he now shares your birthday!
  __________________________________________________________________________

I remember when Quinn's birth was announced, and when she got to go home from the hospital. I think she even spent some time in the NICU, if my memory serves me right. I was SO thankful. I didn't know everything, but anytime anyone mentioned NICU, this mama prayed extra hard.

My bestie, Carrie and Alison were roommates at Northwestern College, which is my connection to Alison. We had spent a few great times in Orange City all together back in the day when I would go visit Carrie.Carrie kept me updated with Ali and Carli (another one of Carrie's roommates), and it was so sweet because all of them had baby girls, real close together. Sage was born in December to Carli (I remember Beckett was supposed to be born close to Sage!), Quinn was born in March to Ali, and my bestie Carrie had Nora in May. We pictured them to be NWC roomies like their mamas...

I remember crying with Carrie on the phone, and us talking about how this just was not fair. I had a really hard time with this. I thought of Quinn and her family non-stop. And continued to pray for specifically Alison's heart.

How could this be? I just don't understand. July 2012. Quinn was just four months old.

Really, Lord? Why? I mean, MY children were the ones that had statistics against them for survival. Ellie born at 27 weeks, and Beckett even earlier at 25 weeks. Such guilt I felt. Such confusion and lack of understanding. I remember crying as I rocked Beckett to sleep for his nap that day. Rocking, crying and praying for God to fill that emptyness Alison had to be feeling so deep.

Unfortunately, going through this preemie journey twice now, I've had quite a few friends lose a baby along the way. Each time is just as awful as the next. I wrestle with God often about this.

I remember connecting with something the pastor said at a sweet baby's memorial service. He said, "It wasn't supposed to be this way." God didn't create our world to be filled with sin, hurt and death. He created it perfect. It's sin that ruined all that perfection.

Stupid sin.

But let me tell you, I am SO glad we have Jesus as a Rescuer that can hold us through all the sin, hurt and death in this world. Often times, we don't know how we get through it, or how long it will take, but we know Jesus has never left and will never leave our side. And that is comfort. Even if you have to remind yourself of this every 10 minutes.

I learned very early on after Ellie's early arrival, that every single day is a gift.

Every single day, every single moment. Every single breath.

And as we honor Quinn today by celebrating her birthday,THANK YOU JESUS, for showing us that you are still at work in our lives, and that you use us through the journeys that we endure for others who follow behind...

Preemie Baby Meets Rice Baby

Aren't these adorable? And yes, I mean both the kids and the rice babies. We made these rice babies at our February Preemie/NICU Mom's CONNECT thru NICU Helping Hands! They usually make these at the Sibling Saturdays at the NICU, but some of us grad moms wanted them too! So all of 15 of us helped each other measure out some rice in a sock, pick out a tiny hat, paci, and blankets! They even have belly "buttons." I am so thankful for these precious keepsakes. It was a little emotional looking at how tiny these babies really weighed. Beckett is with his 2 lb. 2.5 oz. baby. And Ellie, who named her rice baby...Ellie, weighed 2 lbs. 7.5 oz.

How did we make the rice babies? The socks are actually white cotton tube socks that have no lines on the toes. They need to be "tea stained" so that they aren't white but are more flesh colored, measure out the rice obviously with a scale, rubber band the top, cut off the rest of the sock, the hats were knit by Threads of Love (same as the ones we got in the NICU), buttons for the belly button, googly eyes, pacifiers we clipped off the ends, and then a swaddle blanket (fabric square). And the glue gun to put it all together! (to even glue the paci down!)

P.S. I had to re-post this one.

Caption dedication to the DRG:
"Seriously? Was my head THAT long from the Bubble CPAP?"
"Why yes, son. Yes, it was."