It has come to my attention that there are some things we need to update y'all on.
1. Jayci's fever has not returned. Which is great news, and the doctor decided that since she seems ok and all her other symptoms have also not returned, we can hold off on repeating blood tests. Which is also great news because I can't stand the thought of holding her down for that again. She's now healthy and happy (well besides when she's throwing tantrums). Today, we took her to see the nutcracker (aka "the cracker" as she called it). She loved it, and don't worry, I'll post pictures soon.
2. Caden had his four month check-up with the pediatrician this week. Everything looked pretty good. His murmur, they said, was probably about a 3 (instead of a 2.5 which it was last time). They told me to watch for signs that it might be becoming a problem (which apparently is at a 4.5 or so) like he is sweating when he eats, or breathing heavily. This totally freaked me out because he basically sweats ALL the time. Like I worry about how he's going to smell as a teenager . . . I have heard from other heart moms that the sweating is pretty normal, but we still need to keep an eye on it if he seems like he's sweating more or anything. Also, he has always breathed more heavily than Jayci did, but never at a level that has caused us to worry. But the combination of these two things, sort of made me panic a little. Pray that we will have wisdom to know when anything needs further testing etc. and the ability to trust God, and trust ourselves as well. He also hadn't gained as much weight as they thought he might have. He went from the 40% to the 22% in weight, which means we have to fortify that formula again. Which is fine except for how expensive formula is, it's a little ridiculous really.
3. Several of you have asked about the girl who lived with us for a while (the one who had her baby, via emergency c-section, at fifteen years old). She unfortunately, is in prison now. She had an altercation with the baby's dad. Things didn't end well, and her court date is this week. Pray for her and for her baby too (he's with her mom, and doing well).
4. We have been working on putting together our baskets for the families in the CICU this Christmas. Thank you guys SO much for everything you have already sent and the support and encouragement you've given us! We are also going to get $5 Starbucks gift cards for all the nurses working on Christmas (both day and night shift).
I thought I'd include a list of everything we're planning on putting in the baskets because several people had offered to put together a basket. We are going to deliver these on December 23rd, so if you want to put together a basket, just let us know before then sometime!
- Nice journals and pens (so parents can write, journal how they're feeling, write down medical details, questions for the doctors etc).
- Gum, mints (you dont always want to leave your baby's bedside to go brush your teeth, but also want to talk to the drs and nurses without scaring them) . . .
- Small packets of tissue
- Water bottles
- Packaged snacks (granola bars, crackers etc) or homemade goodies
- Gift cards (there are several restaurants etc nearby: starbucks, chickfila, panera bread, doc chey's, and Domino's are neaby chains, and there are also some local places right near the hospital - rise and dine, Bad dog taqueria . . .)
- Gas cards (you drive back and forth a lot!)
- Travel-sized things of shampoo, body wash, lotion, etc.
- Hand lotion (you wash your hands constantly so they get super-dry)
- Small things of laundry detergent (if you stay overnight at the hospital, it's nice to be able to do your laundry)
-Antibacterial gel (have to be extra careful about germs!)
*We also already bought parking passes and have had some notes and burp clothes, homemade goodies etc that we will add to each bag.
Thanks again so so so much for all your prayers and love. Our family feels surrounded and upheld by your love on a daily basis. Again, feel free to email me if you have any questions or want to help (Becca1612 at hotmail dot com).
1. Jayci's fever has not returned. Which is great news, and the doctor decided that since she seems ok and all her other symptoms have also not returned, we can hold off on repeating blood tests. Which is also great news because I can't stand the thought of holding her down for that again. She's now healthy and happy (well besides when she's throwing tantrums). Today, we took her to see the nutcracker (aka "the cracker" as she called it). She loved it, and don't worry, I'll post pictures soon.
2. Caden had his four month check-up with the pediatrician this week. Everything looked pretty good. His murmur, they said, was probably about a 3 (instead of a 2.5 which it was last time). They told me to watch for signs that it might be becoming a problem (which apparently is at a 4.5 or so) like he is sweating when he eats, or breathing heavily. This totally freaked me out because he basically sweats ALL the time. Like I worry about how he's going to smell as a teenager . . . I have heard from other heart moms that the sweating is pretty normal, but we still need to keep an eye on it if he seems like he's sweating more or anything. Also, he has always breathed more heavily than Jayci did, but never at a level that has caused us to worry. But the combination of these two things, sort of made me panic a little. Pray that we will have wisdom to know when anything needs further testing etc. and the ability to trust God, and trust ourselves as well. He also hadn't gained as much weight as they thought he might have. He went from the 40% to the 22% in weight, which means we have to fortify that formula again. Which is fine except for how expensive formula is, it's a little ridiculous really.
3. Several of you have asked about the girl who lived with us for a while (the one who had her baby, via emergency c-section, at fifteen years old). She unfortunately, is in prison now. She had an altercation with the baby's dad. Things didn't end well, and her court date is this week. Pray for her and for her baby too (he's with her mom, and doing well).
4. We have been working on putting together our baskets for the families in the CICU this Christmas. Thank you guys SO much for everything you have already sent and the support and encouragement you've given us! We are also going to get $5 Starbucks gift cards for all the nurses working on Christmas (both day and night shift).
I thought I'd include a list of everything we're planning on putting in the baskets because several people had offered to put together a basket. We are going to deliver these on December 23rd, so if you want to put together a basket, just let us know before then sometime!
- Nice journals and pens (so parents can write, journal how they're feeling, write down medical details, questions for the doctors etc).
- Gum, mints (you dont always want to leave your baby's bedside to go brush your teeth, but also want to talk to the drs and nurses without scaring them) . . .
- Small packets of tissue
- Water bottles
- Packaged snacks (granola bars, crackers etc) or homemade goodies
- Gift cards (there are several restaurants etc nearby: starbucks, chickfila, panera bread, doc chey's, and Domino's are neaby chains, and there are also some local places right near the hospital - rise and dine, Bad dog taqueria . . .)
- Gas cards (you drive back and forth a lot!)
- Travel-sized things of shampoo, body wash, lotion, etc.
- Hand lotion (you wash your hands constantly so they get super-dry)
- Small things of laundry detergent (if you stay overnight at the hospital, it's nice to be able to do your laundry)
-Antibacterial gel (have to be extra careful about germs!)
*We also already bought parking passes and have had some notes and burp clothes, homemade goodies etc that we will add to each bag.
Thanks again so so so much for all your prayers and love. Our family feels surrounded and upheld by your love on a daily basis. Again, feel free to email me if you have any questions or want to help (Becca1612 at hotmail dot com).