Doctor appointments

Over the course of the last two weeks Grace has had numerous doctor appointments---she has seen the ENT doctor (Ear, Nose,and Throat), the cardiologist, and our family doctor. After all of these appointments we have a very long list of things that need to happen within the next two months in preparation for her next major heart surgery.

Grace still has a moderate hearing loss and fluid in her ears so the plan is to have tubes put in. The doctors are hoping to get this done within the next month and pair it with a sedated echo and an AVR (a hearing test). The AVR will give us a better idea as to whether or not placing the tubes helped the hearing loss---I'm hoping and praying that it will.

Grace will also need another heart catherization, a procedure that we are all too familiar with. Since she already has two stints in place there really isn't much we can do to prolong when we have the next surgery so in the meantime we are trying to get her bigger and stronger. Gracie weighs 11lbs and is 24 inches long and the bigger we can get her the happier her cardiologist will be.

Its hard to begin to think and plan for our next surgery, we just left the hospital and really don't want to go back. I hope and pray that this next hospital stay will be shorter and easier than our first go around.

I've been tagged

So after two friends tagged me I decided to do the tag. I know I haven't updated much on the family--we are doing fine, slowly adjusting to our new lifestyle. I am waiting until after Monday to update on Grace--she has a cardiology appointment then. But both Grace and Morgan are doing well.

Crazy 8's

Rules
1. Post rules on your blog
2. Answer the six "8" items
3. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment

8 Favorite TV Shows
1. Criminal Minds
2. Super Nanny
3. Extreme Makeover Home Edition
4. Desperate House Wives (my guilty pleasure)
5. Law and Order SVU
6. Gilmore Girls
7. Rachel Ray Show
8. ER

8 Things I did Yesterday
1. Went to Mervyns in search for some deals (didn't find any)
2. Changed over 20 diapers--Grace hates her bum to be dirty
3. Sang at the top of my lungs while in the car with Morgan
4. Laundry
5. Made mock Cafe Rio Salads
6. Went to Walmart--can you believe they didn't have any avocados
7. Spent a good two hours with Jason after the girls went to sleep
8. Fell asleep on my knees praying for two hours

8 Things I look forward to
1. Seeing one of Grace's favorite nurses on Monday
2. Hanging out with a friend without kids tomorrow
3. BYU/Utah game
4. My anniversary on December 10
5. Grace getting stronger and reaching major developmental milestones
6. Being able to attend Church as a family
7. Having Grace be tubeless and being able to carry her throughout the apartment without worrying about the oxygen or a feed going
8. Seeing my girls play with one another and be best friends

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Cafe Rio
2. P.F. Changs
3. Tucanos
4. Macaroni Grill
5. McGraths
6. Olive Garden
7. GoodWood BBQ
8. Jason's Deli

8 Things on my wish list
1. Grace will learn to orally eat
2. Lose my baby weight from 2 babies
3. To buy a home someday
4. Be out of debt
5. Potty train Morgan
6. Regular date nights with Jason
7. Family vacation
8. Grace will be able to hear again

8 People to tag
seeing that many of my friends are in the same circle they have been tagged, but feel free to do this if you want to

Crazy Busy

I am officially a stay at home mom whose only responsibilities are her kids and family. To be honest the thought of being a stay at home mom scares me to death. I don't really know why, maybe its because I've always worked since I was 16 or its because I'm scared I'll fail as a mother, or any of another million reasons...
Life has been very hectic--we packed and moved on Wednesday and Thursday, I officially was terminated from my job on Friday, and we have since been trying to settle in to our new apartment. I'm hoping that within the next few weeks I'll be able to plan out a good schedule where my day is all mapped out so that I will be more productive with Morgan. I'm hoping to start a little preschool type lesson with her daily so she can start working on her numbers and colors more.

As for Grace she is doing well---this week has been quite eventful for her too. She now weighs 10lbs 9oz (a gain of 4oz in a week!) She is finally off of methadone, she got her last dose yesterday morning and though it was such a minute amount she seems to be having withdrawals. And to top it off she cut a tooth!! Yes at four months she cut a tooth, poor thing. Its kind of funny because she was trying to chew on her hand, but other than that there were no other signs--then Jason called me to look in her mouth because he thought he saw a tooth and sure enough she did!

A month

Yesterday marked the one month mark of having Gracie home with us and honestly I would be lying if I said that it has gone by fast. If anything this month seemed longer than the three months we spent in the hospital. Don't get me wrong I love having Grace home with us, but oh how hard it is!!! Luckily she is such a cutie.



Having a new baby in the house who requires constant medical care, working full-time from home, and having a two year old (who has decided to be two) really has taken its toll on me. Most days I wake up after a night of choppy sleep, only to go throughout my day dazed and confused, counting down the hours until my dear husband returns from work to help with the girls. All I can say is thank goodness for caffeine--I know I drink more than my share these days but without it life would be far worse.

But all of it is worth it...other than better sleep, I wouldn't have it any other way. Grace really is a good baby considering the life she has been asked to live. I think she enjoys being home. She sleeps most of the time, will wake up and smile and stare intently at all of us and even takes quite a bit of abuse from Morgan happily. Don't get me wrong she has her moments where she just screams and can't be consoled but it seems to result in an upset tummy, because twenty minutes later and a messy diaper she doses off to sleep peacefully.

This week Gracie caught her first cold and she has been miserable. I took her in for an x-ray and had an interesting x-ray in that she may be developing pockets of pneumonia. Really there is nothing for us to do other than to watch her and keep the humidifier on to help with her cough. She hasn't had a fever, just is really congested, so much so that at night her oxygen goes from 1/2 liter to almost 1 3/4 liters. Hopefully we can get rid of the cough and congestion and continue growing and working on some developmental milestones.

Gracie had about 10 minutes of tummy time again tonight and absolutely hated it, but is gaining some good neck strength. She does favor turning her head to the right more than to the left so we are working on that as well. Other than that she still reminds me much of a newborn with how much she sleeps and rests, but I'm sure it is good for her. I just can't wait till we can get her on a good schedule...one that will hopefully allow for at least a 4-5 hour chunk of uninterrupted sleep!!