What a week we've had, Emma has been showing us new things!

In addition to the bridge she made earlier in the week (lifting her body off the floor), just this morning she went from a sitting position to her belly - intentionally!! And more than once!

We now have three distinct syllables to listen for: ma, da and na! Amongst all the laughing (Scott, Pops and Jeremy Sr. are her favorites!)

Standing is really where she wants to be and unlike most kids, she keeps her feet flat on the floor. What's the significance? According to her therapist, standing on tiptoes is a way of keeping the body's center of gravity, rather than correcting balance using posture.

Considered rude in some cultures, pointing is a new thing with Emma. She has done it before, but now it seems to have intention behind it. For example, last night she was pointing at Pop's glasses and when he moved closer she hooked them with her index finger and pulled them off!

The body-brushing goes well, if you keep Emma amused (otherwise she grabs the brush!) I discovered that Old MacDonald is her favorite song and keeps her entertained - pausing for the applause she gives me, of course!

Yesterday I cleaned up her room (I've been looking for things to put in our yard sale tomorrow). There are a bunch of clothes she never will/did wear due to the size being wrong for the season she will be in, so they are going. But I also put away some things from her infancy - her mobile, swing etc, that she just doesn't use anymore.

Tomorrow Emma is 10 months old! I can hardly believe it. We really haven't been able to look too far ahead, it's enough to focus on the here and now. So looking back, the past 10 months have gone sooo fast and, praise God, we've not only made it, but we've had an incredible time.

A member of Scott's family has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and while we are standing with her in prayer for healing I also want to pass along this message she forwarded:

The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on 'donating a mammogram' for free (pink window in the middle).

This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising.

Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know.

http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/

Emma was up early this morning, well 6.30am. Since she didn't go to bed until 9pm last night I knew she had to get more sleep, so I sacrificed my time (!) and laid down with her in my bed! Eventually she stopped fighting and fell asleep! We woke up at 9am.

Great, right? Sure, except that I wanted to feed her at 8am because I wanted to feed her lunch at 12pm! As it turned out I did that anyway, because I was meeting a friend for lunch at 1pm.

As we pulled into the parking lot 3 minutes early I was thrilled, it's quite rare these days! I decided Emma could go in the big stroller and stay in there during lunch, rather than a high chair (naptime was coming and she could lay back in the stroller.) However, it was not to be!

I always leave her feeding tube attached for a journey, in case she gets wind and I have to vent her. When I took her out of the car seat the tube came away, and you guessed it, so did the g-tube! I had refilled the balloon with water that morning because it was looking loose. Turned out the balloon had burst!

Frantically I called Scott, as a sleeping Emma squirmed in the seat, open hole in her belly! He calmly instructed me to put it back in and tape it in place (as we learned in the hospital, and I breathlessly asked if I should do!). He called my friend to let them know we'd be back in a half hour, and I drove home.

(Note: speed limits do not apply when there is a "medical emergency" as I prepared to tell any policeman who stopped me!!)

Now, I replaced the g-tube without incident and we made it for lunch at 1.30pm, but not for the first time did I wonder when it will get easier to take Emma out!!

At lunch Emma was waving to the diners nearby, as she does always. I held back my urge to tell them that she would be smiling at them if she could. I know, I have issues, but at the hospital yesterday the phlebotomist (draws the blood) was like "what's wrong?" because she wasn't smiling. Thankfully she attributed it to Emma knowing what was coming!!

After consulting with her nutritionist, I'm pleased to say that her weight gain is now consistent with a breastfed baby, and her growth in length - weight gain at a higher rate than her growth makes a fat baby!!

During therapy yesterday Emma had another first - we were trying to get her to crawl and she actually lifted her belly off the floor, on her hands and feet! Her therapist and I were both very excited, but Emma was not amused at being made to work! But we know she has some strength in her legs!!

During therapy our main focus is on getting Emma to roll over, reaching for things and also to push around with her feet. Emma, however, is content that two of us are paying her attention, sitting close by, and prefers to play with her hands and feet, if no toys are in reach!!

Needless to say that when the TV is on, she'll watch that instead too! She'll even lay there and drum her fingers on the floor when no-one's around, rather than work to get the toys! I've taken extreme measures now, putting all toys out of reach!!

Today we headed to the hospital for Emma's pre-op appointment. She got weighed (16lbs 9oz) and also had some blood drawn - she took it very well!

Her surgery is going ahead on September 29. She will be in hospital for a minimum of one night.

We would love for you to join us in praying for the following things:
Continued good health prior to the surgery (anything could delay it)
Successful and uneventful surgery
Speedy and complete healing
No apnea following recovery (she will likely get another sleep study to confirm)

Weekend Update

We had such a good weekend and the three of us got to spend lots of time together, and with friends.

Saturday the weather was horrible, so we headed to church in the morning to help out behind the scenes and in the afternoon Scott and I exercised our competitiveness by playing on the Wii! How did we have so much fun? Well, Emma is now taking 2 hour naps in the afternoon!! Finally, we got a routine down!!

On Sunday, a beautiful day (still summer here!!), we headed to church. After service, Emma and Nate posed for the family paparazzi again!!

They also shared a tender moment.

After church we came home for the first Eagles game of the season. Of course, Emma was up for the first hour of the game and cried every time they made a good play - Scott screaming "YEAH" was a new experience for her! However, when 2.30pm came around she took a nap until 5pm! (I sneaked a nap in there too!)

In the evening we went over to our friends house and as always, Scott was playing with our Godsons. Unfortunately Nathan fell off the "horsey" and Scott grabbed his arm to stop him smacking his head. However in doing so, he popped his tendon! I think it's called nurse maids elbow. Fun over!!

I headed to the ER with Christina, but thankfully they are able to treat it without putting us in a room, so we were only there about an hour! Poor ?Nathan.

Go EAGLES

This week was different than a lot of others, in that Emma and I went out most days. when she is healthy it's great, she doesn't worry me that she may choke, and the lower feeds mean she needs less venting, so I don't have to wait as long after feeding her.

I am a little nervous that are routine may be disturbed after Emma's surgery though. Emma's tongue used to block her airway when she slept, or just lay down (one of a few factors in her apnea). The doctors adhered the tongue to her bottom lip as a way to prevent it, hoping that as she grew the tongue would not be a problem. When they detach the tongue on September 29 we will all be waiting to see if it worked.

I don't know how much of your ability to keep your tongue forward at night is a reflex controlled by nerves. We don't know how many nerves Emma may actually be missing, which may be a factor in this.

With the winter ahead of us, cold and flu season approaches!! If you recall, when Emma was discharged from hospital we were told to keep her out of childcare, and generally away from people! A cold is very difficult for her because she doesn't automatically swallow like we do, and the secretions build up. She'll get the flu and RSV shots of course. I have been getting more relaxed about other holding her etc. but I will be more protective during this time (like it or not!) and the hand sanitizer will be out!!

96 degrees

That's the temperature on the car's thermometer today! So we squeezed the last drops out of the summer and went to the Thompson's pool before it closes for the winter. Emma and I were joined by Christina and the kids (Jeremy, Nathan, Aaron and Kali) for about 3 hours.

Emma enjoyed floating around the pool as always and especially likes being held and "swimming" around.

When we finally got out I went to change her out of her suit (which is VERY tight nowadays) and found a surprise!! Emma is pretty regular so finding a deposit was a big surprised (and a relief that it stayed in the diaper!). As Christina held her up under the arms I pulled the swim diaper down and, as you guessed, was unable to spare her legs!!

As the swim diaper is now too small anyway, and summer is over, I just threw it out! I don't even want to think about trying to clean it!

Oh the joys of parenting!!

As you've been so patient, here are some snaps of the past few days!!

Trying to stay warm waiting for the pediatrician!

Meeting Abby (our friends 1 year old) for the first time!

Mosquitoes are no match for a net skirt at the BBQ!

Only babies are this flexible!

The sanitary way to suck your thumb!

Can you say Dada?

The laptop is still working but shuts off when it overheats, so I am rationing my time on it!! Not knowing what exactly is overheating, I am backing everything up so that if it really goes I won't lose anything.

I haven't been on the webcam as much as normal and it's surprisingly difficult! I miss chatting with my family - we don't use the phone, it's not the same.

Emma is doing great and has been sleeping for 12 hours overnight and even taking good naps!! Her surgery is a go for September 29. We're praying and hoping that her apnea does not get worse afterward.

Scott and I are doing fine, Emma's extra sleeping is affording us more sleep also! Scott's back to overtime this month, and then in October he's heading to Guatemala!! (I'll elaborate on that later in the week!)

Just perhaps we are starting to get into a routine!!!

Sad farewell

This week has been tough. Aside from the usual craziness of raising Emma, we lost a dear friend to brain cancer after a 22 month battle. Words can't describe who Matt was, so I'll just say I have never met anyone who displayed the love of Christ so deeply. HE is loved and will be missed by all who knew him, literally.

Nap time

We've had an encouraging few days sleep-wise. The past couple of nights Emma has slept through until 4-5am, without desats, which means I get a solid 5 hours of sleep! She goes to bed between 7-8pm usually, and I have been encouraging her to go back to sleep until 6.30-7am, so she is getting between 11-12 hours per night.

Last night we came home late, but Emma had been sleeping since about 8pm. We put her to bed and she did not even stir. as I cleared up downstairs Scott was in charge of hooking up the night feed. I heard "Debra" in a very loud whisper from upstairs, "come here." I went up to see what was up and Emma was in bed, sucking her thumb! It was very cute. (we always call each other in when she looks especially cute!)

Emma still needs 2 good naps during the day, and this week I've had her take at least one nap of an hour or more each day. This is definite progress, and it is really dependent on how much sleep I got the night before. Only when I am not tired do I have the patience to let her cry it out and go back to the sleep mid-nap!!

Today we are heading to the hospital, but not for an appointment! We have a meeting for the breastfeeding committee and Emma is coming with me as many of the people at the meeting helped to care for her in the NICU. It's 1-2 pm so I'm aiming to give her a morning nap and then she'll probably fall asleep on the drive home!

Cutie

Emma was on rare form yesterday, talking for the speech therapist, playing with the occupational therapist. Here's a video...

I can't say anything for sure, but I have never seen her this talkative, for such a long time, and playing with her feet like this also. She's the same today, at 7am!! I can't tell you how cute it is!!

Can we attribute it to the brushing? Who knows, but hearing Emma say "mama" over and over is one of the best sounds ever (albeit indiscriminately!)!!

Milestone

Tonight we went to Olive Garden with most of Scott's family - never-ending pasta bowl is back baby!!

We took Emma, of course and decided beforehand to try her in a high-chair, rather than the stroller.

When our food came I sat her int he high-chair, put her cloth book and teething toy in front of her and proceeded to chow down on my salad and breadsticks (mmmm!!)

It was just a few minutes later when a woman came over and said [something like] "I just wanted to tell you what a good baby she is! My husband told me to turn around and I saw her, but didn't even know she was there! And she's so little!"

Emma was wearing jeans and a pink t-shirt, but is still pretty small for a high chair. She sat there for the entire meal, content checking out the place. Only toward the end did she start chatting and reaching for my face - not even to come out!! That was pretty good considering the meal finished past her bedtime and at supper time!

While we ate I kept looking at her and it was quite special to see her there. I don't think we'd ever let ourselves imagine this far ahead! Not that we thought she wouldn't make it, but just grasping the present is often enough for our brains!

Our little baby is growing up!!

When we got home, Emma got a bath, supper and Scott brushed her face. Here she is as she tries not to pass out on the floor...

Pictures

On Friday Emma showed us what it
will look like when she gets stronger!
(This was posed and wasn't long before she flattened out!!)

She does love to stand up though!

Sleeping like an angel!

Emma has discovered that she like to chew on Daddy's finger!

Reading her book on the plane.

She liked looking out the window, but when she started to bang on it I had to move her!

Emma stole my seat when I hit the bathroom to pump!

Emma's first time in a restaurant high chair,
if you can call an airport McDonald's a restaurant!

Emma was pretty comfortable in the baby carrier for the journey.

Emma meets Snow White at the airport!

The laptop is still under suspicion but is working for now!!

Healed?

So I'm writing this from my laptop! I'm not sure if it's completely healed itself or just playing with my mind!!

If it's healed, I'll be posting pictures in the morning!!

Day Trip

13 hours, to Florida and back again in one day!  Sure, it was hard for me to go to Orlando and not shop, sunbathe or just relax, but we shared the motto of Southwest Airlines - Get there. Get it done. Get back!!

 

The flight was marred by tropical storm Fay, hovering over Florida, and though she did make it a bit bumpy in places the flight was early and not bad at all.  (Scott might tell you different - he was not a good flier yesterday).

 

We arrived at the hotel with time to spare and met Jenn Clarke there.  She is a nice, down-to-earth lady, trained in the body brushing therapy by her then husband and she is continuing his work.  Others were trained by him before he died, but they are either no longer practising or are using other methods as well. 

 

Jenn did a range of test on Emma (like seeing how her pupils react to light, whether her hand closed reflexively on something brushed across her palm) and identified some infant reflexes that should have passed, but are still present.  The brushing should help them to pass and the adult reflexes to come in.

 

We shared our testimony and faith with Jenn, which she seemed to really appreciate.  We did also mention the faith we were putting in the finances and, connected or not, she knocked $75 off the $500 we were supposed to pay!!

 

Our questions and concerns were addressed and we both felt that this was a good thing.  So, we are pursuing the treatment.  Our next trip to Orland is October 23. 

 

We have some great pictures from the day that I'll post when I can get the laptop online!

Our laptop has died again.

Please bear with us and we will update you as soon as possible.

And your prayers for it to fix itself would be appreciated!!

Nap update

Last night Emma slept right through, on her mattress (no pillow!).

This morning I put her down for a nap at 8.45 and she slept until 10am. She did wake up and fuss a few times, but settled down again after a couple of minutes!

What did I do different? When she woke up after a half hour I changed her diaper and left her alone! She is now also able to sleep on her belly and I found her like that every time I checked on her! (They say it's okay once a baby can roll over!). I also found her with her feet sticking out the side of the crib!

Afternoon nap was not as smooth, but I think I may have put her down to early! We'll try it again tomorrow!

Phew! This parenting business is so fickle!