New Adorableness

Did you know each box of Pampers comes with a toy?
From the depths of lake pack 'n play, the loc pack monster emerges...
If I have to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar one more time, I might go bananas....Luckily, Auntie- er Cousin- Leonore is visiting and steps up to the challenge!
Success!

Winter Wonderland

First things first. American cheese is simply the best invention...EVER. Paw Paw (Phoebe's grandfather) can testify to that- He's been known to attend international Velveeta conventions. Anyone can enjoy a snowy day... even a vixen like the Pheebs...
Sleigh ride! Great family fun.


We love where we live.

Bye bye, Broviac

Phoebe's broviac (central catheter or "IV") was removed today. All went famously. The procedure required general anesthesia, and was completed within 45 minutes. What a cinch. We arrived at the hospital at 9:30 a.m. for our 11:00 "OR" time. They took us into the surgical acute care unit (SACU) for paperwork etc. at 10:00 and they took her for the procedure at 10:45. We wiped our misty eyes and went back to the waiting room. At 11:30, the surgeon visited us in the waiting room, telling us that everything went exactly as expected and that we could go see her as soon as she woke up. They called for us just a few minutes later. As we walked through the SACU, we could hear her crying, and as we came into view, she started reaching for us. It hit me that she is becoming such a big girl- looking more like a toddler than a baby, and able to communicate her basic desire to be with her parents.

No more:
-worrying about "line sepsis" (general infection of the Broviac line that goes right to her heart) when she finds the line in her shirt and would suck on it
-changing the dressing, which required tying up her arms so she couldn't pull at the exposed line or introduce germs to the sterile field
-changing the end cap
-flushing with saline and heparin daily
-sealing up the broviac entrance site with gauze and tegaderm (a large, clear plastic adhesive bandage) before a bath
-removing the tegaderm etc. after a bath (ouch!) and the protesting that accompanied it
-fielding questions

Now we can:
-rest assured that a fever is a fever and not line sepsis
-get rid of the boxes of medical supplies crowding her room
-have a tubby whenever we want because we don't have to worry about the Broviac site getting wet
-Celebrate!

We had a mini pizza party at home this afternoon to celebrate. Phoebe had Cheerios. This is the best Christmas gift we could want. Congratulations, Phoebe! On to enjoying life!!

November pics

Chile Today, Hot Tamale

Do we have a meteorologist in the making? No, just a wicked halloween cutie! Phoebe joined her friends Erin and Thomas for some trick-or-treating fun.

Two-for Toofer!

Here's proof that we were in the hospital:Phoebe resumed normal activities so soon after coming home that you may not have ever thought she had had major abdominal surgery. Activities like: playing with the cat, playing with the dog (and Uncle Raj),
playing with Daddy... YAY!!
And working on... ...two new teeth!!

New Poop

Phoebe is doing great. She saw the pediatrician last Thursday, and the Surgery, GI and Nutrition teams on Monday. She is doing as well as can be expected, which is pretty great. She weighs 18 and a half pounds. She has no nutritional limitations now. She can eat anything a regular seven month-old would eat, and as much as she wants. The docs have added a medication, called cholestyramine, which will make her poop less acidic (by chemically binding the bile salts in her intestine). Her diaper rash is totally manageable, but not without using globs of diaper cream and powder with each diaper change. The baby powder is messy, and although it is not recommended for use on babies, it is great for keeping the diaper cream on her bum and off the diaper. She continues to be weaned off the TPN. She now gets TPN for 8 hours a day. The surgeon said that as far as he was concerned, he's pretty much done. Once her Broviac line gets taken out, we can sefely say that we're D-O-N-E with surgeries. I must say, though, that since we had to work with all these pediatric specialists, we're glad we fell into the hands of our wonderful surgeon, GI, and Nutritionist. We gladly sing their praises.

Phoebe is seven months old today!