Lola: Chillin' in the ICU

Miss Lola Bean is spending time in the ICU at Children's Hospital in Birmingham. Jeff and I were with her from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. today during which time we got to hold her, give her a bottle, change her diaper and help the nurse change her bed after she threw up a few times.

Because of being anesthetized for so long it took a while for her stomach to "wake up." When she took her first formula bottle she got a little over-eager and downed about three ounces. Once that hit her stomach, her body said "no thank you," and she proceeded to return to us most of what she ate. The nurses said it's quite common for babies to have an upset stomach the first day post-op, so we're not too worried about it.

Lola's in quite a bit of pain, which is to be expected, so they're keeping her on morphine as well as giving her Tylenol. This combo works really well for her, but it makes her drunker than Cooter Brown leaving her in a pitiful state.

You can see her drain below her right ear. It has been quite full today, but the nurses assure us the bleeding will slow down soon.

Her incision looks a little worse today but that can be attributed to the swelling, which has increased a lot since she came out of surgery.

When Lola is lucid she's able to open her eyes. This is a very good sign as most babies who've had this surgery cannot open their eyes at this stage of recovery. Now, they may swell completely shut tomorrow, but for now she can see us and know we're with her.

We're hoping she'll get to go to a private room in the step-down unit today, but whether that happens depends on bed availability. Please pray we get a room because being in the ICU is both physically and mentally taxing.

Lola: pre-op and post-op

Lola made it through her surgery with minimal blood loss and stable vitals. She's in the ICU being monitored by, as the recovery room nurse called them, "the world's best babysitters you'll ever pay for." Her nurse Nora is super energetic and upbeat, which are terrific attributes for someone who deals day in and day out with the kinds of sick children that she does.

Jeff and I will be heading back to see Lola in the morning. Since she'll be in ICU for at least 24 hours, we sent Amelia home with grandmaw because children under 14 aren't allowed in the ICU waiting room much less the ICU itself. She'll come back on Friday when Lola gets moved to a regular room.

Waiting to go back to the operating room.

Still waiting and wishing momma would have turned off the flash.

Waiting with Amelia, who was a super-trouper the entire day. She was as patient as any five-year-old can be and didn't complain once.

Lola just out of recovery on her way to the ICU. She'd been given a dose of morphine so she really wasn't aware of much.

Lola's incision. It runs from ear to ear and is mostly in a zig-zag shape so the hair will grow in evenly over it.

Check back regularly for more news and photos, and many thanks to everyone who offered up prayers and blessings for Lola and our family.

Angels watching over her

I know Lola will be fine during and after her surgery. I have a sense of peace about this. How do I know, you ask? She has many angels watching over her.

My maternal grandparents Layman and Lillian Bonds, pictured above in a photo from their courting days, were known to me as Daddy Bonds and MaBonds. I know they'll be watching over my little one. They were devout members of the Holiness church so I have absolutely no doubt they're saying prayers for my little darlin'.

My momma, Janice Yates, has been gone almost two years. Amelia called her GrandJan. I know she's keeping an eye on Lola because GranJan would in no way let her grandbaby undergo major surgery without her being there, even if she's only there in spirit.

Friday will mark 22 years since my daddy, Lewis Yates, died. I am positive he's in heaven with momma helping to make sure Lola will be fine. He's likely acting in the role as the voice of reason as my momma tends to get a little frantic when one of her loved ones has an operation.

Jeff's maternal grandmother, Nell Hunt, or Grandmaw Hunt as she was most often called, has been gone five years now. She loved babies so I am positive she is doing her part to ensure Lola will be safe.

Of all these angels, just one, Jeff's grandfather, John Hunt or Pawpaw Hunt, got to meet Lola. He died just shy of two months after she was born. He was thrilled to have lived to welcome his eleventh great-grandchild into this world. A preacher for more than 50 years, Pawpaw Hunt knew how to rustle up some prayers, which is why I have no doubt he's getting all these angels and many more together to wrap Lola in their warm embrace and see her safe and sound through this surgery and recovery.

Seven days and counting

We are only seven days away from Lola having surgery at Children's Hospital in Birmingham. Her operation will take place Wednesday, April 29, and will be performed by Dr. John Grant III, who is a pediatric craniofacial plastic surgeon and Dr. Jay Wellons, a pediatric neurosurgeon.

Lola has unicoronal craniosynostosis, which means one of her coronal sutures (these run from ear to ear) in her skull has fused early. Surgery is required to correct this and prevent her skull from becoming even more misshapen, keep her mid-face from twisting and allow her brain to grow evenly. You can see in the above photo that the left side of her forehead is flat, and she has a ridge on the top left side of her head where the closure occurred.

The surgery entails Dr. Wellons cutting her scalp from ear-to-ear, pulling her skin down to expose the skull and removing the bones that make up her forehead. Dr. Grant will reshape the bones of her skull as well as those around her left eye, which are also affected, and then replace the bones using titanium plates to hold them together. He will then sew up her scalp using dissolvable sutures. According to the doctors, she should be in the hospital 5 days, the first of which will be in ICU.

Lola will be 10 & 1/2 months old when the doctors perform the operation. I know babies much younger than her have had to have surgery, but this is different because it's my baby. I never dreamed I would have a child who needs major surgery at such a young age. As the date draws nearer my world is completely shaded by this upcoming event.

When we first discovered Lola had this condition, which affects about 1 in 2,500 children, we were terrified especially because we read online about babies who had multiple complications associated with craniosynostosis. For me, that terror is still there, but I am somewhat more at peace with the situation likely because I've had so long to ponder it. We've known since Lola was two months old that this surgery is necessary. If we didn't do it, the likelihood she could develop serious intercranial pressure is very real as is the chance her she could become developmentally delayed because of the pressure and restricted brain growth.

Jeff and I took Lola on Friday for her pre-op visit during which the doctors reviewed the surgery with us, assured us it is necessary (I had been considering canceling it) and went over the risks to Lola, which are being put under general anesthesia, losing too much blood, receiving a traumatic brain injury during the surgery, and developing an infection post-op. While all of the risks are very real and very scary, I am somewhat comforted by the fact that there is a less than 1% chance she will suffer any of these.

I have been so fortunate to have found three mothers of cranio babies through a support group on Facebook. These women, who live in England, Utah and New Zealand, have become a huge resource for me. They can answer questions that no doctor or nurse, or anyone for that matter who hasn't been through this, can.

As we come closer and closer to surgery day, I have become more and more consumed with thoughts about it. I am not constantly thinking about it, but it's as though it's a cloud that sort of follows me around. Because of this, I have found myself in a funk that's hard to rise up from; and, my situation is not helped by the fact I have developed a gum infection that's causing me a great deal of pain.

Being stuck in this funk makes it hard for me to find the motivation to do any more than the most necessary things. As an example, I've been able to wash, dry and hang up clothes but haven't put forth the effort to fold them, which is why I've been shuttling two baskets of the girls' clothes from room to room for three days. Additionally, I haven't begun packing for our stay in Birmingham, something which I would have nearly completed if I were in my normal state of mind. Mostly I just want to read and watch TV so I don't have to think about anything else. I know this isn't healthy, and I intend to do better, but, for now, as I mentioned before, I am just kind of stuck.

I have a prescription for my "don't be crazy pills," and I am taking them regularly. I am hopeful I can, through taking my medicine and leaning on my family and friends for support, break out of this haze in which I am caught and be more present for my family, who need me to be at my best during this time.

Sharing

Amelia and Lola have got a handle on sharing, which thrills me to no end. Now, how long this lasts I cannot predict but, for now, I have photographic evidence that they do indeed know how to share.


Whether Amelia will be as gracious as Lola and allow her to share her bed remains to be seen. I will post updates as they become available.

My baby is a whole hand old

Amelia turned five today, and it really was a bittersweet day for me. Looking at photos of her through the years proved to be a mistake because I morphed into a blubbering mess right before I had to get ready to go to her preschool to deliver cupcakes and chips for her and her buddies. Thank goodness for good eye cream and concealer without which I'd have caused her teacher and classmates to wonder if I was experiencing domestic troubles at home.

Although we had a party more than a week ago, today was also Amelia's special day during which she partied at school with friends, got to pick out a brand new movie (Barbie's "Thumbelina" was her choice), received a dozen roses (from the Wal-Mart markdown bin), was in charge of dinner, which was lovingly prepared by the fine folks at McDonald's, and had chocolate cake with the family after dinner.

She remarked more than once how much she enjoyed her birthday and was proud to show anyone who asked that she is now "a whole hand old." While I am thrilled she enjoyed her day and am beyond happy that she is a strong, smart, independent and beautiful little lady, I am also aching in my soul over how fast these last five years seemed to have passed. It truly seems like just yesterday she was a baby sitting in her high chair eating Cheerios, and now she's a soon-to-be kindergartner standing next to the high chair feeding Cheerios to her baby sister.

But, as I am apt to tell her often, no matter how old she is or how big she is, she will always be my baby and she will always be my sunshine.

It's her party

Amelia won't turn five until April 20, but we celebrated her big day with friends and family on April 11. Although we would have preferred to not have her party on Easter weekend, it became necessary when we learned that was the only time in April our local community center was available to rent. I went ahead and booked the center because I am not about to host a party at my house because it is close to bursting at the seams without having more than 15 party guests crammed into it. Plus, I get anxious just thinking about all the cleaning that would be necessary in order to have a party at the house.

Six of Amelia's best buddies attended the "Little Einsteins"-themed shindig. Everyone seemed to enjoy her butterfly-shaped cupcake cake, and the parrot pinata was a huge hit. Nathaniel, or "Mufaniel" as Amelia calls him, wasted no time in taking on the pinata. He may be five, but that kid has the swing of a veteran baseball player.

Nathaniel hit the parrot with such force that he was able to knock it to the ground where he could whack it with all his might. He'd of burst it wide open had his mom not stepped in (while trying to avoid the sticking flying precariously close to her head) and stopped him so the rest of the guests could have a turn. After everyone else took a few swings at the bird, Nathaniel got another chance, and as expected, was the one who released the candy it.

Everyone at the party got a kick out of Nathaniel's enthusiasm, however, his mom was concerned word is going to get out about her little man's pinata-hitting skills causing him to forever be relegated to back of the line. I assured her no one at Amelia's party was upset with him. In fact, the kids were thrilled he was able to beat the candy out of the pinata because they were more than eager to get their hands on all that loot.

The kids also tried their hand at pinning Rocket on a map of the United States and played a rousing game of musical chairs, which resulted in a few tears, a brief shoving match and more than one warning to stop running. Nathaniel took home the prize for pinning Rocket closest to The Grand Canyon and Amelia won first place in musical chairs, a feat about which she is still bragging (I remind her that it's not nice to gloat, but she's not quite embraced the concept because she just looks as me with a pout to indicate I am stealing her thunder and carries on chanting, "I won, I won. I am number one.")

Our friends and family gave Amelia some of the nicest presents. She received a Tricky Triplets Barbie, four various Littlest Pet Shop toys, two Little Einsteins toys, a slew of Hello Kitty goodies, a Fancy Nancy game and travel toy, and a Barbie movie. She also got Moon Sand, something which she has been begging for ever since she saw an informercial about it forever ago.

Although I was completely exhausted at the end of the day, I am extremely proud to have been able to share in Amelia's special day with our terrific friends and family. We are truly blessed and lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives.

The downside of spending the weekend partying and celebrating Easter is that I am now swamped with laundry and other household chores that I ignored over the weekend, which is when I usually try to tackle them. I swear I heard my washing machine groan as I loaded the fourth load of the day into it last night.

Wishing everyone a "Hoppy Easter!"

Flashback Friday: Interesting utterances from Amelia

Not only does she say interesting things but she also has an interesting sense of style. Above, at age three, she's rocking the bag lady chic look.

All children say funny things, and my kid is no exception. Some folks might not find these funny, but that's of no matter to me because I am including these on my blog not so much as a means of entertaining others (though I'll be flattered if you find them chuckle-worthy) but rather as a means of chronicling them before I forget them, which I am likely to do these days since lately I've had trouble remembering to brush my teeth let alone write down the cute stuff my daughter says.

Amelia is turning five in a little over a week, and while I am excited about her growing and developing, I am also sad that she's beginning to talk like a "real" person and less like a little kid. I love all her darling words and phrases, which is why I want to mark them down for posterity.

Although, since she's like me in many ways, she might continue to use some of these words and phrases for years to come. I still sometimes find myself using my childhood words for things like quackalator for calculator, lumbo for umbrella and goosebus for school bus. I wish I had Polaroids of some of the strange looks I've gotten when I've whipped these out on unsuspecting people.

Now, in no particular order, are some of Amelia's more notable and memorable utterances:

hippy-tize = hypnotise

Holy mackers! = holy mackerel

Sun glop = sun block

sun scream = sun screen

After later = later

It never matters = It doesn't matter

Coomazing = cool and amazing

panty-o = piano

DD playler = DVD player

Sherbert the Frog = Kermit the Frog

The Flipstones = The Flinstones

Igidit = ribbit (as in "how does a frog go")

Hee hiles = high heels

mackin = napkin

uh-oh pantyhose = uh-oh Spaghetti=Os

protesting the flag = pledging allegiance to the flag

boom storm = thunderstorm

sprinky = Slinky

The Boodledops = The Doodlebops

Mazagine = magazine

Baybing soup = bathing suit

"Momma, how it take so long to get to China?"

"What are you doing in the world?"

"I wish I could get really small so I could ride a seahorse."

"Oops, I cutted the cheese!"

"Ooh, I look delicate."

"Ugh, you make my brain turn around in circles!"

To flashback with Anne, head over to My Tiny Kingdom to find out how she's coping with the changing dynamics of her family.

Disgusting!!

Today, for the second time in recent months, I had to hustle Amelia out of a fast food restaurant playground because some other child contaminated it with bodily fluids.

The first gross-out incident occurred back in January at McDonald's Playplace in Gadsden. Play was halted when a young boy came and told his grandmother that someone had thrown up and it was really stinky. Overhearing this tidbit, I moved nimbly to snatch Amelia from the playground as did other parents who'd become privy to this knowledge.

However, the culprit who was responsible for said mayhem saw no need to tell his mother what had happened and had continued playing. Poor child, it likely wouldn't have mattered if he'd told his mom because she couldn't be bothered to stay off the phone long enough to check on his well-being much less be concerned he was yakking all over the place.

An employee was dispatched to deal with the mess, and we bolted out of there as if someone had announced a radiation contamination alert.

Today I agreed to take Amelia to McDonald's in Guntersville after dance class. She loves this playground best of all and was thrilled to discover a little girl about her age was already there when we got there. The two little ladies hit it off and were having a bang up time together, which made it even harder to interrupt their play because of another contamination.

I was alerted to today's incident when a young girl about 12 came down and told her grandmother that her brother wouldn't come out of the playground because he'd stepped in poop and was embarrassed. Yes, you read correctly, I said POOP!

The grandmother immediately swung into action, managed to coax the youngster down from the heights at which he'd positioned himself and discovered he had indeed stepped in excrement and had it not only on his socks but also on his pants. I felt so sorry for this kid. He was so embarrassed and had every reason to be.

The grandmother, who was livid, immediately went to find an employee, and I went to find Amelia. I caught her at the bottom of the slide, explained our predicament and escorted her back to our table.

The mother of the child responsible for the mess overheard me telling Amelia what was going on. She knew her kid, who, by the way, was only about 2, was at the center of this debacle, and I knew it too. This child, aside from being too young to be turned loose on her own in this giant play area while mom chatted on the cell phone (again with the phone! You are not so important you have to be available 24/7!), had been exhibiting signs of potty trouble from the time they walked in. Twice I watched her stop playing, grab her crotch or bottom and get very still as if waiting for either her bowels or her bladder to perform.

Had mom been paying attention, she would have recognized this little girl's signals and taken her to the bathroom. But, alas, being too consumed by her scintillating phone conversation, she couldn't be bothered to attend to her child, which resulted in the little girl doing her business in the playground and then toddling off for more fun.

When word got out about what had happened, she found her kid and flew out of there as if her legs were on fire and her ass was catching. Worst of all, she didn't seem embarrassed or even remorseful but instead loudly proclaimed into her cell phone how aggravated she was that she had to end the conversation in order to deal with her little girl.

These incidents have left me disgusted with both the situations and the parents of these ill-trained children. If you are going to bring your kids to a public restaurant where they will be playing among other children and adults, then you have to prepare them to be mindful of others and to understand there are some things that ARE NOT socially acceptable!

I've done my job! My kid knows if she throws up, she should find me, her daddy or another grown up to help her. She also knows to go to bathroom to poo-poo not drop a deuce on the stairs of the indoor playground!

Raising kids keeps me on my toes around the clock, which is why I get so pissed at parents who shirk their duties to the detriment of others around them. What pisses me off even more is that these poor children don't stand a Popsicle's chance in hell of growing up to be of any value to society if this is the start they are getting. Instead they face a lifetime of the same white trash lifestyle their parents are living (or should I say suffering?).

Ugh! I feel like I need about three baths now.

Climb every mountain

Miss Lola has figured out how to climb as evidenced by this sequence of photos I snapped this morning. This girl was bound and determined to get to a toy inside this basket. She definitely keeps us on our toes. We constantly have to keep our eyes and ears open because we never know what she might get into next.

Tiny dancer in my house

photo by Harrison Photography, Ormond Beach, FL

Amelia will soon dance in her second recital for Kohl Academy of Performing Arts. We are so excited to see how much she has learned and see her perform her first ballet routine as last year she did a tap dance to "Rockin' Robin" by the Jackson 5. This year's routine will be to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," which is so fitting because it's a song I have sung to Amelia since she was tiny and because she truly is our little star!

Flashback Friday: There once was ...

From left: Kelsey, Zoey and Carson.

There once was a family that grew from two to five in a matter of minutes. This expansion was the result of the birth of three babies, two girls and a boy, whose arrival sparked much delight and forever changed the dynamic of their extended family.

These children, who are the progeny of my brother-in-law Scott and his wife Bronwyn, are 12 years old today. They have gone from being the precious little darlings who used to call me "Uncle Brandy" to preteens who are growing faster everyday and are still as precious as they were when I first saw them in their little isolettes in the neonatal intensive care unit at Huntsville Hospital.

Carson Brock, Kelsey LeeAnn and Zoey Elizabeth entered this world at 30 weeks gestation weighing in at 3 pounds, 2 ounces, 2 pounds, 15 ounces, and 2 pounds, 12 ounces respectively. They were all healthy and were able to breath without the aid of oxygen within hours after their arrival.

In the 12 years since their birth, the triplets, who for years, even when they were preschoolers, were called "the babies" by me and other members of the family, have developed their own personalities and interests and can in no way be identified as a group anymore (of course other than being classified as triplets, a group to which they will always belong).

Carson is the quiet, strong, leader of the pack who loves to read and has never met a video game he didn't love and couldn't master. Kelsey is quite the social butterfly who is learning to navigate the very tough social structures of junior high school and who loves to strut her stuff in dance class. Zoey, who has been nicknamed ZoeBug since she was as tiny as a bug, is a very inquisitive little girl who has a natural ability with children and babies and who loves to swim so much that she's gearing up for another season as a strong contender on her city's swim team.

My hope is the triplets will always know how very special they are just by virtue of their simultaneous birth. Although there are many multiples on the planet today, being part of such a group is still a rare and special thing.

I wish these children a very Happy Birthday and hope their lives are filled with nothing but blessings of health, happiness and prosperity!

For some interesting reading, check out Anne's memories of Happy Hours in her FlashBack Friday post over at My Tiny Kingdom.

Thursday thought

"My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first one being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint." Erma Bombeck