Friday Wrap-Up

My goodness we had a busy week! Since this blog serves as my journal of sorts, I want to recap. I hope you don't mind.

So, I guess I'll start with Monday, since Sunday we didn't even get out of our pjs. Did I really just admit that? Ummm...anyhow...Monday we had to make an impromptu trip to Pasadena. I noticed a prong on my ring had broken and of course wanted to get it fixed asap before the stone fell out. Abigail had her first (and I am sure not last) massive public meltdown. Thank goodness we both survived...barely. Since we were on that side of town I politely invited myself over to Auntie Erin's house for dinner. I even went so far as to request a particular menu. She makes the BEST chicken piccata! Don't worry...I brought the groceries. Jeesh...I am not THAT rude! Anyhow, Abby and I passed out on her sofa at about 9pm, so when she woke for her bottle at midnight, I gave it to her and then we decided to make the hour-long drive home. A late night indeed...

Tuesday...hmmm...what was Tuesday? Oh yes! Daddy was home from work Tuesday. He spent most of the day tending to Abigail so that I could get some errands run. The post office. The grocery store. All that good stuff. A fairly uneventful day. Oh my gosh...I almost forgot! We went to see the pediatric surgeon on this day! How on Earth could I forget that?!?! Anyway, he was THRILLED with Abby's progress and weight gain. He even said it was time to schedule some pre-op tests so that he can put her back together after the first of the year! Yay! Yes, I am dreading putting her back in the hospital and the surgery and all...but it's inevitable, and once it's over, she will be all better for good! Poopie diapers...here we come!

Wednesday we got up early to go to the hospital for an RSV shot. Abigail weighed 9 pounds 5 ounces. Unbelievable. While we were there we paid a visit to the 2nd floor. The NICU. We saw our favorite nurse and dear friend, Mandy, and many others who cared for Abigail for the 7 weeks she was there. Everyone was excited to see her and commented on how wonderful she looks. Then we made the trek back to Pasadena to pick up my ring. The timing was a little off so we got "stuck" on that side of town. I had NO interest in sitting in 2+ hours of rush-hour traffic, so once again, I invited myself over for dinner. This time to Uncle Jeff and Auntie Susan's. And, since I was on that side of town, I took Abby to see her Daddy at work for the first time. She LOVED the big red shiny firetruck.

Hmmm...Thursday...ah yes..another PJ day. Abigail took a 3 hour nap in the morning and instead of sleeping too, I obsessively scrubbed our kitchen. I mean seriously scrubbed. Rubber gloves and all. I even cleaned the yucky crevices of the stove with q-tips. What was I thinking, you ask??? I have NO idea! But the kitchen is sparkling...I can tell you that for certain. I doubt it will last long, but at least for a short time, it will sparkle.

Today. Today is Friday. We had plans to meet Auntie Erin, Sharon and Lynda for a little shopping and lunch. My goal was to leave the house at 8:45am. I somehow managed to get out of the house only 10 minutes late. And that's even WITH having to give Abigail an unplanned dip in the tub (she sprung a messy leak overnight). Before Abigail came along I was one of those annoying people who liked to be on time for everything. And punctuality is very important to me. Well...I haven't been on time for ANYTHING since Abigail came home. I always seem to forget what a production it is to get out of the house. How you mommies with more than one do it...I'll never understand. But, even leaving 10 minutes late, we got there on time. Abigail loved meeting Sharon and Lynda. And they each very generously bought Abby a gift. And I bought her her first pair of jeans. I will soon take pictures of her in her new duds for all to see. I just have to wash everything first. But a huge Thank you goes out to Sharon and Lynda!

So that pretty much brings us to now. Abby is sleeping next to me on the sofa. Daddy will be home from work in the morning and we can't wait to see him. I can see the full moon from where I am sitting. It's big and bright! Apparently tonight it is the closest to Earth it's been since 1993. Kinda cool...

Well, that's my wrap up. I will end, once again, with some pictures from this week...







(You better not pout!)




(Thursday's sunrise)


(Too tired to shop)

Bath time and a new BFF

It was time to dunk Abby in the tub tonight. Daddy was home so of course I thought it was the perfect time to capture bath time on film camera...you know...since I had a couple of extra hands. My first thought as Daddy brought Abby to the kitchen ready for her bath, was to get a picture of that adorable little tushie.




Stupid me. I guess I got a little more than I bargained for...



Yes. That is exactly what you think it is. It's pee. All over my floor. Two seconds without her britches on was all it took.

Lesson learned.

Once we did finally get her in the tub we had all sorts of fun.







I think she would sit in that tub for hours if I let her.

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Saturday night Abigail met her BFF Tatum. Ok, so maybe THEY haven't decided that they want to be BFFs, but their Mommies kind of decided for them. Seriously...it just doesn't get much cuter than this. I can already see them laughing over these pics 20 years from now.







Don't worry. Everyone was properly screened for coughs, colds, runny noses...the works, before we went to the Mitchell's house.

Thanks for a fun night Mitchell family!

Those silly elves...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

TTTS Awareness Day

Today is designated as International TTTS Awareness Day. TTTS is Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. It is what took the life of our little baby Madison at 24 weeks 2 days gestation. We had never heard of this disease until we were diagnosed with it at 16 weeks pregnant. The disease only affects identical twins. It is devastating if not treated, and even sometimes when it is treated...sadly we are living proof of that.

Today I am sad. I am sad for us as parents. I am sad for Abigail, that she will never know her sister. I am sad for Madison, that I couldn't do more to save her. And I am sad for every family who has to deal with this awful diagnosis.

Tonight, there is a worldwide candlelight vigil and prayer. In the privacy of their own homes, participants will light candles in honor of all of the babies who have or will suffer from TTTS. The donor babies will have candles lit in their honor at 5:10pm (in all time zones), followed by the recipient babies at 5:15. Abby and I are going to participate. In 2 hours and 14 minutes we are going to light a candle for sweet little Madison. And 5 minutes later, we will light one for Abby as well.

The TTTS Foundation is a non-profit organization that helps families suffering from TTTS. They were incredibly helpful to us when we were diagnosed. We are forever grateful for the work that they do and like to support them as much as we can. If you would like to help too, you can click here to make a donation.

Here are some photos I have never shared before, but I post them today, in honor of my sweet angel.


A package ironically opened today, that came from ML, contained this little ornament (along with others), which already hangs on our Christmas tree. Thank you ML.


Madison's "birth certificate", made by one of the nurses.


The blanket and hat Madison wore when her Daddy and I held her, along with her hospital id bands.


A shelf in Abigail's nursery. The bears were given to us by the hospital. The white bear was a gift from Madison, to Daddy and me. The brown bear is from Madison to Abigail. I slept with that brown bear every night while I was in the hospital. The white keepsake box holds her blanket, hat and id bands. The little blue one in front of it holds a picture of her feet, as well as a cast of her footprints. The marble building block is Madison's urn. Her final resting place. Appropriately placed in the room she was meant to share with her sister.

Please. Donate if you can. Future families need our help.

Thank you.

My first award!

Thanks to Heather for giving me my first award!



Here are the rules:

1. Pick six people and pass this award to them.
2. Then contact them and let them know you have chosen them and their blog for the award.
3. Also link back to the person who gave you this award.

I'm passing it along to:

Merry Lynn
Devin
Jenna
Kristi
Beth
Jeana

A letter to my daughter

Dear Abigail,

Hi Baby! This is my first letter to you. I should write more often, I know. Anyways...you are going to be 15 weeks old on Sunday! We just can't believe it. Time is flying by. And just so you know, your adjusted age will be 4 weeks. I wanted to give you a recap of what we did this week. First off, we met with the Regional Center. Remember them? They will be providing any therapies you may need...physical, occupational, speech...etc. Not that we think you will need them, but these are things we need to stay on top of. As of today, we are still waiting for an assessment of your development and a recommendation for future visits. We also saw the eye doctor this week...and you were released! Yay for you! Your eyes are completely normal for your adjusted age. We made an appointment with a pediatric opthamologist in 3 months to check for any nearsightedness or farsightedness...but I am confident that you can see just perfectly. The good news is, there is no longer a chance for ROP. You are out of the woods baby.

I am sure I don't have to remind you of this, as you still have the bandaids on your legs to prove it, but you had a couple of vaccinations at the doctor's office yesterday. Yes, I am one of THOSE moms who still believes in immunizations. Sorry honey. You weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds 11 ounces! Holy cow are you getting to be a big girl. You were 20.5 inches tall. That's 6 pounds 7 ounces bigger than your birth weight and 6 inches taller than your height at birth. You also showed Dr. Pepek that your walking reflexes are in tact. Daddy and I thought you looked like you were ready to run a marathon. Ok...well, maybe not a marathon...but you are definitely showing signs that you are going to get those little legs going when you are ready to.

This week your personality really started to show. Just this morning we saw what we thought might be a smile...and not because you were pooping! You love getting little kisses on your cheeks. I think that makes you smile. You've also been practicing holding your head up. You LOVE looking at yourself in the mirror, which I think is just adorable. And as it's been since the beginning, you can still yell like nobody's business when you are mad at us.

You continue to amaze your Daddy and me with your progress. You are such a strong little girl. Every day you make us proud. You have changed our lives in a way I never thought was possible. In the few short months you have been with us, we have fallen madly in love with you. You make our days brighter. You make our happy family happier. Now, here are some pictures we took of you this week. We love you baby!

Love,
Mom

SAHM I AM?

Well, I finally did it. Today I am officially a stay-at-home-mom. No more leave of absence. No more corporate world. No more business travel. It's over. Now I am embarking on what will probably be the hardest, most tiring, and most rewarding job I will ever have. Stay-at-home-mom.

Yep...that's me. It feels weird just saying it.

So here's what happened.

I have been with the same company for 11 years. Well, it'll be 11 years on December 22nd. I really can't complain, as they have been very good to me over the past 11 years. Anyhow, last April, the 18th to be exact, was the last day that I worked. It was then that all heck broke loose with my pregnancy and I was put on bedrest for what I thought would only be a few days. Well, here we are on December 2nd, and I still haven't been back to the office. Not by choice of course. My employer has been VERY patient with me. Throughout the whole ordeal, they have been by my side, checking in to make sure we were ok, never pressuring me to come back. Paying me...

Until now. Now my time is up. I was told last month I had to return to work by December 8th or they would take me off roll and replace me. I mean, I knew it couldn't last forever, but I was hoping for a couple more months, just to get Abigail through her next surgery. But, they need someone. And I understand. My coworkers have been picking up my slack for long enough.

So...after many discussions with Brian, and after looking at our options for daycare (which are limited considering Abby can't be around other babies), we have decided it is best for her if I stay home for a while. So that's it. I told my boss today that I would not be back on the 8th. She cried. I cried. It was a hard phone call to make. But I know it was the right one. My family needs me.

Yes. My family needs me.

I'm a stay-at-home-mom.