Talky Talky

Leah is starting to make lots and lots of noises.  She talks and babbles and coos, her sounds vary in sound and pitch, sometimes she is loud, sometimes she is quiet.  We can tell if she’s hungry, tired, happy, in a good mood or about to lose it.  I’m amazed at how she can communicate with us already!  Ty even got her to giggle.  He was flying her around and she was really enjoying it.  We think she’s going to be a little bit of a daredevil.  It’s so much fun to see her little personality coming through. 


We had a pretty exciting weekend.  On Saturday we put her in the stroller and went for a walk to the meat shop and grocery store to get dinner, which was over an hour walk.  Then we went to one of the Minneapolis lakes on Sunday for a long walk.  She really loves her stroller, and it was great putting her in a sundress and summery clothes.  I can’t believe the beautiful weather we’ve been having!  On Saturday we also put the infant sling into the bike carrier, and Ty took her on her first bike ride.  The look on her face was hilarious… her eyes got huge and she had to be wondering what the heck was going on!!  Ty has been waiting a year to be able to bike with her.  Yes, since we found out I was pregnant this time last year, he’s been so excited to take the baby for a bike ride.  Ty even picked her up from daycare on the bike today!  

I’ve now been back to work for a month, and I think our life has gotten into a little bit of a routine.  For a while after starting daycare, Leah was getting up 1-2 times a night.  I think it was a combination of her being over-tired (she doesn’t sleep at daycare) and over-stimulated (so many new things to see and do).  Thankfully, she’s now going 9-10 hours at night and only getting up early in the morning.  The weekends are our time to relax and catch up on sleep.  I let her sleep in on Sunday morning and she didn’t wake up until 10:15.  She isn’t the greatest napper, and I’m having a hard time getting her to nap in her crib, especially when she’d rather snuggle with me.  My mom says she knows how to yank my chain… yes, but I’m a sucker!  Especially if she’ll sleep with me for an hour vs. in her crib for 15 minutes.

Now for her Spina Bifida update………..…..……….

Is there really nothing to report?!?!  Woo Hoo!!!  We go back to Children’s for the full-day of appointments in 2 weeks, but so far, she is doing just great.  She got over her little cold, I think she’s teething, I feel her fontanel constantly.  Sometimes I think it feels full but then I feel it again 10 minutes later and it’s fine.  We still work her legs several times a day to keep them loose and stretched out.  When we were walking around the lake this weekend, I thought about dipping her feet in the sand and water, but then I realized she wouldn’t be able to feel it, and it made me sad.  Hopefully that will be the worst thing we have to deal with in terms of her condition, and if that’s the case, I would consider us extremely lucky.

Here are a few pictures from Leah's baptism last weekend.

Action shot

Godparents

Grandparents

 

The Cunningham family

God Bless Leah

We had a very exciting weekend... Leah was baptized!!  It was a very special weekend for us to have our families here to celebrate with us.  My whole family make the drive up from Illinois, all 12 of them, and we had a great time.  They got in on Friday afternoon around dinnertime.  Leah was pretty worn out from the day and week and she had a little meltdown.  Poor thing, she wasn't used to so many people in her house and I'm sure she just wanted a little bit of quiet time.  She will need to learn that there is no such thing as quiet time around the Cunninghams... LOL!  I put her down at 6:30 and she was out.  Saturday was a much better day.  Everyone came over to our house, we went for a walk down by the lake because it was such a beautiful day.  I never imagined that we would have 60-degree weather in early March!  Leah even took a couple naps and was in a great mood all day. 

We had her baptism after the 4:30 mass at our church.  In addition to my family, Ty's parents and cousins and their little girls all came.  The only people missing from the party were Ty's sister, brother-in-law and niece, who live in Nashville.  Leah did great with the water being poured over her head and just looked around, like she always does.  Everyone came back to our house for taco dinner afterward.  Leah even stayed up for most of the celebration and didn't really start fussing until close to 8:00.  We were so proud of how good she did all day, with all the noise and people and being passed around.  She is just such an easy-going baby. 

The Cunninghams stopped over to our house Sunday morning for breakfast and to try and get another cousin picture before hitting the road.  It was a quick weekend, but we had a great time.  I am so grateful that they were all able to make it up here.  This was the first time since last Thanksgiving that everyone has all been together.  It really meant a lot to me that 12 people drove all that way for us and for Leah.  When Leah was in the hospital for surgery, our pastor offered to baptize her there.  I couldn't imagine doing it anywhere but our church with all our family with us and being able have a celebration. 

Leah's baptism dress came from her Great-Grandma Ellie, my mom's mom.  The slip was worn by my Grandma on her baptism, as well as my mom and her siblings, me and some of my cousins.  The gown was Ellie's 1st Communion dress.  It is a really beautiful dress and I love that it has special meaning to our family. 

Leah also turned 4 months old on Saturday.  I can't believe she's getting so big!  She's talking a ton and she discovered her hands the other night.  It was so cute to watch her look at them and get really surprised when they started moving.  She is also able to see people farther away, and she can find me from across the room.  I think she's working on her bottom teeth because she's constantly chewing on her hands and has been drooling more than usual.  We don't have any doctor appointments coming up until early April, so hopefully March will be a very quiet month for us.  Maybe this will be the month when we get some giggles.

Back in the Saddle

I’ve been back at work for 2 weeks now.  The transition hasn’t actually been too bad.  I came back to work part-time with Mondays off, so that has helped tremendously.   Our first week was actually pretty smooth, and Leah was beyond tired every night, so she went right to sleep.  I think it’s been kind of easy because I just love our daycare so much.  She is usually in a different place when we pick her up, like in a vibrating chair, or on the floor in a boppy, they are doing tummy time with her, and this week they went for a stroller ride and a field trip to the preschool room.  They also have a daily activity… yesterday was arranging flowers, earlier this week was bubbles, last week they did shapes, next week they’ll do animal sounds.  When I dropped her off yesterday, the teacher told me she just loves Leah and calls her “my little princess.”  I thought, ok, I’m good. 

Last week she got her first cold.  I knew it was going to happen once she started daycare, but I didn’t realize it would happen so soon.  Everyone keeps saying that it’s good for her immune system, which I know in my head, but it just breaks my heart to see her not feeling well.  We were off on Monday, Ty stayed home with her on Tuesday, and we had a snow day on Wednesday.  I think that helped having her home a few days to get some extra rest. 

I did call our spina bifida doctor to ask about what to watch for.  Anytime Leah is sick, there is a chance that it will cause her shunt to get infected… it is a small chance, but we need to be aware of it.  Dr. Marker wanted her to come in so he could see her, especially since she is so young and this is her first cold.  This was on Monday (another reason I’m glad to have 1 day off each week), and we got right over there.  He wasn’t too concerned with the cold, and she was still in good spirits – smiling and content (she needs to teach Daddy a thing or 2 about having a tiny cold).  The one thing we needed to watch for was her breathing.  Because of her Chiari malformation, she could have some breathing problems and is susceptible to respiratory infections.  That’s also why she takes the caffeine.  Now, almost 2 weeks later, she is pretty much all better.  She still has a little raspy cough in the morning, which the doctor said is normal since she’s laying down all night.  I keep feeling her soft spot to make sure the shunt is still draining.  We had a few sleepless nights last week, but now we’re definitely on the mend. 

Earlier this week she had her 4-month check-up with her pediatrician.  Ty took her to this appointment – alone – so I made sure to dress Leah in an outfit that would be easy for him to get her in and out of.  For her stats:  she weighs 12 lbs, which is the 20th percentile, she is 24” long, the 50th percentile, and her head size is in the 15th percentile.  Then he went through the checklist about what a 4-month old should be doing: sucking her fingers, smiling, cooing/babbling, pulling things into her mouth – and she did everything right there in his office.  He is very happy with how she is growing… she is a long, skinny baby with a small head, and she is right on track with her development milestones.  In every way she is just a normal baby.  Wow, I can’t believe I just said that… she is a normal baby.  SHE IS A NORMAL BABY!!!  I know we have a long road ahead of us, but I am so proud and overjoyed with how well she is doing today. 

Here is one of my favorite recent pictures of her.

How Cute Is She?

Here are some recent pictures of our favorite little girl. 

It's Finally Over

Yes, my maternity leave is finally over.  Oh, it makes me so sad to think that someone else gets to spend all day with Leah and I have to go to work.  I know it's crazy but I think that going to daycare will be harder on her than on me.  I'll be going back to work, which is familiar and I'll know what to expect.  But Leah has never been away from me for more than a couple hours.  She'll have to eat from a bottle, sleep (or not sleep) in a noisy room, and wait her turn to be held.  She's used to getting warm milk from mommy whenever she wants, snuggling with me all day, falling asleep in my arms and chilling in our quiet house.  I'm afraid she's in for a rude awakening!  I've been trying to get her on a sleep schedule that it more suited for daycare, so her mornings of sleeping until 10 are over.  She usually wakes around 7 and then I put her back down for 3 hours, but I've been keeping her up.  This way I can figure out when she gets sleepy and is ready for a nap... which seems to make her tired all day.  Hmmm, we have to get this figured out.  I have a feeling she'll be very sleepy and cranky when she comes home from her first day.

I did get a little bit of time out of the house this weekend.  Ty was so thoughtful and got me a gift certificate for a hair cut and mani/pedi.  It was really nice to have a little pampering done.  Oh, how I love having pretty colors on my nails and my hair washed and blow-dried.  It feels so luxurious :)  Today was my last day home with Leah.  Ty asked if I wanted him to take the day off, and I really didn't.  I needed this last day with her, and we pretty much chilled in bed all day.  I could tell she really liked the extra cuddle time, I got a lot of smiles from her.  She melts my heart.

On Friday Leah and I had a playdate with some SB moms.  Our friend Maggie, whose 5-year old has SB, had us over to her house for a few hours.  It is so nice having these other moms who have experienced what we're going to experience, who have recommendations for doctors and advice for advocating for their kids.  Spina Bifida is so different for everyone, some have more shunt failures than others, some kids don't even have shunts, they have surgeries at different times in their lives, it's not a straightforward diagnosis.  What works for 1 kid won't work for another.  I find that frustrating and liberating at the same time.  I like that I have other moms who are going through the same things I'm going through and can share the emotions that I have.  I also like that Leah will grow up with a group of people who are like her, who have similar experiences with all kinds of doctors appointments and medical equipment, and who can relate to having this condition.  For Leah to see how successful and happy these kids are, especially kids a few years older, will hopefully show her that she can be too! 

Wow, it's been such an incredible 3 months.  It's been the best 3 months of my life, getting to wake up everyday and see her little face, snuggling with her, watching her smile for the first time, seeing her grow and learn new things.  I'm so jealous of her daycare workers who get to spend everyday with her. 

She's Mobile!

Leah rolled over tonight!  Twice!!  She actually did it for the first time last week but I thought it was cheating a little bit because I kind of helped her.  But tonight she was doing tummy time after her bath and she got on her side and then flipped her little legs around.... all by herself.  Oh we are so proud!  I think I'd be excited for this milestone if she was a "regular" baby, but it seems like this is so much more of a big deal because her legs aren't supposed to work.  It really gives us hope that she's going to be mobile in her own way.

Big Week

Leah had a very exciting week so I'm not surprised that she's still sleeping at 10am.  On Monday we had a full day of doctor's appointments.  We started out with head and renal ultrasounds.  The renal u/s checks her kidneys and bladder to ensure they are in good health and to find out whether we need to empty her bladder using catheters.  Thankfully it shows that everything is in good working order and she is able to go on her own.  We then went and met with neuro to see the results of the head u/s, and our neuro told us that Leah is "textbook" which means she is doing very well.  The shunt is still working, and she shows no sign on having any effects from her hydrocephalus.  Our final stop was to our Spina Bifida doctor, and he is very happy with how she is doing.  Her legs and feet, though not working, are nice and loose, which is important if she is going to wear braces.  Overall she is a healthy little girl and is doing amazingly well.  We were so relieved!!!  It's stressful for us to go to all these doctors appointments and hear about things that could be wrong and to get news that we don't want to hear.  I know it will happen one day, and it's such a relief to go and hear good news.

We got home at 3, just enough time for Leah to eat and take a quick nap and then we had to get to the airport for our first trip.  Leah and I went to Illinois to visit my family!  She was actually fussier in the car than on the airplane, thankfully.  She did great on the plane, fell asleep pretty much right away.  I carried her through the airport in my moby carrier, and we got a lot of smiles because she is so darn cute.  We had to get a pat-down because she couldn't go through the metal detectors.  Her shunt is controlled by a magnet, and the metal detectors could reset her pressure. 

We had a busy couple days with a lot of family wanting to come by and meet her.  She got to hang out with her 3 boy cousins and they had so much fun with her.  She was watching everyone and taking it all in.  She also got to meet my 2 grandmas.  I love that I could take her to see everyone.  She traveled really well and it was almost.... easy.  I'm sure I won't feel that way when she's 2 but traveling with a 3-month old is great. 

Now I feel like my maternity leave is really over.  Next week is my last week home, and I'll be getting us both ready for me to go back to work.  I'll also have a practice day with daycare and then it's all over. 

Here are a couple fun pictures of our trip. 

Leah loved the moby wrap!

Leah with her cousins.  As expected, getting 4 little ones to all cooperate just doesn't happen, but that's what makes it so fun!