Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Belated 5 Month Update


Not to jinx ourselves, but we think the Baby's clogged tear duct has finally cleared itself out. For awhile after the procedure, her eye would just crust up and the Baby would wake up with one eye open. It was pretty creepy. Hopefully it stays cleared out, otherwise the ophthalmologist will have to implant some tubes in her tear ducts.

The Baby turned 5 months not too long ago and not a lot has changed with her. She is flip flopping around like a fish out of water and she has actually gotten pretty good at moving around to get closer to objects just be scooting around on her back. She is also holding herself up with her arms and she now sleeps on her side. I walked into her room one night and she was sleeping on her stomach with her face smooshed into the mattress, so I flipped her over. The Wifey says she will be fine, she will know when to turn over if she starts asphyxiating. I'd rather not take the chance. We also haven't introduced solids yet to the Baby but she is definitely interested in them. We are going to wait until the Baby can sit up her own first. Personally, I don't mind, because once you introduce solids, the shit becomes real. Literally. She has cute little breastmilk poops that aren't disgusting. But it's only a matter of time. As far as other developmental skills, the Baby has learned to take out her pacifier and put it back into her mouth and she even makes a game out of it. Anyways, here are some more pictures. These are just the ones I take every morning and send to the Wifey when she is at work... The pictures would be better, but the flash is pretty bright so she she always has a disgusted look when I take her picture.

This is the Baby peeking at us from her bassinet.



Friday, August 20, 2010

For Margot

Tuesday night was the memorial For Margot and it was a really nice event. The family was definitely surrounded by people who truly cared and were affected by this sweet child. Maybe it was a coincidence but as soon as the ceremony started, the sky opened up and a fairly massive storm came over the Kessler Theatre and stopped pouring as the ceremony finished. I like to think that the Heavens were crying the exact same time as everybody else.

A lot of excellent, local musicians were present to serenade Margot's memory and despite the somber attitude, their acoustic set was really well done. It felt personal, it felt real. Very few words were spoken at the funeral, it was just the music and our thoughts and it was just emotional.

These were the performers that sang a few songs:

Salim Nourallah, Chris HoltDoug Burr and The Beaten Sea.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

A Memorial

Last week I made a rather vague post about a very tragic situation. So here I am shedding more light:

Our beloved family photographer Carissa Byers, who has taken our wedding photos, family portraits, Christmas cards, baby portraits,(pretty much any event that can be photographed, she has taken it), had a beautiful and very chunky/cute 1 year old daughter. Her daughter was being a typical baby, crawling around and exploring, when she started to choke on an apple. After a few days of ICU care, she finally gave into a good fight. This is her story if you care for more details.

I met Margot a handful of times. She still hadn't started talking but just her face and her eyes, she could tell me stories for hours on end. It truly saddened our family as we pondered the 'what-ifs'. The Baby and her were only a few months apart and the Wifey and I discussed about how they could become good friends, just because her parents were cool and we wanted to hang out with them too.

Despite the heartbreaking ordeal, Margot was brave and generous enough to put an organ donor sticker on the back of her license. This little girl, although she broke so many hearts with her departure, was able to bring so much hope and joy for other families. She was able to provide a new heart for a 2 year old girl, a liver for a 1 year old, and a new kidney for a 26 year old man. It is amazing.

Tonight will be her memorial.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Tear Ducts

The unclogging of the tear duct has been unsuccessful. The ophthalmologist told us that the procedure was about 90% effective. The Baby apparently likes to be special and wanted to be apart of the 10%. The next step is implanting tubes into her tear ducts so they will properly drain. We're not in a hurry to get that procedure done.

As far as the Baby goes, she is rolling around like she is on fire. One second she is on her playmat, the next she is in the other room. She likes to be on her stomach and is holding herself up with her arms. She is almost sitting up by herself but she usually just falls to her toes so she can start sucking on them. She can almost sit up by herself which makes me absolutely jealous of the strength in her core. She must be doing P90X.

She is also trying to figure out how to put the pacifier in her mouth. She will take it out of her mouth and try to put it back in. It's just amazing to me to see how motor skills get developed. At first, she seemed like a drunkard trying to figure things but now she is sobering up. Her coordination is getting better, she is recognizing new objects, and she is reaching out to grab them and bring it to her mouth.

Anyways.. it's picture time!

It's an unfair, cruel world.

I really didn't know how to approach this subject. I don't know how to line up my words and make each one count. But a good friend of ours is dealing with a tragic event that I can't even fathom. I opted not to post her blog or her name and just let her family keep the little peace they have left. But just make sure you have an extra prayer for them.

The whole ordeal literally makes me sick to my stomach. These things shouldn't happen to good people. Never. The power of prayer can only go so far. Science and medicine can only do so much. Good people shouldn't rely on hope. Things should just get better. Good people should never experience bad things.

Every time I see her update her social networks, I just want it to be about something else. Like this never happened. Like this was a bad dream that I had. I can't imagine how she is feeling.

If you can spare a prayer, this family needs it. They don't to deserve to experience this.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Pictures

The first picture is the Baby before her tear duct unclogging. The neon green gunk around is her Lady GaGa impression. It could be her Clockwork Orange impression, who knows. So smiling, little did she know what was about to happen. In the next few pictures is the Baby's first trip to the circus. She seemed very intrigued by all the lights and sounds until she fell asleep half way through it.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

A Modest Proposal

The Baby has survived her first medical procedure and it was a tough one to witness. Our doctor, Dr. Susan Hubbard, told us that it wasn't anything to worry about. It would be quick and relatively pain-free. So she referred us to a pediatric ophthalmologist in the area. We arrived at the doctor's office and they squirt some sort of solution into her eyes to help identify how badly clogged her tear ducts were. The doctor flashed a black light over her eyes and they lit up neon green. The Baby looked like Lady Gaga with how much neon green was encompassing her eye. So anyways, we head back to the room where they plan on puncturing the clogged tear duct. Inside the room there was a table that looked like a stretcher with heavy-duty velcro straps. The doctor straps the Baby in as if she was going to be Care-Flited somewhere. And then another nurse literally grabs the Baby's head, clamps her cheeks and mouth shut and holds her still as the doctor starts probing her eye. The Baby's face turns beet red and she is trying to scream through her toothless gums but the nurse has her iron claws wrapped her tiny head. Spit bubbles come spewing out from the Baby's lips as she is trying to scream louder and louder as the doctor inserts tubes and needles through her eye. Finally the doctor squirts water into her eye just to make sure everything was draining properly and she was finished. The whole procedure took about four minutes but it was tough to watch. But on the bright side, the Baby woke up this morning and she was able to open BOTH eyes! Hopefully her tear ducts stay open because I don't the Wifey or myself can handle another unclogging session anytime soon.

The other day at breakfast, the Wifey made a comment on the peculiarity of my blog title "Eat the Babies" and I realized she didn't know the significance of it and I am sure other people wouldn't have known either, so let me explain. "Eat the Babies" is loosely interpreted from Jonathan Swift's essay entitled "A Modest Proposal" written in 1729. During this year Ireland was faced with the severe potato famine and the country itself was dying from hunger since their staple was non-existent. Swift wrote a satirical essay detailing the copious amount of children that Ireland contained and how that could help with the famine. He suggested that the Irish look to begin devouring their children.
Infant's flesh will be in season throughout the year, but more plentiful in March, and a little before and after...  -- Jonathan Swift, "A Modest Proposal"
It was completely and absolutely absurd and sarcastic but it caused an uproar. And that was my influence in choosing the title of "Eat the Babies." I just wanted to write something so absurdly sarcastic to help paint a picture as I try to figure out this baby thing.