Baby Oatmeal!!

Seraph had her first taste of oatmeal today. (OK, technically I snuck her a taste months ago...but her first official taste...)

She LOVES food. Her therapist thinks her muscles will get strong fast. She might be able to take a (thickened) bottle in a few weeks!! Her oral aversions vanish when the oatmeal gets close to her mouth. She had some trouble at the end, but was fine once we vented her g-tube. Next time we'll feed her while venting(!)[venting is leaving the tube open so if she needs to burp it can come out the tube instead of getting stuck in her tummy]

Once she's doing really well on real foods, we can take out the g-tube and let it heal over. That's still a long way off....but maybe not as long as we'd thought :)

Seraph is thinking about eating....

She got her G-tube button today (a more compact g-tube with easier maintainance).

Then she passed her swallow study! She still can't drink really thin liquids - like baby formula. She can drink nectar, eat baby-food bananas and applesauce, and drink thickened formula. I'm excited to see what direction her speech therapist takes her (starting tomorrow!).

For the swallow study, they squirt food into her mouth that has barium mixed in. Then they watch her xray as she swallows or aspirates it. Her favorite was the unflavored barium. This was her favorite part of the day. She perked up and you could tell she wants to use her mouth for eating.

Good job, lil girlie :)

Happy Birthday, Angel

Angel (age 1):

wt: 20#7oz

ht:28.8"

Favorite toy: her daddy

binky: nope - prefers her baba (bottle)

favorite word: mamamamamamamamamamamamamama (This is how she gets me out of bed in the mornings.)

Angel loves to sing in the morning. She recently started saying "NO", but doesn't know what it means yet. Doc said she's going to start having temper tantrums - ack!

She walks! Her motto in life could be "me too"! She wants to go every where Strong Bear & Delightful Finch go; wants to do everything they do. She rides their trikes, she climbed Finch's chair so often we had to buy Finch an Angel-proof chair! She loves her grandpa...and knows just how to get him (and others) to pick her up.

This year has passed by so quickly for Angel. She is eating real food--but not enough teeth to mash it up herself. She has 5 teeth on bottom and 4 on top.

Favorite food: Strawberry. She clutches her strawberry so tight she has trouble grabbing a new one when the old one is just a tiny red spot in her hand.

She weighed 4#13oz at birth. She was in the NICU for 10 days and came home withOUT oxygen or her NG tube. Her brother and sisters have loved her to pieces from day 1.

She asks for a bottle when she's sleepy. ...and can sleep anywhere. She usually wakes up happy. Sometimes I'm sure she thinks she just blinked when really it was a 4 hour nap.
She loves her Seraph sister. She likes to help her get rid of those silly cords. She also likes to show her how to play with toys. Angel always has smiles for Seraph.

Happy Birthday, Seraph

Seraph (age 1):

wt:19#8oz

ht:27.2"

Favorite toy: oxygen cannula (she likes to chew on the cord)

She loves playing Peek-a-boo. (esp the one where you throw a small blanket on her head and then say "peek-a-boo" once she pulls it off). She also loves her teeth. She has this amazing little smile that shows off all her teeth. She has atleast 6 teeth on top (2 more top molars about to pop through) and 8 teeth on bottom.

She rolls to her sides, and sits up well for short periods of time. She's happy to be rid of her NJ tube!! She doesn't think she needs her oxygen or monitors anymore - she's always pulling them off. She knows to cry at doctor's offices before they even look at her.

She's had 2 open heart surgeries and 2 other surgeries. She's a strong little girl who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to tell doctors off....or pee on them when they deserve it :P

At birth, she weighted 4#8oz. She's always been a very social baby. I can't believe how much she's been through this year. I'm just happy to have her home. She's amazing.

One more picture with her NJ tube (which she had for soooooo much of this past year.)

She really loves her hands, too. Sometimes she just stares at them and watches how they work. She loves her Angel sister...but sometimes Angel is a little too hyper for her. Sometimes Seraph gets anxious when Angel is too close. Other times, she grabs Angel's hand or nose or face and watches her intently.

So happy to have these 2 as part of our family :)

After the rain....

Took the family to the park today. Seraph was chewing on her oxygen tube so much today, I finally just took it off. She's still on an oxygen monitor. Her oxygen levels and heart rate have been in a good range for the past 4 hours. I'll put the oxygen back on if she gets tired of breathing by herself. (It's back on now at 1/8 liter)

Angel ate sand. yuck!

Delightful Finch made friends with the highschool kids. They kept lifting her up for drinks at the drinking fountain....and then she just kinda hung out with them. I guess they were cooler than us :p

Bear and Rabbit played games and spun themselves silly. Haqon and I and Faerie Princess each tried the spinning toys (if only briefly).

Seraph at the Park

Turn your sound on - she makes cute baby noises :)

My Baby Girlie

Seraph is amazing. I thought she'd be weaker after her surgery. Instead, she's stronger and happier. The biggest problem we've had is that she likes to chew on her oxygen tube or pull it off completely right before falling asleep.

We're soooo happy :) It's wonderful to have her home.

Now that she doesn't need all the reflux meds, she only gets meds about half as often as before. I feel like I'm on vacation! She sleeps 6-8 hours at night. !!!

I can't wait to start up her physical therapy and speech therapy. I'm excited to see what she can do.