Christmas

We hope you had a very Merry Christmas! Ours was great - we took our time opening gifts in the morning, everyone (even Mommy!) took a nap in the afternoon, we went for a bike ride, and we really just enjoyed spending the day together. We even got to spend some time with family on the webcam. Here are some pictures from Christmas...

First picture of the day - still waking up!

Santa brought Lily a kitchen.

She made herself a plate of spaghetti. Lily's first golf clubs.
Bunny rabbit
Our little chefBathtub crayons

Christmas Eve

We had a really nice Christmas Eve. We had planned to play games and have dinner with the Swans and Morrows, but since Lily was sick we stayed home. Katie shared some tamales with us, though, so we still had a yummy Christmas Eve dinner. Here are some pictures from that day.

I have to admit, we did not leave cookies for Santa this year. Putting cookies on a plate and leaving them sit out without giving any to Lily would have been a little bit difficult. But we did leave some reindeer food for Santa to take outside and feed to his reindeer. Reindeer like to eat dry oatmeal with red and green colored sugar mixed in so it's sparkly!

Big News!

We're having a baby!

I thought I would wait until Christmas Day or at least Christmas Eve to take the pregnancy test, but I just couldn't stand it anymore! My tentative due date is August 26th, but it doesn't really mean anything until I see the doctor in January.

I'll have an initial visit with my usual OB/GYN, and then I'll be transferred to Dr. Mastrobattista, my perinatologist (that's code for "specialist"). She will take over my prenatal care, and I'll probably see her at least every two weeks. I'm already on blood pressure medications that are safe during pregnancy, so there shouldn't be any need for me to adjust to new meds, at least for a little while. I had lots of labwork done before I became pregnant, so the doctors will have it to compare to if I begin to devolop preeclampsia. Same goes for the EKG, Echocardiogram, and Renal Ultrasound that I've already had - they're ready for comparison if things change during my pregnancy.

We're doing everything we can to keep me healthy so this little baby can grow... Please pray for a safe, healthy, and LONG pregnancy!

Nebulizer

Lily is such a good girl... She actually likes getting her nebulizer treatments! She sits on the couch and either watches Baby Einstein (can't hear it over the noise of the nebulizer, though) or talks to me about her medicine. She points at the mask, smiling and laughing. I'm so glad! The nurse told me yesterday that some kids have to be held down for these treatments because the scream and won't let you do it. That would break my heart!

RSV

Well, I suppose it was bound to happen...
Remember when Lily had to get Synagis shots every month last winter, an immunization to help her fight RSV? Well, in order for insurance plans to cover the very expensive injections, the patient has to meet several criteria, which basically categorize them as being at high risk for developing complications from RSV. Thankfully, Lily was not technically at "high risk" for it this season; however, that means she didn't qualify for the immunizations. If she had stayed on oxygen for about a month and a half longer than she did, she would have qualified for the Synagis injections. And wouldn't you know, she got RSV! Now, don't get me wrong... I'm not complaining, and I'm not angry. It's just ironic.
Synagis actually doesn't prevent RSV - it simply helps the patient fight the infection if it is contracted. So not getting the immunizations in no way caused Lily to get RSV. It just might have helped her keep this yucky infection out of her chest.

RSV is Respiratory Syncitial Virus. It's basically a common cold virus that would cause upper respiratory cold symptoms in an adult. It can be very dangerous for babies, though, especially those with pre-existing respiratory issues like chronic lung disease. The "cold" goes straight to their chests, causing bronchiolitis. The airways get clogged with mucus, so it's difficult to breathe well. A toddler like Lily will be fine... A baby like Lily a year ago probably would have been very, very sick. Thank God for keeping Lily healthy while she grew some bigger lungs!

For now, we're giving her nebulizer treatments every 4 hours during the daytime and letting her sleep at night. She's doing fine, and she'll probably be over this within about two more weeks. In the meantime, we'll have lots of playtime at home... Lily hasn't let her yucky cold slow her down. We're still playing all day long, and she's only taking her usual one nap a day. She's just started telling me, "Mommy, nose!" or "tissue!" when her nose is yucky; and after a coughing spell she says, "water, Mommy!" What a sweet, blessed child.

Early Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Corning on Saturday morning. We were having so much fun opening gifts with Lily that we completely forgot to take pictures! We're so thankful for our webcam... Now that Lily is a little older, she really enjoys the webcam and seems to understand who she's seeing on the computer screen (she calls it "TV" when the webcam is on; otherwise it's called a "puter"). Here are some pictures of Lily's new table and chairs. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!

Just some pictures

This is what Lily does if I lean down to take a picture of her:

UPS was here!Big Muscles