We have the most perfect person possible, someone I've never even met, who has volunteered to come by today and help with Olivia. I am so grateful for all the prayer!
By 800 this morning, I'd had a phone call by someone offering suggestions for help and a few minutes later we had a solution. Thank you to my church family and all my friends and even the strangers who are now reading this blog and praying for us. We even have someone bringing us by more Lysol spray on their way to the doctor to help me sanitize some of the fabric surfaces!
Laundry is still going. Amelia finally stopped throwing up around 5 am. She's resting on a bunch of (now clean again) towels watching movies and Olivia is still in the other room. Soon Olivia will have someone here to keep her company today.
Thank you to everyone.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Please pray for us...
Amelia has a pretty bag GI bug. We know she doesn't have the flu because she's missing some major symptoms, so it seems the shots are working. She's been throwing up all night and we've gone through every towel in the house. Poor thing is now sleeping on the bathroom floor on towels and blankets, throwing up every once in a while and I change out the blankets. She was in our room sleeping, waiting for me to come back from a Focus on the Family seminar in Bluffton, woke up throwing up and then ran through the house. The washing machine has been humming tonight! I haven't gone to sleep yet, it's about 3 am.
Rafe is in the guest room with Olivia. It was about the only place we could be sure Amelia hadn't touched anytime today. I'm washing laundry and tending to Mia and of course pumping in the middle of all of that. He has an early morning PT and then duty on Saturday, so he basically won't be home until Sunday.
My prayer request is this: that Olivia does not get sick. She still doesn't have the ability to throw up and I'm terrified that she will get sick, vomit and aspirate. I am going to have to keep her in that room all day tomorrow while I scrub down and sanitize the house. The second prayer request is that I am trying to find one person with their flu shots to come and hang out in that room with Olivia all day long, so she has some playtime and company. It's a long shot, but I will pay that person, so if you or anyone you know is reading this and interested let me know. If not, then please pray for Olivia's health and the right sitter showing up. My third prayer request is that Amelia is now done being sick and won't put her fingers in her mouth or her nose and then touch anything else in this house. I know, I ask for the impossible with a 3 year old.
Rafe is in the guest room with Olivia. It was about the only place we could be sure Amelia hadn't touched anytime today. I'm washing laundry and tending to Mia and of course pumping in the middle of all of that. He has an early morning PT and then duty on Saturday, so he basically won't be home until Sunday.
My prayer request is this: that Olivia does not get sick. She still doesn't have the ability to throw up and I'm terrified that she will get sick, vomit and aspirate. I am going to have to keep her in that room all day tomorrow while I scrub down and sanitize the house. The second prayer request is that I am trying to find one person with their flu shots to come and hang out in that room with Olivia all day long, so she has some playtime and company. It's a long shot, but I will pay that person, so if you or anyone you know is reading this and interested let me know. If not, then please pray for Olivia's health and the right sitter showing up. My third prayer request is that Amelia is now done being sick and won't put her fingers in her mouth or her nose and then touch anything else in this house. I know, I ask for the impossible with a 3 year old.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Attitude of Gratitude
I asked for help this past week from church and other resources. It took me a while to do it; I actually felt a bit guilty for doing it since I had already received so much help with dinners and emotional support when Olivia came home. I know there are other women in our local community (Parris Island and Tidal Creek) that have some big needs also, and I didn't want to be greedy.
My mom was going to come out at the beginning of January again for 2 months to help with Olivia's therapies, give me a break, and just generally provide moral support. But a funny thing happened on the way to South Carolina - my very dear brother in law had a serious sledding accident during a visit to Kansas City. They have a grand total of 10 kids; one of whom was due only 3 days after Olivia was due and is cute as a button. So my parents are down in Texas helping out for a while as my BIL was in the hospital in KC.
The hardest part is not the individual tasks; it's the constant repetition of it all. I'm motivated by the army of therapists who show up at my house 6 days a week and who individually tell me they see a difference and an improvement from their previous visit a week earlier. I know that early intervention is the key and all this hard work will pay off for my little girl's future success at being able to walk, talk and move like everyone else. But it can be exhausting to be "on" all the time. Sometimes the simple mommy things fall by the wayside (singing, relaxing, playing, reading stories, cooing) because I can't muster one. more. smiley. face. after pumping my own milk, doing her therapies, trying to feed her, hooking her gtube up to the machine, and keeping her upright while she's on the enteral pump. I hold her and fall asleep. I know that those playtimes are equally as important therapies as all the physical and motor therapies, but by the time I get the "time" for them, I'm out of emotion. Then Amelia comes home from school (Thank goodness for Montessori and Miss Isabel who takes her!) and she needs just as much interactive play with Mommy after being away all day.
It's difficult to ask for help partly because of the restrictions - we can't have other children over to our house to play until RSV season is officially over (she gets shots every month), I can't send Amelia to any house that has had anyone sick in it for the past 7 days (and which mom of a preschooler doesn't have a sick kid! That's what they do!), and anyone who wants to hold Olivia needs to have had their flu shots, including swine flu; wear clean clothing (as in a fresh shirt if they have been around a crowd of people), not be a smoker and wash/sanitize your hands before holding her. It just seems like an onerous list of do's and don'ts.
As a mom and a wife, one of my most important goals is to have my home be a peaceful sanctuary for my family. In the midst of all this, it becomes an even more important goal; almost a need. While I can do the individual tasks, I can't do them all well or all the time and still have my family thrive. I know this is only for a season, and if I have the resources available to us to reach that goal, then I am going to accept any help that comes my way.
So this week I am SO very grateful for any words of encouragement, dinners dropped by, and offers to hold and play with Olivia or Amelia. They are and will be appreciated more than you can know. If you have dropped by food and are still missing a dish, I promise I have it but haven't had a chance to get it back yet. And I have only been able to send out about half the thank you cards for the meals or help we've had in the past. But please know that if you are one of those people who has volunteered your time, energy, prayers or support that I am extremely grateful. If you know us and wish to help, please contact Leslie from Tidal Creek Fellowship. Their office number is available online (not sure I should post it on a blog); or you can contact me directly via this blog or my personal email.
My mom was going to come out at the beginning of January again for 2 months to help with Olivia's therapies, give me a break, and just generally provide moral support. But a funny thing happened on the way to South Carolina - my very dear brother in law had a serious sledding accident during a visit to Kansas City. They have a grand total of 10 kids; one of whom was due only 3 days after Olivia was due and is cute as a button. So my parents are down in Texas helping out for a while as my BIL was in the hospital in KC.
The hardest part is not the individual tasks; it's the constant repetition of it all. I'm motivated by the army of therapists who show up at my house 6 days a week and who individually tell me they see a difference and an improvement from their previous visit a week earlier. I know that early intervention is the key and all this hard work will pay off for my little girl's future success at being able to walk, talk and move like everyone else. But it can be exhausting to be "on" all the time. Sometimes the simple mommy things fall by the wayside (singing, relaxing, playing, reading stories, cooing) because I can't muster one. more. smiley. face. after pumping my own milk, doing her therapies, trying to feed her, hooking her gtube up to the machine, and keeping her upright while she's on the enteral pump. I hold her and fall asleep. I know that those playtimes are equally as important therapies as all the physical and motor therapies, but by the time I get the "time" for them, I'm out of emotion. Then Amelia comes home from school (Thank goodness for Montessori and Miss Isabel who takes her!) and she needs just as much interactive play with Mommy after being away all day.
It's difficult to ask for help partly because of the restrictions - we can't have other children over to our house to play until RSV season is officially over (she gets shots every month), I can't send Amelia to any house that has had anyone sick in it for the past 7 days (and which mom of a preschooler doesn't have a sick kid! That's what they do!), and anyone who wants to hold Olivia needs to have had their flu shots, including swine flu; wear clean clothing (as in a fresh shirt if they have been around a crowd of people), not be a smoker and wash/sanitize your hands before holding her. It just seems like an onerous list of do's and don'ts.
As a mom and a wife, one of my most important goals is to have my home be a peaceful sanctuary for my family. In the midst of all this, it becomes an even more important goal; almost a need. While I can do the individual tasks, I can't do them all well or all the time and still have my family thrive. I know this is only for a season, and if I have the resources available to us to reach that goal, then I am going to accept any help that comes my way.
So this week I am SO very grateful for any words of encouragement, dinners dropped by, and offers to hold and play with Olivia or Amelia. They are and will be appreciated more than you can know. If you have dropped by food and are still missing a dish, I promise I have it but haven't had a chance to get it back yet. And I have only been able to send out about half the thank you cards for the meals or help we've had in the past. But please know that if you are one of those people who has volunteered your time, energy, prayers or support that I am extremely grateful. If you know us and wish to help, please contact Leslie from Tidal Creek Fellowship. Their office number is available online (not sure I should post it on a blog); or you can contact me directly via this blog or my personal email.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Best Husband Ever
Yesterday I was more tired than I think I have ever been in my life. It's been the endless weeks of groundhog day and struggling to catch up with the basics. Rafe's been busy with EWS and a few other things with work. Amelia has been very high maintenance lately, wanting me to play with her every second. ALL of which is very understandable, but moment by moment, things just piled up and it seemed that sleep was many "must do" chores away (meals, Olivia's issues).
I was so tired I was slurring my words, and saying things that didn't match. I cooked an ear plug. I went to the commissary yesterday and today I found my eggs stored on the back porch. Why I thought that was a good idea, I have no clue!
So he took Amelia out for a "date" to Taco Bell, brought me home tacos and sent me to bed. I found out today he worked until 4 AM washing, drying, folding, hanging laundry; taking down the Christmas tree; washing 2 loads of dishes; cleaning the kitchen; organizing the tupperware cabinet; vacuuming the carpet; and I'm not sure what else but I've been discovering stuff all day long. He woke up at around 1030 am, sent me back to bed for a nap and worked on cleaning and organizing Mia's room and my room. I got up, made lunch, and he sent me back to bed again. I got up in time to make dinner, run an errand and go back to bed.
To put the magnitude of this in perspective, that just doesn't happen in this house. Before we had kids, that was my job; and he's been pretty much gone 3 out of the last 4 years for one job related reason or another - so when he's home we have family time instead of him having housework "chores".
All this, and he fed Olivia and took care of her all day too!
I feel like a new person and I can actually string a sentence together.
SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!
This was WAY better than jewelry or flowers. I love you, honey!
I was so tired I was slurring my words, and saying things that didn't match. I cooked an ear plug. I went to the commissary yesterday and today I found my eggs stored on the back porch. Why I thought that was a good idea, I have no clue!
So he took Amelia out for a "date" to Taco Bell, brought me home tacos and sent me to bed. I found out today he worked until 4 AM washing, drying, folding, hanging laundry; taking down the Christmas tree; washing 2 loads of dishes; cleaning the kitchen; organizing the tupperware cabinet; vacuuming the carpet; and I'm not sure what else but I've been discovering stuff all day long. He woke up at around 1030 am, sent me back to bed for a nap and worked on cleaning and organizing Mia's room and my room. I got up, made lunch, and he sent me back to bed again. I got up in time to make dinner, run an errand and go back to bed.
To put the magnitude of this in perspective, that just doesn't happen in this house. Before we had kids, that was my job; and he's been pretty much gone 3 out of the last 4 years for one job related reason or another - so when he's home we have family time instead of him having housework "chores".
All this, and he fed Olivia and took care of her all day too!
I feel like a new person and I can actually string a sentence together.
SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!
This was WAY better than jewelry or flowers. I love you, honey!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Cooing!
I know I keep promising updates, etc. but I'm so tired! So here is a quick one:
Each week, we have 2 speech therapy visits, 2 occupational therapy visits, 1 physical therapy visit (I wish this one was two also), and 1 cognitive therapy visit. To my house. Thank you, Lord, for early intervention programs! And thank you for traveling therapists!
This week I thought it was my imagination that she was cooing... but no! She's made cooing noises 3 times today! First it was no vocalizations, then tiny mews or baby cat meow sounds on occasion, then grunting and finally - this week - a coo!!
It's amazing what complexities I took for granted with my first daughter. I'm intimately involved with the tiniest developmental steps right now.
Each week, we have 2 speech therapy visits, 2 occupational therapy visits, 1 physical therapy visit (I wish this one was two also), and 1 cognitive therapy visit. To my house. Thank you, Lord, for early intervention programs! And thank you for traveling therapists!
This week I thought it was my imagination that she was cooing... but no! She's made cooing noises 3 times today! First it was no vocalizations, then tiny mews or baby cat meow sounds on occasion, then grunting and finally - this week - a coo!!
It's amazing what complexities I took for granted with my first daughter. I'm intimately involved with the tiniest developmental steps right now.
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