A Week Gone By in a Blur

Rhys,
Thank you for being such a patient boy and a good traveler.  I will admit that I was very nervous about our trip to Houston but you made it as easy as could be.  We were so thankful that the fabulous Pool family offered to let Cam stay with them Sunday night and take her to school on Monday, so she had a great time and didn't miss us too much.  We headed out Sunday afternoon and were staying in a hotel very close to the hospital since our appointment was at 8:00 Monday morning.  The Pools even took care of our hotel room with Levi's travel rewards, so we were super grateful!

We got to have a nice dinner with your Aunt Amy (in between her crazy work travels) and Uncle Mina since they have just moved to Humble.  Hopefully on a future visit we can go see their new house, but it was just too far to fight traffic for our doctor.  The next morning, we made it to our appointment right on time, and the hospital was very nice!  Texas Children's Hospital is very modern with bright colors everywhere and was really easy to navigate. The check-in process was simple and we really liked meeting Dr. Carter.  She was pleased to see that you were bigger and healthier (less of a Yoda-green color), but of course she wanted to run more tests.  The one funny note is that Daddy had taken a picture of one of your poopy diapers a few days earlier, thinking that the doctors would want to see the change in color/texture that indicates your liver is processing more bilirubin out.  (Gross, I know!)  He and I laughed so hard when he asked the doctor if she wanted to see it and she said, "Sure!"  You got lots of praise for your poop, dude.  Good thing we didn't actually put a wager on it.

You had to have blood drawn there at the hospital but because you are so little, they can only draw a certain amount per day, so we were sent home with more orders for tests.  Dr. Carter seemed to be in agreement with the measures our doctors here were taking, but still said a biopsy of your liver could only be completely ruled out if your liver enzymes drop into a low/normal range and your bilirubin gets down close to zero.  If our best estimates are correct, your antibodies will be dying off soon and most of these issues will start to correct themselves.  I was at least pleased to hear her say that the radiologists actually do liver biopsies there with ultrasound so they can be sure to hit the exact right spot and that it is a tiny needle procedure.  They do them very frequently and would be our first choice if we did have to go that route.

We headed home that afternoon and you were so exhausted that you slept almost the entire time.  We had one brief stop to feed you, and Daddy has learned that hotels make the best places for pit stops.  They usually have a very clean bathroom near the lobby with a changing station for you, plus they have really hot water near their coffee pots to warm up your bottle.  Much nicer than a gas station, plus there are comfy chairs to sit in while you eat.  Hotel employees are very understanding and it helps that you are cute.

Tuesday we had to be up early to get Cam to school so we could make it home in time for our carpet cleaning appointment.  I booked it about three months ago hoping to have it done before your arrival, but they were only available this week.  It was hilarious to see all the stuff piled up in other places so that the carpet would all be visible.  We still haven't put it all back to normal, but hey, the carpets don't smell like Joe Dog.  They did a good job and gave me a nice deal on some extras since I was holding such a sweet tiny baby in my arms.

Wednesday I had a tremendous victory in that I made it out of the house again in the morning to take Cam to school and I even managed to get a haircut that afternoon.  I have decided it is ridiculous to try and spend an hour drying and straightening my hair, so I cut off about two inches and just plan on leaving it curly for a while.  Some days I might not even have five minutes and it will just stay in a ponytail.  You don't seem very concerned about it.

Thursday we headed back to the hospital to have more blood drawn for tests.  Since we were headed back to the same hospital you stayed at, we dropped by the NICU to say hi to the nurses and just barely missed Dr. Ahmad.  He would have been proud to see what a good patient you have been to everyone. But then that meant that Friday, I was too exhausted to bother even taking Cameron to school.  We slept in a little, made it to Target before lunch and even got Cameron a little present from the dollar section since she has been such a good helper.  My brilliant afternoon plan was to go to our neighborhood park with you tied onto me with my Moby Wrap.  It is just a stretchy fabric that you wrap all around you, and it was super comfortable... until we were out in the hundred degree heat pushing your sister in a stroller.  Might think twice about doing that again!

This week was tough because Daddy had to go back to school full-time and was working 12 hour days.  With football practice after school, he was getting home around 7:30 each night, which only left one hour for Cameron to see him when she was awake.  She was really missing her daddy, and I know it was tough for her since I couldn't give her my full attention when you was awake.  It fell to me to get her to and from school each day, which meant the staff at her school saw me looking like a bag lady!  And with you on a four-hour eating schedule, not a whole lot got done.  Sometimes it can take you up to 45 minutes to finish a bottle and then I have to take care of my stuff afterwards.  I often look up after you have gone down for a nap and realize that we have to start all over again in 2 hours.  Hmmm, do I shower or do laundry or sleep?  Not much time for anything else.  Makes me really appreciate those moms that stay home and do this all the time!

And since it took me a full week to write this blog, I think I am going to maximize the time I have right now!  Still loving you with our whole hearts.

Mama