Addie had her eye surgery on Tuesday, December 7th on both eyes to correct the disorder she was born with, esotropia. It caused her to be cross-eyed. Without the surgery she would eventually lose vision in one of her eyes, so Daniel and I decided to have it done.
Daniel took work off that day to stay home with the older 3 kids. Addie and I had to leave the house at 5:00am to drive downtown to Texas Children's Hospital. We had to be their by 6:00am. Addie had to go in fasting and her surgery was not until 7:30am. I was wondering how in the world we would make it. She would be screaming.
We had Daniel's sister, Brittany, her husband, Matt, and our nephew, Noah come over Monday evening so Daniel and Uncle Matt could give Addie a priesthood blessing. Some friends of ours, Aaron and Kristen and their 2 kids happen to stop by at the same time with a frozen meal for us the next day and cookies. So, Aaron also stood in on the blessing. In the blessing, among other things, Daniel blessed Addie that she would not cry.
I was so nervous about so many things. I think the scariest part of it all was the anesthesia. I didn't want Addie to cry, and I was afraid the doctor would mess up or something.
In the morning, I woke up, got ready, and then put Addie in her car seat and we left. I got a little lost because of construction right in front on the entrance/road I was supposed to turn on, and the crazy roads and transit system, etc. But we made it. We checked in, got called back for paper work, finally got called back to have Addie's vitals checked, and then we were given the yellow hospital gown to change her into. Then we waited in a smaller waiting room. Doctors, surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists started coming in to speak to parents. They came to talk to Addie and I, and then Dr. Yen, Addie's opthalmologist, came, and then the nurse. Addie and I walked with the nurse to the hall where I handed her Addie (with her blankie) and she went one way to the OR and I went the other way to the waiting room.
That whole time... Addie did NOT cry.
After about an hour, Dr. Yen came out and said that everything went great and that they would come get me after they took Addie to recovery. For the surgery, Dr. Yen cut open both of Addie's eyeballs in the inner corners along the bottom of the white part and weakened the inner eye muscles to help her eyes turn out.
When I went back to recovery Addie was laying in the little crib with the gas mask on and when the nurse was all ready she turned off the gas and a minute later Addie was waking up. The nurse put her in my arms while Addie fussed and I gave her a bottle of Pedialyte that she chugged never opening her eyes. When it was gone she started fussing again and I gave her another bottle of Pedialyte, she finished it, fussed a bit and then went to sleep. After a little while, we were able to go home. She screamed when her IV was removed, but then was fine after I stood up. When we got home I fed her a bottle and after a little while, she took a good nap. She has been taking Tylenol for the pain.
Addie has been recovering very well. We have to put drops in her eyes 3 times a day, which she hates. We can't let water get in her eyes and then she will have her post-op check up next week.
Then she started acting loopy and it was really funny.
Her eyes are really red in the corners and will be that way for a couple weeks, but at least she doesn't have bloody tears anymore.
We can already tell a difference in her eyes. They seem to be working the right way already.
After her nap, I think the drugs had worn off and she was not so happy the rest of the day/night.
She was very snuggly though and I enjoyed snuggling with her.
She kept laying on the Boppi pillow. She was cute.
I really felt the spirit that day. I know that Heavenly Father was with my little Addie. I know that it was such a minor surgery, but I am grateful that Heavenly Father blessed and comforted Addie and us. We are so grateful for our families that prayed and fasted for Addie. We are grateful for friends that took care of us - Kristen and Aaron for dinner and for Tami getting us lunch that day. I am grateful for the Gospel and for the little miracles that happen everyday.
Her inner eyes are still very red, and they will be for awhile, but she is doing great. She looks different to me now. I don't know if it is because she is no longer cross-eyed or because her eyes are so red, or both.
Love you, Addie.
Well, we did Thanksgiving by ourselves this year for the second time since we have been married, so it wasn't stressful this time since I have done a turkey before. We made some good food together and played with the kids. The best part was having Daniel home for 5 days in a row! Now we miss him.
Also, that weekend I tried out the Black Friday shopping thing for the first time. I ended up going alone and tried the stores that opened at 10pm and midnight. Let's just say, it's a long story, and people are crazy when it comes to sales. They just buy it because it is on sale. It was crazy. I was wishing I had my sister with me to giggle with...
Anyways, we took no pictures over the weekend except this one of our food right before we ate it. Too bad the kids don't care about food...
The weather is all over the place right now. Sometimes we are cold, sometimes we are feeling good, sometimes we are a little too warm with too much humidity, sometimes it's raining... But, at least we can go outside everyday, which is so nice (except for the stupid mosquitos).
Boots.
I like to try and read while the kids play outside. Addie is usually inside napping so we bring out the baby monitor. It is hard to read because I have to keep getting up a lot, but none-the-less, I try.
Staucie dressed up as a Native American at preschool right before the Thanksgiving break. Staucie's teacher had the moms come early to pick them up and they sang us a song, told us what they were thankful for and we had some treats. Staucie was Indian chief, Shining Star. By the way, Staucie is thankful when I buy her toys. Nice.
And we got some Christmas jammies, because it is fun. Staucie is so happy to have someone to match with.
Addie is s-l-o-w-l-y starting to eat baby food. She is like Parker and was really stubborn about trying something new. She is doing better now, but still pushes it out with her tongue.
Yummy carrots. Addie is SOOOOOO cute and fun. She is starting to crawl a little bit. She is skipping the army crawling, which is different then my other 3 kids. We love her. And we love all of our kiddies.
Addie is 6 months old. She is a cutie. She is different then the other three. When I lay her on her blanket to play, she pulls the blanket up into a ball between her arms and chews on it. I had to get her a heavier blanket for the floor. The other kids did not do that, they played with the toys. Addie is now grabbing the toys and putting them in her mouth more, but she still prefers blankets, burp cloths, and my hands. She has a tooth now so it hurts when she chews on my fingers.
She is rolly-polly and gets up on her hands and knees and rocks. She also loves jumping and jumping and jumping. She kicks her legs and feet when she is happy, excited, and when she is mad. It is really cute, especially when you are holding her and her little legs start jumping in mid air. She loves her siblings. Her and Staucie just look at each other and laugh. It is cute. Bensen also loves to look at her and poke her. Parker makes sure I remember to bring her with us.
She had her 6-month well-check on Friday.
Addie met with her Ophthalmologist a litle while ago and she will be having eye surgery on both of her eyes at the end of the month. She has a disorder called esotropia. The doctor will weaken the inner eye muscles of both eyes in hopes that her brain will correct her eye alignment. We are also doing it young so that she, hopefully, won't lose any of her vision.
She is supposed to be wearing an eye patch for an hour a day, alternating eyes each day, so she can practice using both eyes to help keep her vision. But, she hates wearing the eye patch. She is okay for like 2 minutes and then just keeps getting madder and madder. I play with her and hold her and she just tries rubbing it off. Eventually she is so mad that the only way I can get her to calm down and stop crying is to put her in the bath. The eye patching is not working out.
After the surgery she won't need to wear a patch. Their is a 20% chance she will need another surgery down the line or more eye patching. We are praying for the 80%. I am nervous about having her put to sleep. I am nervous that they won't do the surgery right. I am nervous that they will "weaken" the eye muscles too much. I am just nervous. I am also not looking forward to making her "fast." Lots of crying for a baby who won't take a pacifier.Addie jumping with her patch. She was happy, til I stuck on the patch.
The week before Halloween, I went with Daniel to San Antonio for work. My mom flew out to be with our kids. Daniel went last year at the same time and so we planned this trip a long time ago. We left Wednesday at noon and were supposed to come back Friday night. But, our ward Halloween/Trunk-or-treat party was Friday night and Daniel wouldn't be done with his meetings in time to drive back. I didn't want the kids to miss trick-or-treating since Halloween was on Sunday so I ended up flying home Friday morning.
Anyways, while we were in San Antonio we had dinner with Daniel's boss and his wife on Wednesday when we got there before they drove back to Houston. Then we walked around The Riverwalk. Thursday while Daniel was at his meetings, I tried to sleep in, but it wasn't happening. I lazily got ready for the day and then went and walked around the mall, for some lunch, and took it back to the hotel to eat, watch tv, and read.
I even soaked my tendonitis/arthritis feet, that haven't recovered yet from my pregnancy, in a hot bath while I sat on a towel on the toilet and read. It felt nice.
When Daniel got back to the hotel, we went and watched Toy Story 3 in 3-D at the Imax theater and then had dinner on The Riverwalk. It was a nice little trip and it ended too soon.
Cute 3-D glasses.
Daniel trying to decide what to eat.
Thanks mom for coming. It was so fun to hang out with you!
Addie was there too. She was carried around and then took a nap upstairs in their cabin. Thanks, Nate, for lending us your bed.
I look very unattractive here, but we needed proof that I actually drove one around with the kids.
The boys.
Staucie's friend, Ellie, took her for a ride. They are the same age. Ellie was even nice enough to take Parker for a ride too.
Daniel on the boat with 5 of the little kids. It was cute.
At lunchtime, Nannette and I left with Nate to go get sandwiches for us to eat. When we got back and were putting things on the table outside, Staucie, Parker, and Ellie came screaming out of the trees a little ways down. It took us a minute to figure out what was going on and who was screaming. Eventually, all 3 were screaming. Anyways, turns out they all got stung by hornets. Daniel and Joe went to investigate the trees and found a hornets nest in a hole on the ground. Staucie got stung twice on the leg, Parker on the earlobe, and Ellie on her bum. They stung right through the girls' stretch pants.
Thanks Joe and Nannette for letting us crash your Saturday.
