good to go

Zoey had her surgery this morning and everything went perfectly. Here's how our morning went...

6:20am scooped Zoey out of bed, quick diaper change
6:30am on our way to the Pediatric Surgery center
7:30am arrived and checked in
8:35am called back to the pre-op room, Zoey gets a nose spray to make her drowsey
8:45am Dr Vaughn & Dr Kampine (the anesthesiologist) visit with us
8:49am a nurse took Zoey from us...she only cried for a second
8:50am back in the waiting room while the surgery takes place
9:20am brought into a consultation room where Dr Vaughn briefed us on the operation
9:40am brought in to see our very sleepy Zoey
10:35am time to get Zoey dressed and head home
11:20am arrive at home, lay Zoey down in her bed
12:00pm still asleep
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UPDATE
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4:00pm woke Zoey up to give her some medicine
5:00pm she ate a great dinner...fruit, yogurt, a whole banana, and cherrios (all her favorites)
6:30pm crashed on me for 20 minutes
7:00pm more meds and bedtime...haven't heard a peep
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Thank you so much for all your prayers. It couldn't have gone better. The surgery center was amaizing...they are so good at preparing and comforting parents. Here are some picures from our day. We'll post more later...

Getting changed into her gown

Getting sleepy after the nasal spray

"It sure is drafty in here." Notice the Steelers socks.

We got to hold her as soon as she woke up from surgery.

Very sleepy and cuddly.

Starting to wake up more.

Walking to the car after being released...my eyelids are having a hard time staying open.

The car ride home.

under the knife

Zoey is 13 months old today and she is a little under the weather. A week ago this past Friday Zoey had her 12 month shots and the nurses warned us that a week after the shots, she might run a little fever. Thankfully Tylenol seems to help a lot.

I need to share about what's happening this Thursday, January 31st. Zoey was diagnosed with a supra-umbilical hernia which is a defect just above the umbilical ring. Supra-umbilical hernias are less common than umbilical hernias and do not close spontaneously. She is not in any danger and could live her entire life with no complications. However, it could become worse and the older she gets the more difficult the surgery and longer the recovery time. We thought it would be best to have it operated on now while she's still young enough to have no memory of the surgery. It is a very simple, out-patient procedure that should only last 15 minutes. The doctor who will be performing the operation, Dr Glaze Vaughn, said she will be sleepy after the surgery but back to normal by the next day.

Although this is a simple, routine surgery I still have to hand my baby over to a stranger and trust that the Lord will be holding her and comforting her while we're apart. We've been praying for the doctor, the nurses and everyone else who will be taking care of our little girl that they will be well-rested, focused and accurate with every decision they have to make.

Thank you so much for your prayers. We'll let you know how it goes.

it's official, she's walking

As you saw from the last video post, Zoey has no trouble at all getting from point A to point B. She crawls, she cruises, she pushes her cart. But the other day she just did it on her own. Since this video was taken (1/15/08), she has gotten a lot more confident in her walking abilities. I love how she raises her arms above her head to help her balance.

Independence

Zoey Michele...12/28/2006

Zoey Michele...12/31/2007

Last night I nursed Zoey for the last time. It was a very bitter-sweet moment. I have spent the last year of my life committed to doing this and because of that I've never been away from her for any extended period of time. It's been a challenge but I have loved every minute of it. Up until now she has needed me for nourishment and to sustain her life. But, over the last few months as she has been introduced to new foods in her diet she started nursing less and showing her desire for independence. Now that she is over a year old and drinking cow's milk, she can physically do without breast milk. I look at the picture from the day she was born and I cannot remember her being that little. She could do nothing on her own and she relied on us for everything. Now at a year old, 20 lbs 6.4 oz (45%) & 30.5 in (90%), she is not a baby anymore...but a toddler. I keep reminding myself that this is a good thing. She obviously can't nurse forever. Tonight Dave and I are going on a date. I can't even tell you when our last date was that didn't start at 8pm...after we put Zoey to bed. We're actually going to dinner AND a movie. So, as I say goodbye to this chapter in my life I am so thankful for the precious moments (actually hours upon hours) I spent nursing Zoey. It's something I will never forget. I hope to nurse again someday, Lord willing, but in case that never happens I will cherish these tender memories forever.

new pics posted on flickr

A Video Posting...How Cool Is This?

This is pretty much a test to see if posting video clips is worth it. Is it easy to view? Does it take forever to play? Does it play smoothly? In my opinion, nothing is worse than a choppy clip. I'd rather just not watch it at all...even if it is Zoey.

So, let's see if it passes the test...

a multiple choice question

There was a...
a) pig in our wig
b) cat on our mat
c) dog on our log
d) mouse in our house

The answer, my friends, is 'd'. There was a mouse in our house...actually in our garage...but my wonderful husband "took care of it." We started out with snap traps loaded with peanut butter. But after a couple days the traps were still loaded but the peanut butter was gone. Our next plan was to use what we used to catch seven mice in the kamp office one summer. Milky Way bars. And sure enough, after a few days of nibbling on nougat, we caught little Gus Gus. I find that it's not so gross if you name them cute names like the mice from Cinderella.

Interested in checking out lots of pictures from our first Christmas with Zoey? Click on the Flickr link and enjoy.

a great loss

On Tuesday, December 18th, Dave and I found out we had miscarried. We were 10 weeks pregnant with baby number two when unusual and heavy spotting along with the lack of pregnancy symptoms lead us to our midwife's office a few days before our scheduled appointment. Because I hadn't been "feeling" pregnant for the last week, or so, I had been thinking a lot about the possibility of a miscarriage. I think the Lord was preparing me for dealing with this loss. I know the statistics. I know that one in three pregnancies ends in miscarriage and most happen at or before 10 weeks. I also know that with as many kids as I would love to have, it was a great possibility that one, or more, of our pregnancies could end this way. Even knowing all the "facts" doesn't prepare you for the ache in your heart. As the sonogram was being preformed, Dave and I looked to the screen hoping that maybe everything would be completely normal and we would see our inch long baby complete with arms, legs, fingers, toes and a heart that had been beating for the past 5 weeks. Instead we saw an empty womb...nothing was there. As sad as I was, I wasn't surprised and the Lord's strength filled both of us. It's called a blighted ovum and it happens when a fertilized egg attaches itself to the uterine wall, but the embryo does not develop. We left the doctor's office sad and confused and we tried to find some things to be thankful for. We are so thankful that this happened early in the pregnancy. We are grateful we found out before all of our family arrived for Christmas. And because the due date would have been in the middle of the summer...which means we wouldn't have been able to go to kamp...we are very excited that we can now go to Kanakuk. There are still some things that make me very sad. I'm sad that Zoey isn't going to be a big sister... right now anyway. I'm sad that our first two kids won't be 17 months apart and I'm sad that we have to wait a few months before we can try again. When I try to put everything in perspective, I scold myself because those are such silly things. Zoey didn't even know she was a big sister...having babies 17 months apart is incredibly challenging...and we don't decide when we get pregnant, God does. Sometimes it's so difficult to convince your heart of the truth you know in your head. On Thursday, December 20th, I had a minor day surgery called a D&C (Dilation and Curettage). It was painless and quick and we were so thankful the hospital was able to squeeze us in before Christmas. God was so good to us...even down to the little details. The major theme that has been on my heart while processing everything is God's faithfulness. God is still God even when difficult times affect my life. My prayer had been that we wouldn't miscarry and that the baby would be healthy and strong. God didn't answer my prayer the way I wanted Him to. But that doesn't change who He is. He is still a loving and merciful God. He still wants the best for my life. His ways are not my ways and I can rest in that. Believe me...I have had some rough days where I just cry into Dave's shoulder and tell him how badly my heart hurts. It's ok to grieve a loss. But through it all, the Lord has shown us the true gift we have in our salvation and our relationship with Him. He has also shown us the gift we have in Zoey...which means "life" in Greek. I am so thankful that I had the experience of being pregnant and nursing a baby. If I am never able to get pregnant again, I will always be grateful for the opportunity He gave me with Zoey. Our precious gift of life.