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Dear American Life League,
Oh yeah. You're doing a great job of not making yourselves look absolutely insane. Yep, yep, yep.
Well, I guess your image is, ultimately, your choice.
Oops...sorry. Didn't mean to use the C-word.
Yes, I *am* laughing, right at you. Sincerely.
Gessi, who would kick someone for a Krispy Kreme right now
~~~
In Charlie news, I had a really good talk with her doctor last night. She agreed that it was utterly frustrating that the only thing keeping babygirl in the hospital was her nose. She called back the Ear, Nose & Throat doctor who'd seen her a couple weeks ago and they went over her CT scan again. The deviated septum isn't really causing any problems, as far as they can see. But, she has (what was described to me in simple medical terms that I can't remember) extra tissue in her nasal passages. This means that if she's the slightest bit congested, her nose is pretty much closed. They are currently waiting on a consult with a doctor at another hospital to see if there's any surgical option. Which, you know, aaah. *But* that hospital (no, I can't remember the name of *it*, either) has at least one infant anesthesia specialist, which is why, if she needed surgery, she'd be transported there. And, the doc mentioned the large possibility of laser surgery, which is far less scary, in my mind.
We also talked about the fact that, beyond that, she's so healthy and utterly *aware* of what's going on around her...I expressed concern that, as much as the nurses tried to play with her when they could, she spent a lot of time essentially alone. And found out that the hospital has a play therapist. And the doctor is/did get in touch with her today...the therapist is going to come every day or so and just *play* with Charlie. How utterly cool is that?
She was *wide* awake when I went in around nine. They'd been trying different bottles with her, including one for babies with cleft palates. That one had less of a nipple and more of an...almost squirter-type top, so that even if she didn't suck, she got the food. Oh, Ms. Charlie did *Not* like this at all, not one little bit. She wanted to suck on something, and would not take this easy way. So, we're back on the search for something she can suck without cutting off the airway from her mouth. Which is pretty much impossible, but who knows? There might be something out there. The Occupational Therapist has a couple things on order, and I'm currently looking around to see what I can find. It may be a fool's errand, but at least it's something, y'know?
They bottle she's currently using has a regular nipple, it's the bottle itself that's different. It's softer than the usual one, and when she gets distracted or has the nipple in her mouth but forgets to suck, one squeezes the bottle, which squirts a couple drops into her mouth. She goes "Oh right. I was eating!" and starts to nurse again. It works pretty well (and doesn't seem to offend her like the other one), though when she decides that she's done, she's *done*, dude. She's even started pushing the bottle away with her hands when she doesn't want it. On the eating side, that's a little frustrating. On the development side, it's wonderful.
She wanted to sleep after she ate, but couldn't quite get there, even after a couple burpings (she always looks slightly offended when being burped), so I put her up on my shoulder and started rubbing her back. She drifted off *right* away and slept for at least half an hour. It's the same position I used with Sammy when she was an infant, and it was pretty amazing to have Charlie like that and not have to worry about moving her around too much or jiggling her, which were problems when she was on the formulas with lactose and before they started giving her the reflux meds. Just a regular baby, sleeping on my shoulder.
That couldn't last, of course. She started moving and I helped her turn her head to the other side. A couple minutes later, she was awake and *not having it*. So, I laid her in the crib and turned on the mobile. Instant mesmerization. I annoyed her by poking the animals and making the swing a little. She gave me this look like "Hey...the animals and I, we have an understanding. Leave 'em alone!"...it was adorable. And made me want to poke them more. But I was good and didn't.
One of the nurses (not the one who was taking care of Charlie right then) came over to talk about how much she *loved* the mobile and how cute she was. I guess they don't usually have a mostly-healthy (I don't think the nose makes her *un*healthy, but I don't know how to put it) baby in there, and they're having a good time with her. While I'd rather be the one with her all the time, I'm so glad they enjoy their time with her...probably means she gets far more interaction than I'm imagining.
I went and got Jeff, 'cause the child wasn't falling asleep and I do try not to be greedy. I usually fail, but I *try*. When he came back, he said she was still awake. But they'd had a good time, and got a lot of cuddling in.
Sammy and I lucked out and caught both Good Eats and How Its Made in the waiting room. Made the time go faster...and it's nice to hang out with Sammy, too. She's always excited to go to the hospital, even now when she can't go into the NICU 'cause of flu season. I'm so proud of her.
Oh yeah. You're doing a great job of not making yourselves look absolutely insane. Yep, yep, yep.
Well, I guess your image is, ultimately, your choice.
Oops...sorry. Didn't mean to use the C-word.
Yes, I *am* laughing, right at you. Sincerely.
Gessi, who would kick someone for a Krispy Kreme right now
~~~
In Charlie news, I had a really good talk with her doctor last night. She agreed that it was utterly frustrating that the only thing keeping babygirl in the hospital was her nose. She called back the Ear, Nose & Throat doctor who'd seen her a couple weeks ago and they went over her CT scan again. The deviated septum isn't really causing any problems, as far as they can see. But, she has (what was described to me in simple medical terms that I can't remember) extra tissue in her nasal passages. This means that if she's the slightest bit congested, her nose is pretty much closed. They are currently waiting on a consult with a doctor at another hospital to see if there's any surgical option. Which, you know, aaah. *But* that hospital (no, I can't remember the name of *it*, either) has at least one infant anesthesia specialist, which is why, if she needed surgery, she'd be transported there. And, the doc mentioned the large possibility of laser surgery, which is far less scary, in my mind.
We also talked about the fact that, beyond that, she's so healthy and utterly *aware* of what's going on around her...I expressed concern that, as much as the nurses tried to play with her when they could, she spent a lot of time essentially alone. And found out that the hospital has a play therapist. And the doctor is/did get in touch with her today...the therapist is going to come every day or so and just *play* with Charlie. How utterly cool is that?
She was *wide* awake when I went in around nine. They'd been trying different bottles with her, including one for babies with cleft palates. That one had less of a nipple and more of an...almost squirter-type top, so that even if she didn't suck, she got the food. Oh, Ms. Charlie did *Not* like this at all, not one little bit. She wanted to suck on something, and would not take this easy way. So, we're back on the search for something she can suck without cutting off the airway from her mouth. Which is pretty much impossible, but who knows? There might be something out there. The Occupational Therapist has a couple things on order, and I'm currently looking around to see what I can find. It may be a fool's errand, but at least it's something, y'know?
They bottle she's currently using has a regular nipple, it's the bottle itself that's different. It's softer than the usual one, and when she gets distracted or has the nipple in her mouth but forgets to suck, one squeezes the bottle, which squirts a couple drops into her mouth. She goes "Oh right. I was eating!" and starts to nurse again. It works pretty well (and doesn't seem to offend her like the other one), though when she decides that she's done, she's *done*, dude. She's even started pushing the bottle away with her hands when she doesn't want it. On the eating side, that's a little frustrating. On the development side, it's wonderful.
She wanted to sleep after she ate, but couldn't quite get there, even after a couple burpings (she always looks slightly offended when being burped), so I put her up on my shoulder and started rubbing her back. She drifted off *right* away and slept for at least half an hour. It's the same position I used with Sammy when she was an infant, and it was pretty amazing to have Charlie like that and not have to worry about moving her around too much or jiggling her, which were problems when she was on the formulas with lactose and before they started giving her the reflux meds. Just a regular baby, sleeping on my shoulder.
That couldn't last, of course. She started moving and I helped her turn her head to the other side. A couple minutes later, she was awake and *not having it*. So, I laid her in the crib and turned on the mobile. Instant mesmerization. I annoyed her by poking the animals and making the swing a little. She gave me this look like "Hey...the animals and I, we have an understanding. Leave 'em alone!"...it was adorable. And made me want to poke them more. But I was good and didn't.
One of the nurses (not the one who was taking care of Charlie right then) came over to talk about how much she *loved* the mobile and how cute she was. I guess they don't usually have a mostly-healthy (I don't think the nose makes her *un*healthy, but I don't know how to put it) baby in there, and they're having a good time with her. While I'd rather be the one with her all the time, I'm so glad they enjoy their time with her...probably means she gets far more interaction than I'm imagining.
I went and got Jeff, 'cause the child wasn't falling asleep and I do try not to be greedy. I usually fail, but I *try*. When he came back, he said she was still awake. But they'd had a good time, and got a lot of cuddling in.
Sammy and I lucked out and caught both Good Eats and How Its Made in the waiting room. Made the time go faster...and it's nice to hang out with Sammy, too. She's always excited to go to the hospital, even now when she can't go into the NICU 'cause of flu season. I'm so proud of her.