| Sunday, July 30, 2006 |
| Long time, no post. |
No, we didn't fall off the face of the earth. We haven't slept much, but we are still here. Libby has turned into a whirlwind of activity. She doesn't even stay still in her sleep. Her crawling speed has picked up and she is pulling herself up on things. While this is cute as can be, it's also nerve-wracking. I catch my breath every time she tries to pull up or when she crawls over something, scared that she is going to hurt herself somehow. I know that it's all part of growing up and she will fall, but I can't help it.
She says "cah"(cat) and "Da-da" now. Da-da may be her third word but I don't care. We both teared up the first time she said it. If she could have asked for it, I would have given her anything in the world at that moment.
I turned 31 last week. For my birthday, I got a new bike and a little rickshaw type thing to pull Libby in. I haven't had a chance to use it yet but I can't wait to take her for a ride. Tarah cooked fried chicken, mashed taters, and green beans, followed by a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I ate myself sick that night. Do I have an incredible wife or what?
Saturday, Tarah and I went to the Virginia Highlands Festival in Abingdon, VA. They had an antique sale and a quilt and fiber show. A lot of the antiques looked like they were picked up at a bad garage sale that morning. One vendor had a quilt identical to the one my mother-in-law got at JC Penney's. At the fiber show, Tarah learned how to spin roving into yarn using a drop spindle. The woman that showed her how to spin, said she did a really good job at it. I was really proud of her. All in all, we had a really good day. I don't think I've ever enjoyed spending time with anyone like I do with Tarah. |
posted by Ben @ 11:30 PM  |
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| Thursday, July 13, 2006 |
| On the banks of the beautiful river Wah-Hoo... |
This morning I woke to the sound of "Mama. Mama? MAAAMAAA!" over the baby monitor.
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After Kawasaki's, the tests and hospitalization, Libby was different. When they finally diagnosed her and started treatment, the last question I asked her cardiologist was when she would be herself again. The cardiologist stammered something about IVIG working, blah blah, Reyes Syndrome, blah blah bluh nice cafeteria, wait.
I asked the cardiology resident. "I don't know. We'll see."
Libby improved steadily. The fever and pain subsided, the tests became less frequent, and she began to eat and drink again. We were jubilant.
When we brought her home she relaxed, obviously more comfortable at home. But she still wasn't herself. Not quite.
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June was a quiet month, full of quiet conversations. We had been ordered to keep Libby calm, so we modified her physical therapy, and gave her anything and everything she wanted to keep her from crying.
She was afraid of everyone. She had no problems with Ben or I, and welcomed attention from my parents, but would scream if anyone else came near her. Checks with Dr. Turtle were nightmarish. Church was almost an impossibility.
She began to play again, smiling and laughing, but still timid. Her naps were short and often, and almost always snuggled with one of us.
Toward the end of the month, her physical therapist and I discussed how she was doing developmentally. We both felt that she had stopped. Not regressed per se, but had just paused during her illness, and was perhaps just taking a bit to recover.
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The answer to my question was a month and a half.
In the last couple weeks she has picked up speed, changing visibly almost daily. She sings to herself, chattering and babbling endlessly, squealing happily anytime she sees Billie. She's crawling (help!) and standing occasionally, as long as I am right behind her.
Her desire for independence is fierce. She prefers foods she can pick up and eat herself, she pulls her own shirt off when changing, and crawls around the living room most of the day chasing Billie. She naps alone in her crib without protest.
She's busy. Too busy sometimes to even notice or care if I'm here. She works her way around the room, navigating around furniture, looking for something to chew on or that sad, pathetic cat.
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Sometimes she falls, or bangs her head against something, or Billie fights back, and the tears and timidity appear, but after a few minutes of hugs, kisses, and cuddles she's off, all the old hurts forgotten.
She's herself again. |
| posted by Tarah @ 4:11 PM |
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| Sunday, July 02, 2006 |
| So I'm a bad blogger. But look! Cute pictures! |
Too many days have passed for any sort of narrative, and I'm tired, so bullets:
- Libby's appointment with the cardiologist on the 20th went well. Some dilation of the coronary arteries, but nothing truly worrisome. She's off the aspirin, and her next echo will be in November.
- That same afternoon, we took her to see Dr. Jerk (another member of the Pediatric Dream Team) because she had been refusing to drink. He spent 3 minutes with her, then shrugged and said "She'll drink when she drinks." Now thats a copay well spent, I tell ya.
- Saturday before last, Libby, my mother, and I went to the local lavender farm with a group from our church. Love, love, love the lavender farm. Libby had fun barking at their dog.
 
   
- Libby now says "moma" but I'm not entirely certain she's applying it to me. So yay and um, eh.
- Teething. Upper incisiors. Meh. Tylenol, Baby Oragel, Whoo-hoo!
- I've been sick this past week, so the stuff I do all day? Ben did it. Sorta.
- Ben's been having a bit of a rough time lately. Work's been better, but he's taken some hits personally. Keep him in your prayers, beam him happy thoughts, give him a call, if you're so inclined.
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| posted by Tarah @ 10:17 PM |
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