Moving Up The Scale

The good news is, Laura is gaining more weight!!! YAY!!! She's up to 11 pounds 4 ounces and her pediatrician was so pleased with the progress Laura is making on the scale and developmentally. We are so thankful for this positive answer to prayer!!

Here's Laura on the way back to Riley for her MRI on Thursday. Her cheerfulness sure is a special treat during these hard days.

All ready to be put under. It was recovery that wasn't so easy. But we had a good nurse, and time to wait it out, and she's been fine ever since.

We're still battling terrible colds, but we've been able to get a bit more sleep since mid-week and that is making a huge difference!

The older kids ended soccer season today and it will be nice to have Saturdays free. Colder weather is here, but there's still plenty of sunshine.

The Last Days of Fall

The cooler weather is headed our way and I think we're about to say goodbye to the beautiful October days of autumn.

It's taken me weeks to upload these photos we took over at Eagle Creek. It was such a gorgeous day for a walk and we all needed some stress relief.

The stairstep children sitting on a log:

Me with the babies:

A very dark picture of Michael and me:
Something fun to play on:
Andrew is all about sketching and drawing right now. Following in his grandmother and great-grandmother's footsteps.

Rounding a bend, we saw Mr. & Mrs. Mallard out for an evening stroll.

The rose hips were beautiful.

Gorgeous colors! Orange and blue are complementary colors so it is no wonder that an October sky looks so beautiful against the orange trees.

Walking through the woods:

Such beauty!
Fallen leaves:
Today is the last day of homeschool group. The kids are already there and Michael and I are waiting to take Laura in for her MRI. This will let us know if there is anything going on under her nose where the tiny hole is or if there is something wrong with her brain.

Laura's been suffering from a terrible cold this week which makes it difficult for her to sleep at night and causes her to gag her food. We are all praying it will be over soon. This week has been amazing for difficulties (some not mentioned here). I think I'm ready to cry "uncle". However, Michael kindly took over some feeds last night so I was able to get a couple hours of sleep.

It Runs in the Family

I recently came across this sweet picture of me feeding my sister Christina.

I haven't had time to take a matching pose picture, but what I couldn't believe was the matching hairstyle (on the baby)!!! Crazy hair runs in the family. It's the long on top and short on the sides that we're talking about and the picture below isn't really the best demonstration. Oh well.

While Christina's hair may have been crazy as an infant, it grew into the beautiful brown/chestnut color it is today. So, here's hoping Laura continues along the same pattern!!!

Putting on the Chub

Guess what?!!!!! Michael just called with the good news that Laura is 10 pounds 11 ounces!!!! I can hardly believe it!! That means she should more than reach her goal before surgery!!!!!

Another item for prayer -- we all have bad colds and Laura seems to have a cough as well. Not good, and not helpful when she is feeding.

Laura at Five Months

Laura turned five months at the end of September. Those of you on facebook have already seen these, but I need to post them here for the record.

How thankful we are for a happy baby. It does make a huge difference.

From experience, I know how precious it is to have a little baby sister.

Maybe the six month pictures will show chubbier cheeks. :)

That one tooth has been joined by a second in the last week.

All ready for church. Laura is blessed to have a cousin who is just 6 months older and doesn't mind passing down clothes.

Crazy hair -- but guess what? That runs in the family -- can't wait to show you the matching picture.
Fingers are so good.

Rachel wore this outfit (a gift from Aunt Marcia) when she was little.

We love to see her smile.

Not so sure......

As someone mentioned, this is a little like having a newborn again. The doctors are hoping she'll gain 10 ounces before surgery Nov. 8th. There is no talk of changing the surgery date. Maybe she'll gain more!

Laura takes pumped breastmilk (fortified with formula) through her tube. She nurses while that happens to keep her from forgetting how to eat. We're also supposed to keep giving her solids so she doesn't forget that either. But time goes so fast, and her little tummy is always uncomfortably full that we haven't managed that yet.

Laura's New Look

Here's where Laura stayed for the week:

Boy are we glad to be home though!!! We're getting used to our new schedule which involves feeds beginning at 6 a.m., every three hours, until midnight. Just a little bit tiring.

Here she is with her new look:

And here's Laura charming everyone in the radiology department. They did a test to make sure she was properly swallowing milk. Fortunately, she was just fine.

Back home and ready to "eat":

Here's what it looks like.

And now it's time to go start a feed and then get some rest before midnight.

She's GAINED

Laura weighed in at almost 10 pounds 3 ounces this morning which is a gain of nearly 3 ounces, and is the heaviest she's been yet!!! YAY!!!! Thank you Lord!

Hopefully we're going home in the next 2 hours.

Our New Schedule

Laura is doing well on her new feeding schedule. She has an NG tube now (nose to stomach) and takes her feeds that way. When weighed this morning, she had lost weight, but after a full day on her new schedule, we are hoping that tomorrow morning will show movement in the right direction!!! If so, we can go home tomorrow. Thanks for your prayers!

Update

Hi Everyone,

Laura had a video feed today in which they x-rayed her while eating. She passed with flying colors and therefore does not have any problems swallowing or getting her food to the right place.

We have a nutrition plan now and she'll need to have so many ounces every few hours. This means getting an NG tube (through the nose) to facilitate these feedings. We can't wait to see her put on weight and are praying for 10 ounces gain before surgery in three weeks.

Otherwise the hospital staff are terrific, life is a little boring in a hospital room, but we are thankful for many blessings.

Back to the Hospital

Despite our Herculean efforts over the past few days, Laura's weight has continued to decline. :( So, we are going to be admitted to Riley Hospital this afternoon to stay until they figure out how to help her continuously gain. Not sure if that will be 2-3 days or more. We'd appreciate your prayers!!!

Praying for Weight Gain

Well, Laura has put on one ounce in the last 2 weeks. While this is good news, the bad news is she has only put on that one ounce over all since the end of August. So much effort is put into getting her to eat, try to take a bottle, etc. each day. I would appreciate your prayers as it is hard for me to know she needs to put on weight before surgery and to not see it happening. Thanks for your prayers for us!

It's Friday

We've enjoyed two nature outings this week -- one to Eagle Creek Park and the other to the apple orchard. Lots of pictures to come, but here's a sweet one for today.

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement. We're set with some meds to get the Grave's Disease under control and now need to see if there is any way to boost my immune system. My energy is taking a nose dive.

Fall is beautiful this week. I can't wait to show you my pictures. The temperature is warm and the sky bright blue. We're set with a bunch of apples. We devoured 1/2 bushel in one week so have come home with almost 1 1/2 bushels today. Maybe that will last us 3 weeks. My kids eat and eat.

It's back to soccer tomorrow with three games and one set of pictures. It will be a nonstop day from then on.

I must post about our state studies soon. We've been reading some great books.

Happy Weekend to you all!

When It Rains It Pours

Dear Friends:

Today I have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease: Grave's Disease. It is a thyroid problem that I am just beginning to learn about and it's not very exciting.

I have no idea what this is going to look like for daily life in the future. We won't find out about treatment plans until Thursday. I know it will involve a radical diet change, and most likely a period of rough times getting the thyroid medication balanced out.

I'm sure I'll look the same and have many days that really are the same. But, this is going to always be there in the shadows and I'm not sure yet of the effects.

I'm sad, but sure that this is God's plan for my life from here on out. It's just the newest way that I can submit to Him.

We would appreciate your prayers -- it does feel like a heavy load this fall.