Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Tate and Reese 2/19/07

It's been a long time since I've blogged. I just haven't been in the mood.... However, today is different! My little miracle babies are TWO today!!!

I got pregnant and was due on 5/30/07. Needless to say, we were quite surprised when my water broke on 2/19/07! Thank Jesus that I was already in the hospital on bed rest.

So this is a picture of Tate... He was born at 6:18 am and weighed 1lb 14oz and was 13in long.

And this is a picture of Reese... She was born at 6:19 am and weighed 1lb 8oz and 13in long.

They are true miracles sent from God and we are so blessed. It makes me sad that neither of their Grandfathers will be at their 2nd birthday party. For more "Fro me to you" action, check out Kristen's blog at "We are that Family". (The party is Saturday..I'll post some pictures next week if Happy Mommy doesn't beat me to it!)

Wordless Wednesday

Thanksgiving Day

Hello regular Twice Blessed Mommy readers! 

Twice Blessed Daddy is guest-hosting today from sunny (but very cold) Ohio.  We're here visiting TBM family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Today, we're in Columbus where the TBM extended family meets every year to stuff ourselves silly with turkey and pies and catch up on old times.  The yearly family picture is taken, and pictures from past years always bring laughter and tears.  This year has been bittersweet, since TBM's Dad is here only in spirit. However, we have been blessed by the happy memories of years gone by, though his ever present sense of humor will always be missed.  And, we know he is gloating, in spirit, at Ohio State beating Michigan once again earlier this month.

Tate and Reese are making their first visit to the annual Thanksgiving event, and are both sick with a cold (naturally).  However, since they are now really toddlers, this does not slow them down; they're just more effective at passing their cold around as they run around the house.  Since they tend to weave  through people a lot faster than TBD (they've evidently watched football and know how to use blockers), I think the exercise I got today more than compensated for all the food.

Tate has been particularly active, more than we would expect since his cold is a bit worst than Reese's.  We think it's because he can see better.  On Tuesday, he got a custom-fitted contact lens to replace the lens they removed during surgery a month or so ago.  Putting a wafer-thin piece of saran wrap in his eye is a bit of a challenge (we dropped it in his mouth on the first try, which made the nurse who said "I've seen everything" say "I've never seen that"), so I leave it to TBM and just "assist" as needed.  Once he had it in and was on his two feet, he immediately stopped crying and stared in the distance. I thought I heard him say "whoa" (we must watch too many Keanu Reeves movies).  It was obvious he might have been seeing pretty well for the first time in his life.

So, if you're wondering what TBM and I are thankful for today, it's that we are dog-tired from chasing our agile (but sick) kids who are acting a lot like normal children.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

My Kids Learned to "Salsa"

I swear I just walked away for a few minutes to put the clothes in the dryer. When I came back to the kitchen.....Tate and Reese had got a jar of salsa out of the pantry (which is child proofed) and opened it (not sure how they did this) and poured it out into two nice piles..one next to her and one next to him. Now where are the chips when you need them?

Another Surgery for Tate

Tate is having another procedure in the morning at 9am. It's an exam under anesthesia to be exact. His doctor is going to fit him for contacts... I'm not sure how thrilled I am about the idea of contacts for him. I'd like to have glasses too as a back up. Can you imagine...."Tate, let mommy put your contact back in your eye....hey Reese, let mommy put your eye back in". Sounds lovely huh? Reese is constantly taking her prosthetic shell out of her eye. Lately, she's been bringing it to me and saying "uh oh". She's getting better at giving it to me and not putting it in her mouth.

I'm taking Reese to visit Aunt Jessica at 730a tomorrow morning. She should have a lot of fun with Jessica and her new room mate. Reese gets to help Jessica fluff her new "luv city sac".

Please pray for Tate that there are no complications and that we hear all good news. I'm so tired of bad news these days....

Wordless Wednesday

Surgery Update, NICU Reunion and Shampoo

It's been awhile since I've felt like sitting down to blog. I guess I've been in a bit of a funk lately...and feeling a little old since my niece just turned 30! YIKES!

Tate's surgery went very well. Dr. Trese tried to make a few cuts to Tate's pupil in hopes that it would just spring open but that didn't work. He had to cut away part of his iris to make his pupil size be 4mm which is good. He removed the rest of his lens capsule and did a bit of laser to remove old scar tissue. He also put an air bubble in Tate's eye because his retina is slightly folded and this should help flatten it out. We had to keep Tate on his belly for 2 days and that was quite the task. We are going back to Detroit on 10/14 for a check up (we usually follow up with his doctor here but Dr. Trese wants to see him first) and hopefully that will be our last visit to the Motor City. For all of you who are wondering ~ Yes we finally went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sad to report it was a bit underwhelming. The highlight was listening to "Roundabout" by YES on a video monitor since it's in the top 500 songs that changed rock and roll. I'm a HUGE Yes fan for those of you who don't already know that!

We went to the first NICU reunion last Sunday. It was quite surreal seeing all my friends that I made (my pump room buddies) while the twins were there and their children. I was so happy to see our 2 favorite doctors and they were equally as happy to see Reese and Tate. It was a little disappointing that we only saw a few of the nurses who cared for them. We were hoping to see our favorites but none of them were there. The nurse who let me touch Tate for the first time when he was just 1 day old was there and she came right up and hugged me..that surprised me a bit but she was really sweet. I think we'll go back next year for sure. I hate to say this but I was quite surprised that out of all the kids who were in the NICU at the same time as my kids, none of them had any health issues. Please don't get me wrong..I'm very relieved that they are all healthy with no problems. It's just made me feel a little worse about my kids vision issues... and selfishly so. Please don't say "It could've been worse" because I already know how their whole ordeal could've turned out...I just wish that they too had no problems at all.

Okay, last subject is Shampoo. I will tell you that I always have been and always will be a shampoo snob. Even in my broke and single days I would buy expensive hair products and live on rice and cereal. I'm in a shampoo rut. I always have at least 3 different shampoos and alternate their use (just to keep my hair surprised) but I've been using the same ones for years and I'm getting very bored with them. I'm asking for your help and opinions..which shampoos do you use and why? There really is a huge difference between salon poos and drugstore brands. My hair will attest that this is true. Anyway, please let me know if you have any good shampoos I should try. Thanks for your help!!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Week in Review

19 on the 19th

Just realizing that my twins are 19 months old today and that today is the 19th! It's their Golden Month Birthday!! Did I just make that up? They are taking a nap so I'm catching up reading blogs when I should be packing! We're leaving tomorrow late afternoon to head on over to Detroit by way of Cleveland (RRHF here I come). Tate's surgery is early Monday morning and I'm asking again for all my blogger friends and family to pray for my sweet little guy.

Will keep you all posted after his surgery. Thanks for praying!

Long Day ~ 1st Emergency Room Visit ~ Reese

Today was very hectic.  While we were waiting for Tate's OT to come for a visit this morning, the kids broke free from their playroom as I was in the restroom.  I see them both go by as I had the bathroom door open.  Next, I hear bells ringing letting me know that they were at the front door (Milo's I need to go potty so I ring the bells).  Then a loud crash, glass shatter and Reese screaming/crying.  I come running around the corner to see Tate at the front door and he's holding a huge chunk of glass out to me.  Reese is sitting next to a wrought iron vase holder that she has managed to pull over.  It holds a glass vase with glass rocks and flowers. She is covered in blood and holding a large chunk of glass in her right hand.  I grab the glass out of her hand and notice that her middle finger is badly cut.  I scoop her up and run to the bathroom leaving a blood trail behind.  I rinse it off , grab a towel and apply pressure.  Call TBD at work and he doesn't pick up. Call the pediatrician and find out they don't do stitches (should I have known this?).  Call TBD again who doesn't pick up.  Call Emi (Tate's OT) and cancel.  Call Happy Mommy who walks me through what I should do.  All while Milo is walking around the glass and Tate keeps going back to the front door.  I'm freaking at this point and TBD still doesn't answer his phone!  Milo in the crate, Tate in his car seat and Reese's hand taped up and in her car seat, we're on our way to the ER.  I finally remember TBD's emergency number while talking to HM.  Happy Mommy gets him pulled out of a meeting and tells him what's happened. He finally calls me as I'm driving to the nearest ER.  Then I call my sister in law forgetting that she's with her mom at the doctor.  Her husband, my BIL calls and tells me to make sure that the ER has a plastic surgeon on call.  He makes some calls for me and it's decided to take Reese to the ER hospital where she was born quite a few more miles away...they have a pediatric ER.  I meet TBD along the way, he parks his car and drives us to the ER.  Reese has quit bleeding awhile earlier and I'm a little less frantic at this point.  We make it to the hospital, TBD drops us off, takes Tate to our BIL's and comes back to see us.  In the meantime, Reese is seen straight away.  They decide to clean her hand, give her a shot in her hand that will block the nerves and stitch her right up.  She's strapped down in a papoose and I'm holding her left hand and stroking her head while she's screaming at the top of her lungs.  Her knuckle was cut pretty deep but no tendon or muscle damage.  She got two stitches, a splint and bandaged up.  She looks like she flipping everyone the bird which I'm sure she is.  TBD gets back just in time for it to be all over and we are discharged.  We go back home and give our sweet girl some Motrin.   My SIL and MIL were at our house cleaning up all the glass and blood when we arrived...thanks for that!   I take Reese up to our room and we climb in bed and take a nap together.  Tate enjoyed the day with his uncle Jeff and cousin/aunt Jessica who were apartment hunting for Jessica.  I know this post is very disorganized but please excuse me...it's been a rough day!!

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Tate and Reese Day 5 Transfer

Twice Blessed Daddy and I both waited until we were a bit older in life to get married. On January 15, 2005, we tied the knot...I was 40 and TBD was 44 (it was also TBD's parents 50th wedding anniversary). We decided to try and start a family right away. We had trouble conceiving on our own, so we did what many people do and turned to a fertility clinic. I will tell you that one of the worst things a woman can hear in her life is that she has "old eggs". After one failed attempt at IVF (10/05), we waited almost a year before we tried again. I was the one who wanted to wait. I was in such a funk after the first round failed and was very depressed for several months. It hit me a lot harder than I had expected.

In the summer of 2006, I started working out much harder than usual. I went from running 2-3 miles a day to 3-5 miles a day (5 days a week), I walked 2 miles almost every morning with Mrs. G before we would head over to Curves. I also walked with TBD some evenings. I decided that I was going to be in the best shape I could be in if/when I ever became pregnant. Later that summer, our church had a series called "Deep Water Faith". On the kickoff Sunday of the series, they placed a blank sheet of paper in the bulletin. After the service, they asked everyone to write down a subject that needed to have complete faith about. You could sign it or remain anonymous. We were told that all notes would be read and that the staff would pray for each and every request. I wrote almost word for word, "TBD and I are trying to decide if we should try IVF again or go straight to adoption. We want to have faith that the one we choose is the right decision". I placed my signed piece of paper in the oak box.

Two days later, I woke up from a dream and knew right then and there that we were supposed to try IVF one more time. I turned to TBD and told him that I just had a dream about us and IVF and felt absolute peace that this was the right decision. He agreed to proceed but requested that we change clinics. Not a problem. I also told him that I wanted to go to an acupuncturist who specializes with IVF patients. We made our appointments later that week and we were all set.

We went on vacation to London and Paris and on our way home 8/11/06, I started my first injection of Lupron while on board the airplane. It was kind of cool, sitting in our seats and TBD giving me a shot in my belly. I had a great month without too much pain and my retrieval date was 9/6/06. They were able to get 10 eggs from me..this was great news since the first time I only had 5. We waited for the progress report daily and it was decided to transfer on 9/11/06, day 5 which is amazing (for those of you who don't know much about IVF, a day 5 transfer is the best you could hope for)!

So two years ago today, on 9/11/06, I finally had something wonderful happen to me. After living and working in NYC during 9/11, it was about time that something special happened on that date. Here is a picture of Tate and Reese taken right before they were implanted in my belly. This day turned out to be one of the best days of our life! (I covered my real name.)



I'm so happy that our church had that series. We prayed in earnest to have the faith we needed to make our family complete....and it worked!

For more "fro me to you" action, go to Kristen's site at "we are THAT family" and check it out. It's the best thing in the blogging world happening on Thursdays.

Wordless Wednesday

Like Mother, Like Daughter

My family came for a visit a few weeks ago and we all had a very nice time with each other. My mom's sisters came to see her for a few days and my cousin Stacy brought them along with her daughter Emily. All of them along with Happy Mommy, her kids and my sister Kristy came to my house one day for lunch. I had purchased Mother/Daughter aprons a while back and planned on having them on when they arrived. When everyone saw Reese and I in matching aprons, they thought it was the cutest thing. I did it for Happy Mommy who loves aprons...I wanted to make her laugh. Miss Reese helped me prepare lunch for everyone! The Apron Queen would've been proud! Here are a few photos from that day;







My sister Kristy is facinated by that fact that I can feed 2 babies their bottles at once. She always brags on me which cracks me up. Here is a photo she took of me doing just that. Hey a twin mom has to be creative!



I'm so happy that my Aunts, counsins, mom, sister, neices and nephews came for a visit. It was short but we sure did have fun laughing with each other. Thanks for coming guys..

Reese's Surgery and Tate's Playdate

Reese had surgery again on Tuesday morning. Somehow the Gunderson Flap she got on 7/8 tore and she needed a few more stitches. We kept debating whether to take Tate with us again (he was so bored but very good the last time). Our good friends The G's offered to keep him for the day. So, we left our house at 400a and dropped Tate off (I told you she was a good friend) and headed to Baltimore. Reese's surgery lasted only 30 minutes this time and it was a success. She did however wake from the anesthesia in a very distraught state. She screamed, kicked and cried for over an hour and a half. I was very upset because she's never acted this way before. They gave her more and more pain medication but I don't think she was even in pain...just having a bad reaction (bad dream maybe?). Anyway, once we got her back to her own recovery room, she was back to her normal self..maybe she calmed down after seeing her daddy.



All the while, Tate was being doted on by Mrs. G, Audrey, Betty and Sojung. They took him to the park and played with him all day. Here is a picture that they took of him in his stroller. He had a great time and came back smelling lovely (Mrs. G wears Pure Grace and he smelled just like her the rest of the day). We're very blessed to have good friends who are willing to help us any hour of the day or night.

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Tate and Reese Age 1 Month ish

Having just posted about my twins, I thought I'd share with you the first time I did Kangaroo Care with Tate and one of the first times I held Reese. Tate was 3 weeks old (pic taken 3/11/07) and Reese was 4 weeks (pic taken 3/17/07) old in these pictures. They didn't even weight 2 pounds at this point. They were just little bitty things. The first time I got to hold Tate chest to chest (hence called Kangaroo) was such a wonderful feeling. They made me wait a little longer to do KC w/ Reese for the fact she was just so tiny. Being a mother of preemies, I felt very robbed of all the normal things moms get to do when their baby's are born. These babies are true miracles and we thank Jesus for them each and every day.

For more "Sincereley Fro Me to You" fun, head on over to Kristen's site and enjoy!

No Longer a Milk Mama

I've been a Milk Mama since 2/19/07. I started pumping on the day my twins were born. I pumped for the 3 months they were in the NICU and started breast feeding them both the last 2 weeks of their hospital stay. I continued to pump and nurse once they were home. I was somewhat relieved that they had to be supplemented on Enfacare 2 times a day because I just wasn't convinced I had enough milk for both babies. I continued to pump and give them bottles, nurse and give formula (alternating of course) until August. We had to make a trip to Detroit for one of Tate's eye surgeries. The 8 hour trip took us 12 hours. TBD bought an adaptor so I could use my pump in the car. Yes that would be me ~ driving down the highway pumping away. Once we got to the hotel at 2am (we had to be at the hospital at 6a), I pumped for the very last time. I said, "That's it!" and it was.

I then started nursing and giving Enfacare (still twice a day) and that lasted until February. Once the twins turned a year old, I was able to stop the Enfacare. I freaked! So, I started giving them Lipil 2 times a day instead. Tate was the first to lose interest in nursing so I increased his Lipil to 3 times a day in March. They both always nursed first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Reese would nurse several times throughout the day but not for very long.

In May, Tate stopped nursing at night and only nursed in the morning. Reese still nursed at least 3 times a day. In June, Reese only wanted to nurse in the morning and only sometimes at night. They started drinking whole milk the latter part of June and both love it.

I'm so sad to say that Tate stopped nursing completely the last week in June and I can't even remember the day...or the last time for that matter. Now if you know me...I ALWAYS write stuff down. I've had a diary/journal since I was in the 7th grade and I faithfully write in it daily. I've looked through my journal and realized that I didn't even write about it. I guess there's been so much going on lately and have had other things on my mind. At least that's what I've been telling myself because I just can't believe it didn't write it down!

I noticed a few weeks ago that Reese has been less than enthused to nurse in the morning. Now this does make me very sad.. Again, if you know me - you'd never know I was feeling this way. I know so many women enjoy nursing so much (you know who you are!). But for me, I liked it and did love it sometimes, but didn't have that crazy nursing feeling I was expecting to have.
Back to Reese - she started only nursing every few mornings. Then I noticed it was twice a week. Last Saturday about 5am ish, Reese woke up and I was listening to her cry. I thought to myself she'll go back to sleep. Then I remembered that it was her 17 month bday (7/19) and decided to get my girl out of her bed and nurse her for the very last time. She was so happy to see me and she nursed for over 45 minutes while sleeping. I knew that it would be the last time I'd ever nurse a baby.

I'm happy that I remember every little detail about it (and yes, I wrote about it in my journal), but I'm also a lot sadder than I expected. We went to Happy Mommy's house that day for Bo and Daisy's party. I told HM about my morning and could hardly get it out - I started crying and got very upset. I totally didn't expect the emotions I was having . My husband will read this and go "What? I didn't know this." It's not something that I wanted to share until now.

That's all for now. I have to figure out what I'm going to post for tomorrow's SFMTY. Where's the Kleenex?

The Pool Incident

I decided to take the babies to the pool on Tuesday. Our routine - I wheel them in their double stroller under this massive umbrella, grab a pool chair and lay in the sun next to them, give them Cheerios and sippy cups and they almost always take a nap and sleep for 2 hours give or take.

Reese decided she didn't want to nap but wanted to cry instead. She was cranky, needed a nap and wanted me to hold her. I'd pick her up and get her to fall asleep and put her back in the stroller only to have her wake up and cry some more. I've had to learn how to let a baby cry once in a while (you have to when you have twins). I decided to let her cry it out and figured she'd fall asleep. Didn't happen. My friend April who just happens to be a NICU nurse, came over to me and said "let me hold her - your relax and read your book and I'll walk around a bit with her". Of course I said yes! I don't get too many offers like that and learned not to pass them up. Keep in mind - Tate was asleep the whole time during this.

She was able to get Reese back to sleep and handed her to me and went back to her daughter across the pool. I guess I forgot to mention that 2 women had shown up during one of Reese's crying jags and sat at a table near by. They talked quite loud and the one who was a little more obnoxious than the other had a very strong NY accent. Don't get me wrong- I LOVE NY and miss it very much. She was just one of those ladies who wore all her jewelry at once and wanted everyone to know she was from NY.

I again put Reese back in her stroller and she starts screaming this time..not crying, no tears, just loud screams. I'm very calm during all this because what can I do? We're at the pool and she's not the only screaming kid there - granted the others were swimming and having fun with their friends. Ok..back to the reason I posted this! Now I do realize that there are some people who can't take hearing a baby cry (like I said above - I am used to it). The NY'er comes over and kneels down in front of Tate (who had just woke up about 2 minutes before) and brings with her an orange Popsicle that's 12inches long in a plastic case and asks if she can give it to Reese. I said "no, that's ok". "Can I hold her for you?"...."no, that's ok". "What's wrong with her?"...."she needs to take a nap". Then said NY'er looks at Tate and says "Is he BLIND?"...."NO he's not". Over comes her friend. "Can I hold her for you?"..."no, that's ok". "What's wrong with her?"..."she needs to take a nap". "Are you sure I can't hold her for you?"..."no, that's ok". "You let that other lady hold her."...."I know, she's my friend".

They finally walked away after that and carried on with their own conversation. I just sat there and couldn't quit thinking how rude it is to ask someone if their child is blind the way she did. I was in a bit of shock and I let it ruin the rest of my day. Why do I have to explain anything to a total stranger?

Anyway, I was able to get Reese back to sleep and she did take an hour nap and was very happy after that. I guess I should've just taken her home and put her to sleep in her crib. It usually works out that they get their nap in and I get some time to soak up some sun. I'm trying to take advantage of this while the weather is still nice. Well - I just wanted to share our pool incident with everyone. Does anyone else get bothered by strangers rude remarks?

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Father in Law

This is a special "fro me to you" post of my father in law Ernie. He sadly passed away last Tuesday 7/8/08. This is a picture of him with his granddaughter Jessica who looks to be about 9 months old, so that would make it 1986.

Reese looks quite a bit like Jessica in this picture. I never knew Ernie not to have a nasal canula of oxygen or without gray hair. He looks great and very proud in this photo.

Here's to you Ernie..you'll be missed by many.

For more walks down memory lane, head on over to Kristen's site at "we are THAT family" and enjoy!

It's Been a While!

I haven't posted in quite a while. Not because I haven't had anything to say - but because I had so much to say and I couldn't get myself together.

To begin, last Tuesday (7/8) Reese had her eye surgery. It went very well and she's recovering nicely. She goes back to Hopkins tomorrow for a post op appt. While she was in recovery, they called me to go and be with her. I held her for over a 1/2 hour while she slept peacefully with her little eye patch on (the nurses told me it was her 3rd - she'd pulled the first 2 off). They finally released us to go to her recovery room on a different floor. They wheeled me (holding her) off to the elevator. When we passed TBD he was on the phone. I said - let's go and he shushed me. I said TBD, we're off to the recovery floor and he said "my Dad died this morning".

The day was very long and full of a lot of emotions. We were expecting this - just not so suddenly. We thought he had a few more months. My husband was not prepared. I don't think you can ever be.

On Wednesday 7/9, Tate had a consultation with an eye specialist. I was told that he definitely needs surgery on his right (good) eye and there's a 50/50 chance it could go right/wrong. I struggled to tell TBD this info so I decided to tell him face to face (he had a meeting he couldn't miss or he'd have been at this appt). If we do nothing, we guarantee Tate will have more problems and possible glaucoma in the future. We know we must let this surgeon do the surgery, but we're not prepared for the outcome. Keep sweet baby Tate in your prayers. (I haven't told many people about this since I was so overwhelmed - sorry if you're reading about it and I didn't tell you personally.)

Thursday 7/10 was the 1st viewing. It was very hard on TBD. I took the twins and joined him. That seemed to make him feel a little bit better. Everyone was excited to see them. Need to mention that Mrs. G stopped by our house while we were away and left lots of goodies for us. Chocolate chip muffins, brownies and my fav - a Texas sheet cake! Thanks to the G's for being so sweet!

Friday 7/11 was the full day of viewing. My parents and sister came to our house and my sister Kristy helped me get the twins ready. While we were running around our house, my mother in laws sister Helen and husband Joe came by (they were to follow us the the funeral home). They had this lady with them and I thought to myself, this must be one of their nieces (she looks very young for her age...I need to know her secret). Once inside my home, she announced "I'm the other sister". I was shocked but happy to meet her. She brought me a cake. My mother in law hasn't seen or spoken to her in over 20 years. At the funeral home, they hugged and acted like it was just yesterday that they had last saw each other. I think they've both forgotten why they were mad in the first place. Anyway, at least something good came from this...family has come together. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better and spending holidays with her. Teresa (that's her name) just lost her husband 6 months ago. Maybe Marie (m-in-law) can get close to her sister again since they are both going through the same thing.

Happy Mommy and her family met us at the funeral home. We had a nice get together at Marie's apartment clubhouse and ate some great food during the break (another viewing that evening).

One good thing about the day - it was my niece Daisy's birthday. We had cake and gave her a few presents that evening. She was so cute and excited but kept reminding me "this isn't my party". She's such a sweet girl and we love little Daisy May to pieces!

Saturday 7/12 was the funeral in Baltimore. Happy Mommy and Kristy watched our kids while we were away. Another freaky friday moment - my father in law's (Ernie) twin brother Franklin was there! They hadn't seen or spoken in about 20 years as well. It was very surreal because they are identical twins! His hair was shorter and he doesn't were oxygen but the voices were the same. It was nice of him to be there and I'm happy I got to meet him. He even came to lunch with us after and it was like Ernie was there....I kept hearing him talk over all the conversation and I kept turning to see..they sound so much alike.

Things are back to somewhat normal around here except TBD is in Charleston SC on a business trip. I hope he thinks about work while he's away and doesn't keep thinking about last week. I don't know how he's supposed to feel. I just know it must be awful to lose your father...something I'm not looking forward to in the future but something I've been thinking a lot about this past week.

I'm going to try to start posting a lot more often. Thanks to Happy Mommy for posting a "fro me to you" tribute to my father in law last week.

Ear Infection, Amoxicillin and a Rash

Well, I took Reese to the doctor on Monday and found out my baby girl has an ear infection in her left ear. That explains all the fevers since last Friday night. Her doctor prescribed amoxicillin for her. Off to CVS to drop off her script, then go to Lab Corp to get her blood drawn (this is required for her surgery on 7/8).

We get to Lab Corp and so happy that we are the only ones there so Reese is seen straight away. I had to hold her in my lap, hold her left wrist with my left hand and her upper arm with my right hand. The phlebotomist was great and got her vein the first time. Reese screamed bloody murder and sobbed afterwards..at least she got a Garfield band aid.

On Tuesday, Reese was still having fevers periodically. Her Aunt Jessica came for a visit and we took the babies to the pool. We all had a great time. Afterwards, we fed the babies, ordered this great salad from Uno's (Honey Crisp Chicken Salad), gave the babies a bath and Jess went to pick up our salads. They were great as always! Jess fed Reese her bottle as I fed Tate his bottle. Reese drank her milk so fast. Jessica asked "should I burp her?" , I said "no, she burps on her own now" , Jessica says "oh good - I was afraid she might spit up on me since she drank it so fast" to which I replied "oh, she NEVER throws up anymore". Not 2 seconds later, Reese lets out a loud burp and throws up all over herself, Jessica, the couch and the carpet. I was speechless.. for a moment. I felt so bad for Reese (Jessica too - no one likes getting thrown up on). HM called me right after and I told her what had happened and she asked if she had had her medicine yet and I said I gave it to her right before I gave her the bottle. I thought she just drank her milk too fast.

So, lets move on to Wednesday. A few fevers and amoxicillin later - about noon, I notice that Reese has a rash on her torso. I call her doctor and speak to a nurse I'm not familiar with who tells me to watch it and call back if it gets any worse. Around 2p, I decided to take the babies to the pool so they could take a nap in the shade and I could sit in the sun for a few hours...
About 330p, I notice that Reese now has red bumps on her arms, neck, cheeks and forehead. I call TBD and then the doctor. This time, I spoke with our favorite nurse and tell her the deal. She got upset when I told her that I called before and that I was told to call back. She says, "Reese is having an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin and to STOP giving it to her." She talks to our doctor, then called me back to say that they've called in a Z pack for Reese. Poor baby girl. From about noon until 4p, I called HM about 40 times on her cell and she never picked up.
She finally calls me back at 430p after she's seen all her missed calls and the first thing out of her mouth is "Reese is having an allergic reaction..that's why she threw up last night". See - if she would've just answered her phone, I would've known much sooner!

So today - Reese is a happy little girl with bumps all over her body.... all except her legs.

I guess these are the trials of being a first time mommy. I just don't always catch things right away because they've never happened to us before.

Please pray that my baby girl has no reaction to the Z pack!!
Any suggestions on how to make her rash go away??????