Fun Miscellany

Okay, I'm still on my Holy Week/Confirmation/Easter hangover (of the sober variety, of course), so there will not likely be any rhyme or reason to this post (and you'll be lucky if you get complete sentences), but there's a lot going on to mention here.  So, in no particular order:

Easter!  Thanks to Grandma and Granddaddy Speas, Becca got to come to church for the first part of the Easter service!  Mom was worried about bringing her even for that part - because she tends to be noisy - but I assured her that there was no way that she would be heard over the band.  Am I right, Bethpagers?  We've got some serious volume on Sunday mornings - at least at 8:30.  So mom and dad brought her a little before the service started so that folks could see our adorable little curiosity and then took her home before the sermon so that she could nap.  We're trying to teach her that napping during the sermon is impolite.  ;)  And thanks to Nana Dana, Becca was all dolled up, complete with matching bloomers and bonnet.  I love that the hat barely fits her when everything else is big because her head is nearly a full size ahead of her body.  Too funny.   Here she is:



And here's all three of us.  Please ignore the circles under our eyes.  It was a long week.  ;)  By the way, this was my second Easter outfit.  The first one got soaked when I baptized 5 youth - by immersion!



Becca got her LAST Synagis shot today!  Hooray!  These are the wicked-expensive shots that are supposed to minimize the danger of an RSV infection if she were to get the virus, but so far, we haven't had to put them to the test, thank goodness.  RSV season runs October through April here, so she's home free until next fall, when she will likely qualify for the shots (and the RSV house arrest that goes with them) for another year.  I say she's home free until the fall, but I just mean that she's free of the Synagis shots.  While the RSV risk decreases dramatically here in the summer, it doesn't go away, as my sweet nephew Taylor knows (he caught it in August!), so we'll still be vigilant about the hand-washing and (when in public) hand-swatting-awaying, but she is getting to go out a little bit.  We actually went out to dinner on Sunday night even though we were still full from the yummy meal that my mom had made because I love to eat out and we figured the crowds would be pretty nonexistent on Easter night.  We were right, and even though I didn't like my food, John and I had a great time playing trivia at BW-3's, and Becca loved staring at all of the many, many t.v.'s they had on.  But back to the shot.  The nurse who came to the house today was the same nurse who gave Becca the first Synagis shot she got at home in November.  This particular nurse hadn't been back since, and we figured out that at 11 pounds, 6 ounces, Becca was fully twice as big as she was the last time Kathy saw her.  Wow! 

We had some crazy Tennessee weather this weekend.  For those of you who aren't local, Tennessee actually gets quite a few tornados this time of year, and sometimes they can be really bad.  I remember the week before we moved to Brentwood, when I was in 3rd grade, tornados came through on Christmas Eve, I think.  I say I remember, but I didn't live here and was only in 3rd grade anyway, so go with my fuzzy recollections of the stories.  Then when I was a senior in high school - and this one I remember - tornadoes ripped through downtown Nashville, doing quite a bit of damage.  Ron got us youth together, and we helped clean up Tulip Street UMC.  And somebody brought us amazing cheesecake from the Fatherland Street Bakery.  Good times.  And then last year (again, before I moved here), there were some terrible tornadoes that hit our little community, though most of the damage was to the neighboring communities.  Our church was a disaster relief distribution/organization site.  I'm sorry that I missed seeing our church in action like that!  But we probably had enough drama of our own this time last year.  Okay, I know we did.  So, anyway, we get tornadoes and they can be pretty bad.  Well, some hit on Friday (which made for very cool ambiance at the Good Friday service), and mom and Becca crawled into the bathtub to wait them out.  They missed us, thankfully, but thank goodness mom is as concerned as I am and had my little one tucked in the tub with her!  Dad was on dog and weather tracking patrol, so they had the situation under control.  Here's what I came home to:



Becca is not a fan of having the sun in her eyes, and she's going to the beach this summer (and she just has a mom who thinks kids should be outside as much as possible), so I found these adorable sunglasses for her.  They came with the headband and some hairbows.  I'm not sure what I think about the headband, as I've always been opposed to them, but it may not be an issue much longer - check out the second picture below.  She really seemed to like the glasses - she took them off a couple of times to chew on them, but then she left them on and just kept playing.  Too cute.



[caption id="attachment_273" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="She's getting hair!"][/caption]

One positive thing about being the mother of a micro-preemie is that you don't take anything with your baby for granted.  I mean, yes, I whine some days when she doesn't nap and all, but in general, there are a lot of things that are just h0-hum and expected for "regular" babies that are way more exciting for Becca.  (More on this another day.)  I almost cried when I caught this picture:



Do you see her left hand?  On the little spinny wheel?  Doesn't it make you cry, too?  This exersaucer came from our wonderful, fabulous EI teacher, Cindy.  One of the challenges that we've been running into is that Becca doesn't fit the toys that are developmentally appropriate for her.  For example, she wasn't able to reach the dangley things (wow, I'm eloquent tonight) on her bouncy even though she was able to focus and intentionally reach for and bat at things.  So we've had to adapt.  But here is proof that she has finally grown into her exersaucer!  (Well, kind of.  She can only reach about half the things, but it's progress.)  She LOVES spinning this little wheel.  It made me so happy to see something cooperating for her when she's been trying so hard!  Thanks, Cindy!

Okay, just a few more quick ones:

Here's Becca doing her Daddy impression, complete with sweet potato red beard:



Twins, right?  The great news is that we finally got some of those sweet potatoes IN her!  And she's eaten nearly a jar of pears today!  This is a HUGE step!  We've been struggling with solid food for over 3 months now, and she's finally getting the hang of it!   Can't wait to give her chocolate ice cream!

Here's an example of our passing on our issues to our children.  Thus begins Becca's addiction to board games:



She was very interested in Daddy's cards, but refused to tell me what they were.

And just to prove that I do exist (because all the pictures seem to be Becca and John!):



And to compare her size to her early tub pictures:

 

 



 See, she's a "tubby" girl! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Wow.  On that note, I'm going to bed.  G'night!

Oh!  It's not too late to contribute to Becca's Team's March for Babies!  Visist www.marchforbabies.org/BeccaHill !

Super Quick Update

Okay, I'm dying for a quick nap before youth group this evening, so I'm going to keep this really brief (and I mean it this time!).  Becca had her swallow study done this week, and she did great.  Her swallow is fine, but she needs some helps knowing when to swallow, so Gwen gave us some tips.  However, she has since then become very tight lipped whenever I bust out the baby food, so the struggle to eat continues.  She's almost 7 months past her due date now, so it's time to get some more nutrients in her!

I'll backtrack and explain why all of this is a challenge for her and why the study was so important - and why Gwen is our hero - later, but I know some of you have been waiting for the study results, so here you go.

By the way, it's not too late to donate to the March of Dimes!  Our secure donation site is www.marchforbabies.org/BeccaHill .  Thanks to all of you who have already donated!  We're getting close to our goal of $1000!

March for Babies!

This week marks one year from that awful day on which we received our baby girl's awful prognosis.  Dr. Fines' exact words were, "I think we need to be prepared to lose this baby."  I was crushed.  After calling John (who was in Costa Rica at the time) and stopping at Mejier to buy some pink sleepers, I took a nap.  Here's an excerpt of how I described that afternoon on this blog:
 
"The thing about taking a nap is that life doesn’t really change while you’re asleep.  That whole “While You Were Sleeping” concept - not so much.  When I woke up that afternoon - and for the next several mornings - I experienced that moment that many people who go through some kind of tragedy often describe.  For about 30 seconds after I woke up, I thought everything was okay.  And then I remembered.  'I think we need to be prepared to lose this baby.'  Those next few days were some of the hardest of my life."
 
Tonight, after countless perinatalogists visits, 121 days in the NICU, and 5 wonderful months at home together, our precious little Becca is sleeping in one of those pink sleepers, just down the hall from me.   
 
As you know, our family has been touched by the March of Dimes mission to prevent birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. That’s why we have formed Itty Bitty Becca's Team to raise money and participate in March for Babies. Since you were a part of the team that cheered her through our darkest days, we want you to officially be part of Itty Bitty Becca's Team!  There are two ways you can join: by walking with us on Sunday, April 19, or by sponsoring our event with a financial contribution.
Contributing to our team online is fast, easy and secure. You can donate directly from my personal webpage with a credit/debit card or PayPal. If you prefer, I can also accept cash or check. Just click the appropriate box on my webpage.  My March for Babies webpage is http://www.marchforbabies.org/BeccaHill .

Or, if you prefer and are able to do so, we would love to have you walk with us in the March for Babies!  We are participating in the Nashville walk on Sunday, April 19 at 2:00 at Cenntennial Park.  If the weather is good and the germs remain at bay, Litte Miss Becca will be "walking" with us, too!  (Of course, you can walk AND contribute, too!)  You can also sign up to walk with us on the website.

Our family knows firsthand the challenges associated with prematurity. It is important to find out why premature birth happens and what can be done to prevent it. By raising money, ongoing research to answer these critical questions is funded. When you support our Itty Bitty Becca's Team, you show you care and you give hope for defeating premature birth and other threats to babies.  Becca is doing great now, but all you have to do is look back at her early days on the blog to see how close we came to losing our little girl, all because of still unexplained complications.  But every day, the folks at March of Dimes are getting us closer to an explanation - and to a better outcome for the rest of our children!

Please join us and millions of compassionate people across the country who support March for Babies each year. We need your help. Visit my webpage and sponsor our event or to sign up to walk with us!

With your support, there’s hope.  Thank You!

Love,
Nancy, John, and - of course - Itty Bitty Baby Becca
 
My personal Web page address for donations is...
http://www.marchforbabies.org/BeccaHill

p.s.  I know that money is tight right now, so if you can't contribute, no worries!  Just say a prayer for our little girl, her fellow preemies, and the doctors, nurses, and researchers who are helping save their precious lives!

[caption id="attachment_36" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="First Picture"][/caption]

The March of Dimes mission is to improve the health of babies by
preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.  Becca (in her very first picture above) is one of those babies.

All things green...

[caption id="attachment_256" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Pinchers ready for St. Patty's party-poopers"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_257" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="May the force be with you."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_258" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Not green - but a cute tummy time shot"][/caption]

Bookworm

Mommy's favorite bookworm:



Becca loves to read.  She'll sit there forever it seems like, as long as she's able to look at the pictures.  We try to read everyday.  Because she's a genius and all.  (It doesn't hurt that mom used to work in a kids' library and was a bookworm herself, either.)

And a quick snuggle shot:

Nine Month Update

We just got back from Dr. Collins' office for Becca's nine month well baby visit. 

It was fabulous!

She's 10 pounds, 5 ounces and 21.5 inches long.  She's still not anywhere near the growth charts, but she is at least a bit more proportional now, and she's still on a good growth curve.  Dr. Collins is very happy with her overall, and with a few things specifically, like her fine motor skills.  She is very social (no surprise there).  And she's very happy (as long as she can forget about her gums).  She's rolling from back to belly quickly (because she wants to get off her tummy), she's getting close to sitting on her own, she supports her weight when you hold her in a standing position, and she passes small toys from one hand to the other.  She's a busy little girl.  (Remember, even though she is actually nine months old, we look at her corrected age (time since her due date) for developmental issues, so developmentally, she's six months old.)

We are going to do a few evaluations.  Becca still isn't figuring out the whole cereal thing, even though we've been trying it with her every few days for 2 months.  Since she had such severe swallowing problems before, we are going to do an evaluation with a speech pathologist at Vandy. (I'm crossing my fingers for Gwen to start doing some out-patient work!)  This may seem odd, but speech pathologists are the feeding specialists because it's all the same muscles and movements as speaking.  So, no, we're not trying to get Becca to start recited Scripture verses or Shakespeare; we just want her to be able to eat solid foods.  We are also going to go ahead and do an evaluation with a physical therapist, as it's hardest for preemies to catch up on their gross motor skills.  Especially because she's so small, everything seems to be thrown off a little bit.  So we'll check it out with them and see if they want to follow her.

I'm really excited about these appointments.  I've been pushing some for them, but with her age and RSV/flu season, we've been putting them off - wait and see.  She's not technically delayed on anything yet (based on her adjusted age), but I know these therapies are only going to help her, and she loves getting out and seeing new people and places (or staying in and having therapists visit), so let's get them started, right?  I've had a hunch for awhile that feeding could develop into an issue, so I'd definitely rather be proactive on that front.

That's about it for the visit.  All in all, she's doing awesome!

Here are some fun pics that pretty much sum up our days!

[caption id="attachment_245" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Becca holding her bottle all by herself - without ANY hands."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_237" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Here she's peeking out from behind her new favorite toy - and Mom's best deal ever - a crinkly mylar balloon from Dollar Tree. What a great deal!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_238" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Again, with the balloon - posing in a very stylish outfit from Ms. Gloria."][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_239" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="And, as always, Daddy's little girl."]

Becca in a box. She thought it was really funny. She definitely enjoyed it more than the dogs enjoyed their turns.

I lied

Oops.  I looked at the calendar.  Becca was at the doctor 2 weeks ago, so assuming that we don't have to make a visit until Friday's scheduled 9 month check-up (yes, I said nine month check-up), she'll go 3 weeks without an appointment, not a month.  As of now, though, she doesn't have any appointments scheduled between April 20 and June 23, so perhaps she'll have a break then.  We'll just have to come up with other excuses to trek in to town and visit folks.