Swimming!

Sydney got two inflatable pools for Easter from her two sets of grandparents...they all knew exactly what Sydney needed! :)  We tried Sydney in the pool a few weekends ago and she wasn't really having it.  I think she was a bit overwhelmed; she had only had her casts off a few days and hadn't been in water in over a month, so I think she just needed to be reintroduced to water.  Anyway, the first attempt was short lived, but I enjoyed just getting to put her in a bathing suit!

Cute bathing suit!

"Look, it's my hands!!!!"

"I don't think I like this very much."

"My paci is helping a little bit."

We retried the pool yesterday evening.  It has been so hot outside and there doesn't seem to be relief in sight so I feel like relaxing in the pool will be great for Sydney.  I suppose all she needed was time because she sat right down and splashed away.  She wasn't even interested in any toys, she really just wanted to interact with the water.  I think we may have a water baby on our hands after all!  This weekend we are taking Sydney to the beach for the first time and I can't wait!  Hopefully she will find as much enjoyment by the sea as her dad and I do.

Splash!

What???

"Excuse me, enough with the pictures, I'm playing here."

So sweet!

Drying off

A Hiking We Will Go

For Mother's Day Blake bought me a hiking backpack and this weekend we took it for a test drive.  We went to Lake Wheeler Park and hiked along the lake.  We had a great time, and Sydney enjoyed riding in the backpack.  I think we have found a new family hobby!

Cast Free...and Lovin' Life!

~"But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds," declares the LORD.~ Jeremiah 30:17

On Friday, we took Sydney to have her casts taken off!!  It was the day we waited four long weeks (and two days) for!!  After what seemed like a long wait, a nurse brought us back to a room and took off her casts.  I was nervous about how Sydney would react to having them removed.  The best way I can describe her was that she seemed amazed.  She held very still while sitting in Blake's lap and watched the nurse and then immediately started rotating her wrists around and staring at her hands and seemed to be thinking, "there you guys are!!". 

Kisses in the waiting room

Skeletons

Still waiting...

Cast removal

"You're back!!"

Once the casts were off, Sydney's doctor came in to take out the pins (those yellow things you can see in the picture above).  Overall, she is very pleased with how her hands look.  Her left hand looks almost completely healed, just a little scabby.  Her right hand is the hand that required much more work.  It looks good as well, just not as good as the left.  It has some black scabs where a flap did not take fully.  The doctor says that what will most likely happen is the black scabs will fall off and pink, raw, and tender skin will be underneath. Dr. Patterson is so happy with the results that she asked us to come back in two weeks just for her curiosity. 

Sydney and Dr. Patterson (who is EIGHT month pregnant!)

The doctor assured us that it does not hurt to have the pins removed but that she would most likely cry because it feels weird.  I had already decided that I couldn't watch the pins being removed (they would have been picking me up off the floor).  I knew I had made the right decision when they brought in two LARGE pairs of pliers.  Luckily, Blake isn't squeamish in the least bit, so he held Sydney as the doctor and two nurses helped remove the pins.  Blake said he was shocked when they pulled them out...it seemed like they kept pulling and pulling before they were completely removed.  Here is a picture of one of the pins, which clearly went completely through her finger and into her hand.  Just compare the pin length to the thumb length of the nurse's hand holding the pliers and remember that Sydney has tiny hands. 

Wowzers!

After bringing Sydney home, we put her in the bath to help remove more of the scabbing.  I would love to say that she relaxed in the tub and was happy to be in it after not having one for over a month.  However, it was my bright idea to put her in the big tub rather than her smaller whale tub she was used to.  She didn't love the idea of being in the big tub, but we did get some of the scabbing off.  Her left hand looks almost completely healed, other than a bit of swelling.

Look at me...I'm holding this toy!

Since her casts have been removed there are so many things I took for granted before that I have relished watching now.  Here are just a few:

1. Sydney rubbing her eyes when she is tired.
2. Sydney being able to hold her toys independently.
3. Sydney being able to put her paci back in (OK, this is nice in the middle of the night, too).
4. Sydney grasping my face with her hands.
5. Sydney easily getting comfortable in her crib.
6. Sydney holding onto my fingers.

They may seem like small things, but they are such big things for us.  Blake and I are relieved to have her surgery and recovery behind us.  But I must say, I am mostly happy for Sydney...she is so glad to have her hands back!

Perfect Mother's Day Gifts: Hiking Baby Backpack and a Trip to the ER??

My sweet baby on Mother's Day

Well, my first Mother's Day certainly didn't turn out exactly as I thought it would...welcome to motherhood, right? Saturday night, Blake and I noticed that Sydney's casts seemed to be slipping.  The way we could tell is that her thumbs seemed to be disappearing.  The surgeon bandaged her hands and arms so that the only part we could see was her thumbs.  She told us to keep an eye on her thumbs and if they seemed to be "shrinking" then the casts have moved and to give her a call.  Well, Sunday morning (Mother's Day), her thumbs had recessed more, so we gave the resident on-call a buzz.  After about thirty minutes of trying to track him down, we finally got a hold of him and he told us he was in surgery and would have to look over her chart and call us back. 

Late that afternoon, he called us back and had us head over to UNC's Emergency Room.  Not what I was hoping to hear.  Not where I wanted to bring my otherwise healthy baby.  We packed Sydney up and headed down the road anyway. 

Sydney and her dad in the ER

Once at the ER, we were taken right back to a room in the pediatric section.  After taking her vitals and waiting maybe 10-15 minutes, the orthopedic resident we had talked on the phone with showed up.  He actually was able to get in touch with Sydney's surgeon (whom he had been trying to reach all day).  She gave him instructions on exactly what she wanted him to do.  That definitely put my mind at ease.  He did let us know that she wanted him to do a full bandage change...exactly what we had done last Wednesday.  The kicker: they were not going to be able to give Sydney the same medicine they used previously to knock her out because she had eaten too recently.  So the game plan?  Give her a strong pain reliever that also would hopefully relax her.  If it didn't work, we would wait TWO HOURS and then they would give her the gas used on Wednesday.  Two residents prepared all the materials and setup the room so they could each work on one hand, both at the same time. 

So, they gave Sydney the pain meds and had Blake and I wait in waiting room.  The bad part?  We could hear her crying from the waiting room.  Blake did his best to keep my mind off things and finally had me go outside and call my sister.  As usual, he was calm under pressure, a quality I wish I possessed.  I positioned myself so I could see when the doctors finished.  My sister did a great job keeping me distracted until I saw the doctors leaving her room.  As usual, I was able to find a blessing in the chaos: when we walked in Sydney's room, she was laying on the big hospital bed cool and relaxed (clearly thanks to the drugs, but I sure didn't care).  She looked happy to see us and wasn't the least bit upset. 

After waiting a few minutes and being checked one more time, Sydney was discharged and we were sent home.  The doctor asked that one of us sit in the backseat with Sydney so that if she fell asleep because of the drugs, we could keep in eye on her in case her head fell forward.  She didn't fall asleep, but she sure did act like she felt pretty good from the drugs! :)  It was actually pretty amusing. 

"I feel like I'm a glass of orange juice"

"Man, whose idea was it to put this thing on a string?? BRILLIANT!"

"I need to inspect this a little more closely."

Sydney's old cast...they let us keep it.

All in all, not the Mother's Day I was expecting, but Blake certainly helped to make it the best under the circumstances!

Mother's Day gift: a hiking backpack that I can't wait to use!

Dressing Change

~Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

This morning we took Sydney to have her bandages changed (happy 30th birthday to me!).  Sydney's surgeon gave us the option of changing them in her clinic without any medicinal intervention or in the OR with a laughing gas type intervention.  We chose to have it changed in the OR.  Unfortunately, this meant we had to go through the same protocol we did for her surgery: pre-op, no eating past midnight, arrive early at the hospital, and go through recovery.  I definitely was not nearly as freaked out this time as last time.  In fact, Sydney had the same nurse anesthetist and she commented on how much more calm I was. :) 

The surgeon wanted to change her bandages so that she could make sure the pins in her ring fingers were still in place and doing their job as well as to make sure everything else was healing properly.  She also offered to take pictures of her hands so we could see what they look like.  Blake and I feel like her hands being wrapped up is almost like a little Christmas present- we want to take a peek!

Once Sydney was brought back to the OR, we barely had time to get settled in the waiting room before we were called back to the recovery room.  I think we waited about 30 minutes, 45 minutes tops.  The big difference this time was that I could hear her screaming as soon as we walked into the recovery area, before I could even see her.  While I am sure there was pain involved, I think she was mostly scared and confused.  It took us quite a while to get her calmed down, but I don't blame her for being so upset. 

Sydney's doctor said she is very pleased with the way her hands are healing overall.  While her hands look bloodied, swollen, and somewhat bruised, they are not as bad as I expected.  Blake's parents also said they do not look remotely as bad as his did following his surgeries.  I am hopeful that in two more weeks they will look even better!

Only two more weeks and two days before her hands are freed!!

Sydney with her dad waiting to go back to the OR

Special visitor!

This week Sydney had a very special visitor...her Aunt Jenn from California!  I can't tell you how much I enjoyed spending time with my sister and having her get to know Sydney.  She had only met Sydney for my brother's wedding in Colorado when she was 4 months old.  I'm sure she had grown and changed a lot since then.  Plus, we were busy with the wedding and didn't get a chance to really visit much, so it was a perfect opportunity now.  I appreciate that Jennifer was willing to come all the way here while leaving her 16 month old son.  We had a great time playing with Sydney, visiting, taking walks, taking a trip to Clemmons to see our parents, and even watching the royal wedding.  Of course, Jenn's time here was much too short and I was very sad to see her go.  However, it made me want to plan a trip soon to visit her, my brother-in-law, and nephew!

Hanging out with Aunt Jenn

Quick trip to the park

Walking at the park

With Grampa

Visit to Clemmons...with Sydney's Great-Grandmother!

Sydney with her Great-grandmother and Nana

Aunt Jenn is fun!

Sydney is thinking "Don't go!!"

Sydney and her aunts!