Please forgive me if this seems tacky, but I'm running behind in getting invitations out in the mail in the standard two-week advance notice timeframe...they will be coming in the mail, but due to the holiday weekend, they'll take even longer and I wanted to get the word out so people can plan. I know some of you read the blog, so I thought I could get the word out faster here - pass it on to the rest of the family if you see them. :-) Thanks for doing my work for me, til the invitations get out in the mail. So here goes:
We're having a Meet Willa picnic for our locally based immediate and extended families (brothers, sisters, grandparents, our aunts and uncles, cousins) on Saturday, September 15 at 2 pm. It'll be at my (Christie's) parents' house, where there's lots of shade and plenty of room for little ones to run around and get rid of energy. :-)
The only other point worth noting is that we don't want any gifts - seriously. We'll put this note on the invitation, too, but receiving gifts is not why we're doing this. We just wanted to have an opportunity to see our extended families and introduce Willa to all of you. Willa has plenty of clothing, toys, books, and so forth - the best gift will be your presence, meeting Willa if you haven't already done so, and giving us a chance to see you for a bit since trips and visits have become a bit more challenging with a little one. So, watch for your invitation next week (clearly new mommyhood has impacted my planning and execution abilities!) and we hope to see you in two weekends! You can email me if you have any questions.
To our friends: I believe most of you have already met Willa, and we're thinking of doing a brunch or something like that later in the year at our house to hang with our friends. Philly is easier for our friends, since most of you live here, while the Boyometro (as Markus affectionately calls it) is easier for most of our family.
We should have more Willa pictures and maybe some video(s) soon, since we have a long weekend coming up. Hope you all find a nice way to enjoy the long weekend.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Save the Date - 9/15
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Bundled up munchkin
Daddy was in charge of putting my jammies on last week when it was so cool. As you can see, he bundled me up so I wouldn't get cold! I love these foot rattles, by the way. I'm learning cause and effect - when I kick my feet, I can make things happen. The foot rattles make noise so I'm starting to realize that I have these things called feet that move around. And, if I'm on my playmat and I kick my feet, it makes my butterfly friend light up and sing a song!!!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
Saturday in the Wissahickon
This past Saturday we found ourselves visiting one of our favorite natural sanctuaries: The Wissahickon Park. Living in Center City has made frequent visits to the park impossible. Even occasional (3-4 times per year) excursions seem to be hard to manage. But wow! It was so nice to walk on familiar paths. Cross the wooden bridge. Enjoy the sound of rushing water. And you might recall the high temp that day was in the low 70s. It was tremendous.
Here's a link to the spot where we rested and shot some photos before heading home: click!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Sleeping Beauty
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
One more thing
When you look at the playtime II pictures, you'll notice Mommy looks pretty disheveled. I couldn't believe that Markus actually posted those pictures of me...oh well, now you've seen me at my very finest!
Willa Poops!
Just one more update. Most of you know - since most of you are our friends and family (come on, it's not like hundreds of people check this thing out...) - that Willa has had some issues with pooping on her own. We suspected that this was a result of her movement being restricted by the harness. Last Tuesday, I came home from a massage, which I had conveniently scheduled to happen on the day before my return to work, and Valerie told me Willa had a poopy diaper. I was so excited. Then we waited and waited and waited...until last night. We were eating dinner and heard the distinctive sound. I never thought we'd get so excited to change a poopy diaper! After 10 days, you'd be excited, too! We had noticed that Willa was bicycling her legs like crazy all night; of course later we realized why. We're interested to see if she continues to go for long periods of time now that the harness is off and she no longer takes the phenobarbitol.
To allay any fears of the medical professionals in our circle of readers, we've checked with the pediatrician throughout this cycle of irregularity. Willa is not constipated because her belly remains soft and her "output" is of normal consistency. She just uses a lot of what's in breastmilk to grow, so there isn't much waste - what a good girl!
Oh, and personality wise, she's much more pleasant, playful, and content now that there's no harness and no phenobarbitol. She's a different baby altogether, in a good way, and is making great developmental strides very quickly - her ability to hold her head is much improved in just the last several days. We're all happy, that's for sure!
Mommy's Travel Adventures
All three of us survived my first trip to Indy this past week, thankfully! I knew Willa would be fine in the very capable hands of Valerie, our nanny, and Markus, our very own Superdad (he really is wonderful when you see him in action). But I didn't know how I'd be feeling. I only cried once, when Willa and I had a little talk during which I explained that Mommy might not be here for a few days. I was quick to tell her that there would always be boobie milk, though (that's what we call it; I just hope those aren't her first words...).
My friends in Indy made sure I was okay. We met for dinner, got pedicures one night, and beyond that I didn't have much time because I had to go back to my room and pump so that I didn't explode! Honestly, I did enjoy being back at work, using my analytical skills (again, I feel so lucky that I like the type of work that I do), and interacting with my colleagues. It was nice to know that they missed me, too. So, we all survived and will repeat the drill next month.
A couple of funny tales for you.
-The TSA lifted its ban on mothers traveling with breastmilk but without babies (they had to check their milk in their luggage previously), so I was able to carry it on-board with me. I had three small ice packs in my milk-designated bag. In Philly on the way out, a 20ish TSA guy says, "Ma'am, what are those three blocks in your bag?" Me: "Ice packs for breast milk." TSA Guy: "That'll work!" And I was on my way.
-I now consider myself a real road warrior, as I have pumped breastmilk in an airport bathroom. I sat myself down in the handicapped stall, thanked my lucky stars that I had a battery pack, and started pumping. Then I said that Willa better be the healthiest, smartest little girl ever, given what her mommy's doing to give her boobie milk!
-I called to talk to Willa one night. As soon as she heard my voice, Markus said she started rooting. She started taking her pacifier again this week - I guess plastic nipples are better than none at all - and sucking furiously on her hand. Poor girl.
-My flight home was a comedy of errors and to sum it up, I arrived home 7 hours late. On the plane, I asked the flight attendant to refill my plastic baggies of ice to keep my milk cold (I had 20 bags of milk - enough to cover my next trip to Indy - and I was NOT going to let it spoil due to a flight delay). She was the most frazzled and anxious flight attendant I've ever seen (other passengers said the same) and said she couldn't fill the bags, but she could give me cups of ice. I asked if I could dump the current ice and she started freaking out saying I couldn't dump it in the galley because she didn't know what I was dumping, and - get this - she wouldn't want police and flashing lights and sirens to await me when we arrived in Philly. You know me and my explosive breast milk...anyway, the passengers around me were horrified that the attendant was giving me a hard time when I was just trying to save my milk. Always an adventure, you know?
Enough stories for one day (sorry they relvoved mostly around my breasts - who knew that one body part could provide so many stories and humor?). Thanks for continuing to read and check in on our girl. We might be off to buy a video camera today - if we do, stay tuned for little video snippets on the blog. For now, Mommy needs to do some work while everyone else is still sleeping. You know you're back in full swing at work when you need to spend a few hours working on the weekends. Fun, huh?
Friday, August 10, 2007
Playtime II
Christie's home and it's playtime! Willa was more than happy to oblige in some fun. Butterfly, caterpillar and all the best friends a baby could have were in attendance. It's great to know that you can rely on these little dangling furry creatures to make the stress of the day go away!
This is how we do it in Alder Court
What me... yes, I'm playing now
Um hm!
Take that flying caterpillar thingy!!!
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Done with the brace!!!!!!
The visit with the doctor went well. The ultrasound showed "normal" hip behavior when the technician put Willas joints through all of the tests. After such excellent attention and rigorous treatment, I was elated when Dr. Horn said she was done wearing the harness. We will of course return in three months for a follow up visit. But, at this point the major restructuring is done - all non-invasively!
With this, Willa's only outside intervention are her Zantac and Reglan medications for spitting up. And since so many babies take that cocktail, I think it's safe to say we have a very healthy, normal baby girl.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
High Quality Photos
One of the sacrifices we make for convenience is image quality. Today we had some time to take some proper photos. Notice Willa's relaxed posture. She has decided to start enjoying more pacifier - perhaps a result of not having the real thing...
Breakfast in the harness
Day 2 - Not too shabby
Time to finish my night's sleep! I love this blackberry blog posting.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Giggles
It's hard to actually catch a giggle, by the way. This sequence is the closest record of willa giggles to date. (part of the problem is that giggle inducing activity usually requires the camera to be set aside! and when the giggles come it takes a few seconds to setup the camera and then they're gone!!)
It's been a while indeed
At any rate, it's the weekend and this set of shots is from about one hour ago. Willa's 12 hours of freedom from the harness have made her much happier and these photos really show her new range of facial expressions and emotions.
Also, Willa has found her hand. Yes, a big milestone has been reached!
Enjoy.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
LUKE POSTS PICTURES!
Luke finally posted a huge load of photos from his trip and some random writings on some of the cities he has visited so far. It's great to see him having such a good time.
Take a look: http://ljweidner.blogspot.com
Good Neurological News
Today was Willa's EEG and Neurology consult at CHOP. Valerie, Christie and Willa went over for the EEG early in the afternoon and were there to bear witness to Willa's 20 minutes of screaming. (she hates EEGs for some reason). I met up with them at 3:45p.m. for the neuro consult and basically everything looks - hold your breath - good. What does that mean? Well, on this EEG they saw no indications of seizures and the doctor said at our next visit she'll read the first and second tests - since it's possible that they were not interpreted exactly correct but were not available today for her to see. It is apparently very very difficult to read neo-natal EEGs and when she sees the first two, plus today's, plus the EEG that we'll have in three months, a full history will be known and the course of therapy can be adjusted accordingly.
As for her current course of therapy, the reccomendation is for us to immediatley wean her from the phenobarbital. Her 2.5ml per day will drop to 1.0ml for a week, and then we'll discontinue it completely. The reason behind this is that her current dosage has not increased while her weight has doubled, thus effectively weaning her from the medicine already. And at her current dosage, it really does nothing. Furthermore, the doctor said there is recent research questioning the effectiveness of using PB at all in these cases, even mentioning that she has "...contributed to some of that literature" (perhaps through her own research).
At any rate, we where extremely impressed by the level of care and the approach that was taken. As mentioned, the follow-up visit will be in three months. At that time, tests will be repeated and Willa's progress will then be certain.
