The Spica Cast Saga!

Tomorrow will be 3 weeks of having Sami in a cast that goes from right below her sternum down to her ankle on the leg that is broken, and her knee on the leg that's not.... if anyone would like to see what a spica cast is, here is a link: http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=755148 (this is not Sami, and I don't know the person who made this site...).

So, lets start at the beginning!!! We knew something was wrong almost immediately after her fall. She screamed like we have never heard her scream before and anytime we moved her in our arms she would cry. She also wouldn't stand at all.... so we decided to take her into the ER - thinking it might have been a dislocated hip or sprained/twisted knee. Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think that she had broken her femur! When it was told to us that night that she broke it and what kind of cast she would be in for up to six weeks, we were devastated! On top of everything else this 19 month old has been through and still has to go through, this happens!

Not only where we completely bummed out (which is a huge understatement) but we also felt anger that this had to happen to her and regret because we knew and understood what a block this would be to her development! They said that she'd have to learn how to walk again, and she may not even crawl at first because the muscles will have atrophied... and she had only been walking for about 3 or 4 months at the time of the accident!

Camping reservations would have to be canceled, and she would have to be kept inside - just in general - because the cast was covering more then 50% of her body and it would be way too hot to keep her outside in that cast for very long (and this little girl absolutely LOVES to be outside!). Her (and, in turn, our) whole way of life would change - she'd have to learn to sleep a different way (because she won't be able to roll over onto her tummy), meal times would have to change (because she wouldn't fit in her highchair), awake time would be much more hands on because she would not be able to do anything for herself other then sit where we put her and play with what we handed her.... A different car seat that she could fit into would have to be rented/bought. No one would be thrilled to try to cater to a non-talking, active 19 month old toddler who is starting in on her terrible two phase!!!! And... would we even be able to take her back to daycare with the cast on?

So, now three weeks into our 5 weeks, things are better then we thought they'd be. Sami has adjusted well to the cast. She gestures until we figure out what she wants, she has gotten use to sleeping the whole night on her back, during tummy time she'll crawl/scooch as best as she can to get around, we've modified a coffee table to her sitting height so she can have an eating and playing surface. We were able to rent a car seat from Maryland Kids In Safety Seats (an awesome organization!). It, at this point, seems to be harder on mommy and daddy (and whoever else watches her) then on her... AND she'll be going back to daycare next week! :)

We are coming down the home stretch and can't wait for this cast to come off!!!

Random thought for today...

First, for the past three days, my daughter (who is almost 19 months old) has decided that she doesn't need to take a long nap, if any nap at all! Tuesday, no nap - Wednesday, 30 minute nap - Thursday, no nap... I am wondering what today will bring? The past several evenings have been a trial, trying to get a fussy and tired toddler to eat, take a bath, and not go to bed too early. Some other mom's have told me that this is about the age that some children stop taking naps, or cut back on nap lengths. They are just afraid of missing something... well, that would be my Samantha Brooke! Little Miss. Busy-body! I asked her daycare today to try just one nap after lunch instead of our normal mid-morning and mid-afternoon routine that has worked well for the past several months, so we'll see! I'll update in later posts!

Second, I am finding more and more that on days I get up and make it into the gym I tend to have more energy and find I am an all around more pleasant individual.... Unfortunately, I am unable to get up and get to the gym EVERY morning because of various reasons - but this is something to consider (maybe that exercise bike I have in the basement will get used after all!)...

Third, I am looking forward to this weekend. Sami will be having a sleepover at her Granny's house on Saturday night because Frank and I have made plans with some friends that will go late into the evening... It's easier all around for Sami and my mom to do it this way. Also, I won't have to worry about the possibility of having to be up at 6am after going to bed, most likely, after midnight!!! It's nice to have this "break" every once in a while!

I think that is it for now! I'll leave the rest for another time!

My first "Trial" to blog about - with a touch of rant!

Today seems to be a bad day for me... I am still trying to catch up on sleep that was apparently sorely missed from this past weekend, I was up later then intended last night (my fault entirely for getting into the book I was reading and loosing track of time, AFTER getting home late from a birthday party and trying to bathe a half asleep/fussy baby well after her normal bed time AND knowing I needed to prepare lunches for the next day so I could get up this morning and go to the gym) and customers at work today just seem determined to pluck my last nerve!  *Side note before I continue: I have no doubt that stay at home mom's have it rough at times - and I can appreciate and admire the tenacity it takes to be a stay at home mom because I know that I never could do it (I'd go crazy!) :)

It's rough sometimes, working 40 hours a week at a job that is over an hour's drive away (but a job that I love), and still trying to fit in quality time with the family and quality alone time - which is mostly my early morning jaunts to the gym. Then there is house work and making sure everyone has lunches and food ready for the next day. Pile on top of that less sleep then normal and evening weekday social engagements, and *POOF* - you've got a recipe for a very sleepy and short tempered Graphic Designer/Mommy/Wife/Commuter/etc!

I am not complaining - at least not a lot! I have great friends that I just don't get to see enough!!! But my shoulders can only bare so much weight and I'm close to maxed out just on a normal basis... anything extra seems to just crush me now-a-days! God, I remember what it was like back in high school and college. Studying half the night and still making it through a full day of school and work without really being that much worse-for-wear! I want that youth and energy back!!! I can now truly understand and agree with the statement that youth is wasted on the young! They just don't now how much ~ I didn't know when I was young (and, trust me, I knew EVERYTHING back then!).

But, really, what choice do I have? I can't quite... I can't walk away... And I really don't see any major changes coming down the line. So, I'll trudge on. I'll make it through.... I'll survive :)

What I've learned from camping with an 18 month old...

We went tent camping this past weekend; the first time in a year. Last year when we went, Samantha was only 6 month's old and couldn't even crawl, so it was a different kind of "trying"... This camp was basically me never getting to relax because I was watching over my toddler every possible second. I didn't sleep well, partly because I never get the same kind of sleep camping that I do at home, and partly because every time I'd wake up I was actually getting up to recover Samantha who had kicked off her blankets! I normally wouldn't have bothered, except for the fact that it got down in the high 50's at night and the last thing I wanted was her to get a cold!

We were worried that she wasn't going to do well and that we weren't going to be able to get her to sleep in the play-pen/make-shift crib (this thought was based on our 2 night Easter stay-over at Frank's parents). And I was fully prepared to be driving the 45 minutes home late Friday night with an exhausted baby.... but, she proved us wrong!

So here is what I've learned:

1.) Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst! (This was more of a reaffirmation than a new thing.) Sami totally did better then we thought she would. She LOVED being outside and didn't freak-out at going in the tent and sleeping in the play-pen!

2.) 18 month olds NEVER sit still! (Again, more of an reaffirmation...) She was constantly go-go-going ALL weekend... except when she was sleeping.

3.) Having a child makes you over pack and over think WAY more then B.C. (before children!)

4.) When not watched closely enough, toddlers will try to eat dirt! :-/

5.) AND, at the end of the day (or weekend, in this case), even though I am tired and sore (mainly form hiking with a 22 lb. toddler in a carrier), everything worked out great!

I still am undecided if I will be happy to take another camp this year, or if I am dreading the thought of it... It was a lot of work and I am still just so tired... I guess it's more of a combination of the two opposing feeling, waring inside of me and your guess is as good as mine as to which one will win out!

The First Post, EVER! :)

Okay, so being new to this whole blog thing, I think that maybe I'll just tell you all about me and Samantha (and Frank, too) and what we've all been up to for the past several years!!! ~ How long and boring could this be?!?!?~

Not long after Easter of 2009 (maybe about a week) I found out I was pregnant with our first child. We were ecstatic because we'd been trying to conceive. At 18 weeks pregnant we went for what was suppose to be a routine Level II sonogram. Here was when we found out about Samantha's condition. Needless to say we were in complete shock and the following 48 hours are mostly a blur... But that very same day we were sent to Children's National Medical Center where they set forth her treatment plan (including three open heart surgeries) and to date she has had two of the three.

I never thought that I would ever be going through something like this... It never occurred to me that this was even a possibility! I thought - how could this be happening to me, to ME? Frank and I decided that very same day, through the shock and blur of the situation and information, that as long as they can operate and she'd have a mostly normal life, then we'd make it through and it would all be okay. And so far we have and it has been.

Between all the doctor's appointments I had while pregnant, and all the ones for Samantha since birth, I'd like to think that I've become extremely apt at getting answers and information out of these seemingly squirrely doctors! AND Frank and I both should totally have honorary Ph.D.'s in cardiology (or at least it feels that way)!

I am a Graphic Designer and have been very lucky to have a job through all of this that sympathizes with my daughter's situation and understands when I have to be late, leave early, or take the day off for doctor appointments! My boss (the owner of the company) spent some time in nursing school and has raised three boys of her own!  I couldn't have hoped or wished for a better work situation!

Samantha is one of the most laid back 18 month olds I know (for the most part - because she does seem to be developing a bit of a temper). She is a happy, fairly well adjusted, and typical toddler! We are starting to "rev-up" towards her last OHS (open heart surgery) where they will complete whats called a Fontan (more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontan_procedure). We are hopeful that this surgery will be able to take place around her 2nd birthday - so in about 6 months.

So, now that we are all caught up, stay tuned for more posts! :)