Loving the look on her face in the picture in her crib! "Really Mom. I am so over this place!"
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Home Sweet Home
Apperently my last post did not publish nor save and I have left you wondering what is going on!
We were released from the hospital around 4:30 on Saturday afternoon and after a quick stop at Culvers for dinner and a swing through Walgreens for meds, we made it home at exactly 9:00. We were all very happy to be home! Kara played for a bit before crashing for the night. We are so thankful for all of the wonderful nurses at the hospital, but it sure was nice not to have Kara checked on every few hours. I have spent much time in hospitals and it kills me when they come in to check on you in the middle of the night to see if you are doing okay. I'm sleeping, I'm good! (Love all my nursing friends and I know it's your job!).
Kara has been running a fever off and on since the surgery. Partly due to all of the stress and partly because she hasn't been up and moving so her lungs have not been opening all of the way and they are a bit sticky. Thankfully the boys just came home and the running around and playing is about to increase! The three kids were very happy to see each other. Alex and Kaleb had been pretty worried about Kara (the surgery, the dreaded IV, Us being gone longer than expected) so they were very happy to have us home. Special thanks to Mom and Dave for keeping them entertained while we were gone-lots of swimming, computer time, Grand Cafe for lunch-it's a tough life!
Kara is sleeping in a more normal pattern since we have been home which is great. She is still off and on food as her little mouth is pretty sore. She will be on soft foods for about three weeks and then she can chow down again. She has been drinking really well so we are thrilled she is hydrated even if she isn't so hungry. We will be giving her meds around the clock to keep the fever down and the pain to a minimum. We will be keeping things pretty calm and quiet around here for the next week to help everyone get back on track.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers during Kara's surgery and recovery! We appreciate all of the love!
We were released from the hospital around 4:30 on Saturday afternoon and after a quick stop at Culvers for dinner and a swing through Walgreens for meds, we made it home at exactly 9:00. We were all very happy to be home! Kara played for a bit before crashing for the night. We are so thankful for all of the wonderful nurses at the hospital, but it sure was nice not to have Kara checked on every few hours. I have spent much time in hospitals and it kills me when they come in to check on you in the middle of the night to see if you are doing okay. I'm sleeping, I'm good! (Love all my nursing friends and I know it's your job!).
Kara has been running a fever off and on since the surgery. Partly due to all of the stress and partly because she hasn't been up and moving so her lungs have not been opening all of the way and they are a bit sticky. Thankfully the boys just came home and the running around and playing is about to increase! The three kids were very happy to see each other. Alex and Kaleb had been pretty worried about Kara (the surgery, the dreaded IV, Us being gone longer than expected) so they were very happy to have us home. Special thanks to Mom and Dave for keeping them entertained while we were gone-lots of swimming, computer time, Grand Cafe for lunch-it's a tough life!
Kara is sleeping in a more normal pattern since we have been home which is great. She is still off and on food as her little mouth is pretty sore. She will be on soft foods for about three weeks and then she can chow down again. She has been drinking really well so we are thrilled she is hydrated even if she isn't so hungry. We will be giving her meds around the clock to keep the fever down and the pain to a minimum. We will be keeping things pretty calm and quiet around here for the next week to help everyone get back on track.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers during Kara's surgery and recovery! We appreciate all of the love!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Mercy Me!
Hello!
We are all set up in the PICU at Mercy Hospital in STL. Kara's surgery went quickly and best of all really well. Dr. Forsen went first and had her ear tubes put in in no time flat. Dr. Marsh and his team went next and we were visiting with him at 9:10 am (start time was 7:10 am). He was pleased with the amount of muscle Kara had in the roof of her mouth and he was able to close everything up nice and neat.
Kara was very unhappy when she woke up and gave the nurses a rough time and her ticked off Kara stare. One nurse in particular could get no where near her and Kara kept a close eye on her. I think she was the first person Kara saw and she quickly blamed her for the pain. The nurse was very sweet about it!
We were sent up to our room here in the PICU where we will be until at least tomorrow afternoon. The only way to break out of here is for our sweet girl to drink and eat a decent amount. What is she eating? Great question! For the next two to three weeks she will be on a soft food diet. So far she has ony gotten down about 6oz of pudding milk. That's pudding watered down with milk. She has slept fitfully and we would love for her to take a big nap. Fingers crossed! She just had her second dose of pain meds. I have had a quick nap and Blake is snoozing now.
I won't fib to you: today has been one tough day. Watching her go through this pain and not being able to make it better hurts our hearts. We are looking forward to coming out on the other side and making these next few weeks a distance memory.
Thank you all for your continued prayers for a smooth and quick recovery! Here is a picture of Kara on her "happy meds" right before going into surgery. She was a trip!
We are all set up in the PICU at Mercy Hospital in STL. Kara's surgery went quickly and best of all really well. Dr. Forsen went first and had her ear tubes put in in no time flat. Dr. Marsh and his team went next and we were visiting with him at 9:10 am (start time was 7:10 am). He was pleased with the amount of muscle Kara had in the roof of her mouth and he was able to close everything up nice and neat.
Kara was very unhappy when she woke up and gave the nurses a rough time and her ticked off Kara stare. One nurse in particular could get no where near her and Kara kept a close eye on her. I think she was the first person Kara saw and she quickly blamed her for the pain. The nurse was very sweet about it!
We were sent up to our room here in the PICU where we will be until at least tomorrow afternoon. The only way to break out of here is for our sweet girl to drink and eat a decent amount. What is she eating? Great question! For the next two to three weeks she will be on a soft food diet. So far she has ony gotten down about 6oz of pudding milk. That's pudding watered down with milk. She has slept fitfully and we would love for her to take a big nap. Fingers crossed! She just had her second dose of pain meds. I have had a quick nap and Blake is snoozing now.
I won't fib to you: today has been one tough day. Watching her go through this pain and not being able to make it better hurts our hearts. We are looking forward to coming out on the other side and making these next few weeks a distance memory.
Thank you all for your continued prayers for a smooth and quick recovery! Here is a picture of Kara on her "happy meds" right before going into surgery. She was a trip!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Catching Up and Kara's Surgery
Hello Friends!
We have been very busy enjoying our summer together by hanging out at Grammy and Grampy's pool, playing with friends, and just relaxing! Summer always seems to fly by and this year is no different!
This past Sunday, we were blessed to have Kara's Baptism in the same church that the boys and I were baptized. What a blessed day surrounded by family and friends! Kara did pretty well~but got a little antsy towards the end. Thankfully, Father Luke is a seasoned professional and took it all in stride. Kara wore a beautiful silk dress from China and looked very sweet. We also celebrated Alex and Kaleb's 9th birthday! So hard to believe they are 9 years old! Blake and I also celebrated our 11 Anniversary. Whew-it's been a busy summer!
We will be heading down to St. Louis tonight for Kara's cleft palate and ear tube surgeries. The surgery will take place tomorrow at 7:00 am. We would appreciate any prayers and good thoughts you can send our way. The surgery should last about 2 hours from when they take her back to when she heads to recovery and we have an amazing team of doctors and nurses on the case which helps put us as ease. If all goes well, we will be heading back home on Friday and will spend two weeks recovering. We will keep you posted and thank you for your prayers in advance!
Now-here is what you really want-Pictures! : )
We will be heading down to St. Louis tonight for Kara's cleft palate and ear tube surgeries. The surgery will take place tomorrow at 7:00 am. We would appreciate any prayers and good thoughts you can send our way. The surgery should last about 2 hours from when they take her back to when she heads to recovery and we have an amazing team of doctors and nurses on the case which helps put us as ease. If all goes well, we will be heading back home on Friday and will spend two weeks recovering. We will keep you posted and thank you for your prayers in advance!
Now-here is what you really want-Pictures! : )
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| Kara's Baptism |
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| Alex and Kaleb's first photos-Hard to believe it's been 9 years since they were born! |
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| Celebrating our 9th birthday with frozen yogurt from Orange Leaf-Yum! |
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| Celebrating Father's Day with our AMAZING Dad! |
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| Movie Night in the living room |
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| These beautiful photos were taken by a photographer at Your Reflection My Style in Bloomington. The cost of the sitting fee was donated to families with children with Cleft Lip/Cleft Palate issues. Love the cause and the photos! |
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| Happy girl! |
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| 11 years ago these two young kids tied the knot! |
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