Week in Review

I stood there beside bed 52 - the same place I had been standing for the past 12 harrowing days - I was fumbling with the car seat (bed) trying to figure it out. The wife came up to the bedside just as I was stepping away . . .

"Uh, I'm, uh . . . going to go pull the car around, a nurse will walk you and Annabelle out. I will see you out front."

My wife returned my deer-in-the-headlights look . . . "Okay" she said.

Holly sat in the back seat with Annie and the mother-in-law road in the front seat. I had Annie's "Pray 'til Labor Day" cd in the stereo and no one said a word the whole way home - the only dry eyes in the car were Annabelle's.

The first night home was predictably hard. Tuesday was easier and Wednesday night was easier still. Remember all that talk last week about how Annie Lu is so strong and so obstinate and how all that was a good thing being that she was going through all that her first two weeks of life entailed? heh.

Well our little strong-willed miracle child spent all night shrieking last night. Oi.

I have no idea what the trouble was - we fed her, we changed her, we swaddled her, we turned on the vibrate gizmo on the bassinet - she didn't seem to be in pain or discomfort - and yet, wail she did.

Every time we would pick her up she would quiet right down. Lay her in the bassinet and the crying would begin again. At one point, the wife and I were so tired that we were afraid to hold her just from an exhaustion / safety standpoint. But we all got through it and both the girls were sleeping away when I left for the office this morning.

Such is parenthood, I suppose.

As I mentioned before, we have 6 family members staying with us right now and it has been a godsend. They have handled all the cooking, cleaning, laundry and even acted as chauffeurs to doctors appointments. I don't know how we would have made it through the past two weeks without them.

So the seemingly endless round of doctor visits has begun. First up? Urology!

When the order came from the Urologist to the NICU that Annabelle was to be catheterized every 4 hours, even the nurses were disheartened. They didn't say so - but you could see it in their mannerisms. On top of it all, the Urologist wanted the wife and I to do the cathing.

After one particularly frustrating attempt, I exclaimed, "This is crazy! How are we supposed to do this every four hours?"

(For those of you who have never had the great joy of cathing a newborn baby girl, try threading a needle underwater in the dark for starters)

Shortly after, the order was revised to every 8 hours instead of every 4. Hmmmm . . . That's odd . . . since when does a doctor alter their orders based on an exasperated parent?

Even at 8 hour intervals, the nurses seemed dubious about it's necessity.

To make a long story short, we met with the Urologist on Wednesday and she explained that cathing was not an immediate medical necessity but that in 3-4 years we may need to cath Annie so she thought it would be best if the wife, child and I get used to it now . . . . 3 times a day . . . for the next 3-4 years . . . . just in case it became necessary . . . .

uh. huh.

As we stood in the hallway waiting for the elevator, the wife remarked, "I know what you are thinking"

"Oh yeah?", I said through clenched teeth as I held little Annie Lu to my chest . . . "What am I thinking?"

"You're thinking that we are never going back to that doctor again."

"You got that right", I replied. "Our daughter is 9 days old - she has had surgery on her spine and a tube inserted in her brain - we don't need to be 'practicing' cathing her on top of it all right now!"

So we agreed that we would see another Urologist for a second opinion. I took great joy in throwing out all the cathing supplies when we got home.

Next up? Plastic Surgery!

We saw the plastic surgeon yesterday to take a look at Annie Lu's back. the stitches are about 3/4 healed. There is one trouble spot that is taking longer so we will be going back to the PS every week until it is fully healed.

One piece of good news is that, from a structural standpoint, Annie is basically fine. She won't be playing any contact sports but we don't have to worry about her spine every time we drive over a speed bump either. The concern regarding her back is all tissue-related at this point.

The PS did say that Annie will one day be in a normal car seat / stroller etc provided we contour the padding to accommodate the little bump in her lower back.

We tentatively have an appointment with the Pediatrician today and neurology and orthopedics on Monday.

So that is the roundup. Again, I am sorry for not keeping up-to-date as much this past week (having the Internet down at my house isn't helping right now either).

Little Annie is just such a joy. As tough as it is at times, it is a wondrous feeling to go to the bedside of your crying little girl in the middle of the night, pick her up and have her immediately stop crying and snuggle contentedly into your chest as you pace the darkened house.

Thank you for your continued prayer and support - it means more than you know . . .