Happy Birthday, Baby!

My baby girl is 9 years old now.

Turning A Corner

I really feel like we've turned a corner with Jack Henry. In the last month or so, Jack Henry is beginning to love us. He is so excited to see us when we pick him up from daycare or when we walk through the front door. He yells "Momma" or "Daddy" and runs to hug our legs. He wants us to pick him up immediately. When a family members hurts him/herself, he wants to kiss them. The hugs and kisses come more frequently without having to ask for them. Furthermore, he is much more comfortable with us and his surroundings. There is a swagger in his walk. He knows he belongs with us. In return, we love this little boy completely.

He is a member of our family. Blake, the girls, and I were all patient (for the most part) about the bonding process. I did have trouble with friends and family understanding the process. I explained it to them. I asked them not to hold him or pick him up, to give Blake and I the space and time to be able to bond. Some people did not listen or respect our wishes. This was difficult. I do believe that only parents holding the child (or limiting time with other adults) does help immensely with the bonding process.

When we adopted Maggie, the bonding process was difficult-for her and for me. I was impatient. I was frustrated. I was scared. This time around I knew it would come. I was more patient, less frustrated, less scared. This comes from having more wisdom the second time around. I learned a thing or two from our first adoption. I wish I would have limited somewhat or altogether the holding time by other adults.

Is bonding complete with Jack Henry? Absolutely not. I believe we are still working on it, but I am happy with the progress made so far. I see more and more everyday that Jack Henry trusts us. Everyday, he reveals just little more of his wonderful, adorable personality.

I love my kids!

I am blessed!

Fall Fun

Saturday evening, the family ordered calzones from our favorite Italian restaurant and spent the evening carving pumpkins.
Ok. Fall can officially begin.
Pumpkin Carving Time!
Never seen the inside of a pumpkin before. Fascinating!
Wine corkscrew? Ancient Chinese secret to carving pumpkins.
Maggie and Isabella
Maggie's pumpkin design (a flying owl) took a lot of patience.
Isabella's skeleton pumpkin.
Jack Henry thinks pumpkins are hilarious!
Isabella
Katie Beth
Maggie

Other Thoughts to Add

I have some other advice for your days spent in the hospital--wear comfortable clothes. You are not their for a fashion show. I had to remind myself of this. I love to wear heels and instinctly wanted to to wear "dress casual." I talked myself out of that! I wore Nike sweats, a t-shirt (one that I did not care if I got blood on it), tennis shoes, and a zip hoodie. I brought extra t-shirts (most dark colored ones) and extra Nike pants (all black). I have long hair and brought pony-tail holders for those "special moments." LOL!

Follow-Up

We took Jack Henry back to the cleft doctor one week after his surgery. Thank goodness, the palate was healing correctly with no holes. His circumcision is also healing nicely. Almost exactly 24 hours after the surgery, Jack Henry was his normal self. He did have occasional pain from his surgeries, but for the most part, he was just fine. I did give him Tylenol with Codine (prescribed by doctor) the first few days. After those initial days, it was not needed anymore.

What I brought or What I wish I brought:
*Fuzzy Crocs (Or any type of slip on and off shoe)
*Toiletries (especially shampoo and conditioner, so you can take a shower at the hospital)
*Toys (ones to play with in bed and stuffed animal)
*Laptop with charger
*Portable DVD with fave movies
*Cell phone chargers
What Not to Bring (can get these at the hospital):
*Baby Blankets (JH got blood all over his)
*Soft food and/or juice
*Personal Pillows and Blankets

Happy Birthday!

The Birthday Girl!

This weekend, we celebrated Katie Beth's 13th birthday. Wow! I can't believe she is 13-years old. We had a fun-filled weekend.
Soccer in the morning.
Jack Henry and Momma freezing at the soccer fields. Brrrrrr!
Applebee's for lunch

God is good!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thank you to all the visitors that stopped by the hospital to check in on Jack Henry: Grandma and Papa K, Aunt Theresa, Uncle Tom and Aunt Patty, Tommy, Ethan, Kennedy, and Uncle Dave. A special thanks to my mom (aka Grandma K) who helped the day of the surgery with throw up duty. :) In addition, a big "shout out" to our friends and family for all the text messages that we received at the hospital.

Also, a big thanks to our dear friends, Mary and Diego, who looked after our precious girls while Jack Henry was in the hospital.

Furthermore, a special thanks to our girls for being the best girls in the world. Even though they missed us, they were understanding about JH's surgery and our absence for a few days.

Lastly, thanks for all the prayers and good wishes sent our way.

God is good!

The Day After

Making his rounds.

Jack Henry woke up this morning groggy and subdued. I did get him to drink some apple juice. Once the cleft doctor stopped by, I gave him so yogurt. He ate about half of the container. The nurse then brought him some Tylenol with Codine. I stayed "on top" of his medication, making sure he was getting his doses as scheduled. Out of 4 nurse shifts, we only had one RN who was "on top" of his medication schedule and seemed concerned about his pain levels. I firmly believe as the parent you need to be your child's advocate. Our first two nurses were not "on top" of things. As a matter of fact, we hardly saw them. I also had to clean up after they left the room each time. We also had issues with the nurses sanitizing their hands when they came in the room. This is a major issue as it is flu season.

Jack Henry was awake this morning but subdued. I think he still had some morphine in his system. He played with his cars and animal pals. At about 8:30, he wanted to use the restroom again. The RN unhooked him from the IV. He was successful on all "accounts." Yea! I then put PJ's on him, and we took a spin around the hospital. He is in good spirits and wanted some more yogurt and apple juice. His spunk has returned!

Second Half of Surgery Day

Jack Henry was out of it most of the day except to cry or throw up.

Jack Henry woke up in the late afternoon yesterday in a lot of pain. Because I requested it, the RN gave him some more morphine. Some nurses do not give pain medicine even if it is written on the chart. I have learned that the parents need to be the child's advocate. I think it's important the first day to have steady pain medicine to ease the child's pain levels. Jack Henry threw up some more mucus. There was still a little blood in it but not as much as in the afternoon. Blake and I just did our best to comfort him. I did get him to take a few sips of water and apple juice. The RN did give him fluids and antibiotics through his IV.

In the evening, Jack Henry started crying weakly. He kept saying "Momma, Momma" over and over again. He then said, "Want pawnee." We could not figure out what he wanted. Then, it finally dawned on me that he might have to use the restroom. Sure enough, he had to go potty. Throughout the evening, he was pretty fussy. He wanted me to hold him, and then, he wanted back into bed. We did this manuvering many times. This is not an easy task because Jack Henry had so many tubes and cords hooked up to him. The RN then gave him some Tylenol with Codine. About 20 minutes later, he threw up, probably because he hadn't eaten since the night before. The modine did not have the same effect on him because it was administered through his IV. I then decided just to give him morphine, which was in the doctor's orders.

The night was relatively peaceful. He woke up a few times crying. The nightshift RN gave him morphine sometime in the middle of the night. He slept until 6:30 a.m. when the one of the doctor's showed up.

The bandage for the circumcision came off, so I carefully peeled the blue medical tape off. Jack Henry did not like that at all! I also put ointment around the sutures. I will have to do that for 10-14 days. He has grabbed at that area a few times.
Showing Momma his new bear from Grandma.
Jack Henry's pals are waiting for him to wake up and play.