Surgery Souvenirs & Milestones

We gathered some souvenirs so we can explain what happened when Katie is old enough to understand.

1. We saved Katie's ID band and the green bands Mike and I wore to show we were approved visitors that had received the flu vaccine.
2. On one of our night walks around the hospital we stopped in the gift shop.  I bought Katie a small silver angel, with a heart, that says "Live, Love, Laugh".  
3. A Rochester charity, Pirate Toy Fund, gave Katie a pink polka-dot bear blanket to play with. http://www.piratetoyfund.org/
4. The Ronald McDonald House Charities gave us a tote bag, helpful for getting all our things back to the car! http://www.rmhc.org/
5. My mother found a book called "Matty's Heart: A Child's and Parents' Guide to Open Heart Surgery".  This book explains open heart surgery at two levels one basic and one more advanced.  It also has an area in the back for milestones, memories, coloring pages, and games.  It was from Kids With Heart: National Association for Children's Heart Disorders, Inc. www.kidswithheart.org
6. My mother also found a teddy bear that has a zipper on its chest.  You pull the zipper down and expose a heart inside that is stitched up.  It is used to explain the chest scar, where the heart is, and how it was fixed. Bummer Bears: Mended Heart Bear www.bummerbears.com 

Here are the milestones we recorded in her book:

• Surgery, how long did it take: 1/17/14, Bypass 1hr22min
• Date NG (nose tube) removed: 1/18/14, 6am
• Date ET tube (ventilator) removed: 1/18/14, 6am
• Date Foley (catheter) removed: 1/18/14, 1pm
• Date you could be held: 1/18/14, 5pm
• Date arterial line comes out: 1/18/14, 8pm
• Date central line comes out: 1/19/14, 9am
• Date moved to private room: 1/19/14, 2pm 
• Date first able to drink (milk): 1/19/14, 2:30pm
• Date chest tube comes out: 1/23/14, 9am
• Date peripheral IV line comes out: 1/23/14, 12pm
• Date you get to go home: 1/23/14, 1:30pm

Facebook updates & pictures

So they don't get lost in history, here are the Facebook updates in order:

Thursday, 1/16/14
We are at the hotel in Rochester recovering from the day of pre-operation testing. Tomorrow Katie gets a super duper heart. 7:30am EST.

Friday, 1/17/14
In waiting room at cardio-pediatric care unit. Katie is in surgery. Prayers for my daughter please.

She is all prepped and ready. Should be starting the cut any minute. They seem about an hour behind schedule.

Katie is out of the OR. She is doing great. They fixed everything. Surgeon said he would be very surprised if she ever needs another heart surgery. They made the right choice doing the surgery early. We got to see her for a moment. She looked beautiful. The rest of the day is critical and we have to avoid infection but there is no hint of a problem at the moment. Thank you everyone for all the prayers, thoughts and well wishes.

Still doing great. She is opening her eyes and stirring. She is taking her own breaths over the ventilator so they are slowly weaning her off. Goal is to remove the ventilator tomorrow morning. Thank you for all the continued support.

I also wanted to thank all the blood donors out there. For Katie to have the surgery she had to receive extra blood to run the heart lung machine. Someone out there helped fix her heart today by donating their blood. We are thankful.

Saturday, 1/18/14
Ventilator is out. Breathing on her own, like a Champ!

Healing.



Sunday, 1/19/14
It is a great morning. All the big IV lines are out! She only has a tiny one in her foot. Oxygen is coming off as soon as she wakes up. The incision dressing is off and looking good. She is even wearing a shirt. We can pick her up whenever we want. Next big step is eating!

Sleeping peacefully




Monday, 1/20/14
Doing good!



The official white board in Katie's room says our goals for the day are 1) Eat, 2) Cuddle. Sounds perfect!

Tuesday, 1/21/14
We get to go home when the chest tube drains less than 20mL in 24 hours. Katie's numbers have been 100mL, 75mL, and 35mL the last three days. Chant with me <20, <20, <20!!!

Daddy time, in our cute jammies!



Wednesday, 1/22/14
Katie's continuing to recover and beginning to smile again!



24 D'oh. One more day. We did get two smiles so we will take it!

Here is our hangout. Crib, couch, rocking chair, TV, bathroom. Very nice.



Some more pics of our recovering little girl







Thursday, 1/23/14
We are totally unplugged and waiting impatiently to bust out of here! Notice our super duper heart jammies!



Out of here. 13° and snowing. Happy day!!

Day 6, Thursday 1/23/14

We were released on Day 6.  The record for this surgery is 5 days and the average is 7 days.

On the morning of Day 6 a doctor came to remove her chest tube.  It was held in with a suture which was removed then the tube was pulled straight out.  They covered the wound with a pressure bandage and we have to care for it for five days.  We removed the bandage 24 hours later and replaced it with a simple band-aid.  Then we have to change the band-aid for the next 5 days keeping the area clean and dry.  The hole looks pretty big to me but apparently it will heal fine on its own.

I put Katie in some cute Valentines heart jammies and then we had to wait for a final heart echo.  The lady came to her room with the machine and the echo took about 40 minutes.  Katie didn't like it, I think the goo and pressure on her chest was hurting her.

She was given a prescription for Lasix, a diuretic, to help her kidneys remove any excess fluid.  We filled the prescription at the hospital pharmacy before we left.  We have to give her this medication for one week.  She can also have Tylenol as needed. 

The nurse scheduled a follow up appointment with the pediatric cardiologist in Syracuse for Wednesday 1/29/14.  That was it!

We were free, six days after surgery, with a bandage procedure, one medication, and a follow up appointment.

Katie is amazing.  She is so sweet and calm natured.  She lets us know when she is hurting but recovers quickly.  We are so thrilled that the surgery is done, Katie is healthy, and we are HOME!

Days 3 - 5, Monday 1/20/14 - Wednesday 1/22/14

Days 3-5 were all very similar.  The nurses came to take Katie's vitals every four hours at 12am, 4am, 8am, 12pm, 4pm, 8pm. Katie didn't really like the blood pressure cuff squeezing her leg.  They also had to flush her foot IV line regularly which annoyed her too.

Otherwise, Katie slept and ate.  On Day 5 we started to get smiles! Mike discovered that Katie likes classical music.  She was unsettled and couldn't get to sleep so Mike put on some music and she immediately fell asleep.  She listened to music most of the rest of the time she was there.  My mom bought Katie as small pink polka-dot octopus with big googly eyes.  Katie would smile every time she saw it and would roll to her side and reach for it when she was able.
 
Mike spent the days working.  I spent the days feeding Katie and reading.  As a nursing mother I was eligible for food through the hospital's room service system.  Since we were staying in the Ronald McDonald house, Mike received two food vouchers per day so he could also receive the hospital's room service.  They had a pretty extensive menu, we could order what we wanted by phone and about an hour later it would be delivered to Katie's room.  The food was pretty good, not amazing, but decent.  On the day Katie got her private room, Mike went out to get Chipotle for us to celebrate.  We also got Chipotle before we drove home, to celebrate when Katie was released. 

Mike and I went for a short walk each day around the hospital.  Twice we visited the gift shop, once we visited the cafeteria, and once we found the interfaith chapel which was really nice! 

We talked with Ellee at least once everyday just before she went to bed.  She always wanted to see Katie and spent a lot of time singing through the phone!  Her favorites were ABCs and Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes.

Since Katie is less than a year old, she had to pass a car seat test.  They had to monitor her heart rate and oxygen levels for 90 minutes while she was strapped in the car seat.  She passed the test easily.  She slept most of the time, played with her monkey some, and cried a little.

Once she was eating the only thing keeping us in the hospital was her chest tube.  The tube drained any excess fluid from her chest cavity so that she could easily breath.  We were told we had to stay until the drainage was less than 20mL in 24 hours.  The first day it was 100mL, second 75mL, third 35mL, fourth 24mL (almost got it), the fifth was 22mL.  Since the drainage had leveled off close to 20mL we were allowed to leave the next afternoon after the 22mL day.

Day 2, Sunday 1/19/14

Mike and I quickly fell into a nice pattern that lasted the whole time we were in the hospital.  We would spend all day in the room with Katie.  At about 9pm, after we met the new nurse (shift changes at 7pm) we would head up to our room to relax.  We would go to bed when ready and I would come down at 12am, 4am, and 8am to pump or feed Katie when the nurses would wake her up for vitals.  At 9am Mike would come down so I could go back up and sleep a little more and get dressed.  Then repeat!

On Day 2 at 9am, the nurse removed Katie's central line (neck IV) and the incision dressing.  She said the central line removal was dramatic because it was held in place with sutures that had to be untied and they had to keep pressure on for 5 minutes to prevent bleeding.  She said Katie tolerated the incision dressing removal pretty well.  The incision was left exposed from then on.  There were no visible sutures only glue that held the skin closed.  It looked very good and scabbed over quickly.  She also got to wear a shirt.

The central line was delivering the last heart medication, which means she was off of it by 9am.  At that point all we were waiting on was a dirty diaper, showing her bowels were functioning, before she could eat.

Once the central line was removed we were able to pick her up whenever we wanted.  The nurses had to help us before because the lines in her arteries (central and arterial lines) would cause many problems if they accidentally pulled out.

By 11am she was off the oxygen!

At 2pm Katie was moved into a private room and a full crib.  The private room was awesome.  Mike and I had a full couch and rocking chair, we could also eat in the room.  By 2:30pm Katie was able to attempt her first feeding which went very well.  The doctor was only hoping she would latch on, but Katie managed a full feeding!

Once she had a few more successful feedings they stopped giving her IV fluid.  By that evening, they only had to take her vitals every four hours.

Day 1, Saturday 1/18/14

Surgery day is considered Day 0, Friday 1/17/14.  So, Saturday 1/18/14 is Day 1.

Following the surgery Katie was put in a bassinet (they didn't have any cribs available) in the Pediatric Cardiology Intensive Care Unit (PCICU).  The post-surgery room is not private; it is basically an open space with room for four patients.  Katie had two nurses full time, the first 12 hours.  The area had tons of machines, a TV with the speakers on the call button remote, and two chairs for the parents.

We spent all the nights while Katie was in the hospital in the Ronald McDonald house within the hospital.  There are only four Ronald McDonald houses that are physically located in a hospital in the whole US and Rochester is one of them.  We were lucky enough to get one of the seven rooms; so, we were only one stairway away from Katie the whole time.

We knew the night before they were going to slowly take Katie off the ventilator because she was trying to breath on her own.  I went down at 4am to freeze some milk and stopped by to check on her.  The nurse told me they needed to do a one hour test with the ventilator turned off, but still in, to make sure she was breathing fully on her own before they would schedule the removal.  I asked her to call just before the removal so we could be there.

We got the call at 6am and Mike and I down to observe.  The doctor first pulled out her nose tube going through her nose to her stomach and removing the stomach contents.  Then they did a few puffs of air and pulled the ventilator out.  Katie didn't like it very much and arched her back very severely.  The doctor was concerned about her back arching, but we assured him that she does that all the time while she is stretching.  She was given an oxygen tube which is normal protocol following ventilator removal.  She then had to be slowly weened of the oxygen by reducing the volume and checking to make sure her blood gas levels were stable.

In the afternoon the catheter was removed which was handling her urine.  We had to start diaper changes which is a little difficult with all the wires!

Katie was on two heart drugs which encouraged her heart to beat tightly.  They slowly weened her off of these as well.  By that afternoon she was fully off one of the two heart drugs.  She had to be off the other drug before she could eat.

At 5pm we got to hold her!  The nurses had to help us because of the sensitive arterial and central lines.  It was so wonderful to get to hold her.  We each held her for about an hour each.  

At 8pm they removed her arterial line which is basically an IV that entered the big artery in her groin.  This was difficult because the line was held in place by three sutures that had to be untied.  Then pressure had to be applied for 5 minutes to make sure she did not bleed too much.  Katie did not like that process.

At some point during the day we were able to figure out how we could video chat with Ellee.  Technology is awesome.  Katie could not have any visitors except Mike and I due to the hospital restrictions for flu, but with a couple smart phones Ellee could see Katie whenever she wanted.  Every time Ellee called the whole week she would immediately ask to see Katie.  Mike and I are second fiddle and proud of it!  Katie and Ellee are going to be an inseparable team.

Ellee knew that Katie had a 'broken heart' that the doctors would 'fix'.  We had read a Magic School bus book about the heart and a book called 'Matty's Heart' about heart surgery.  Ellee knew the heart was important and Katie needed hers fixed.  We also told her that Mommy, Daddy, and Katie were going to 'live with doctors' for 'a while' so they could fix Katie's heart. Whenever Ellee called she would ask if Katie had a check-up and what the doctor had said.  We were able to assure her that the doctors had fixed Katie's broken heart and were watching as she got better until we could come home.  At one point Ellee wanted to speak to the doctor but we were able to show her the nurse and distract her!  :) 

Katie was asleep most of the day.  When she opened her eyes they would mostly roll around completely unfocused due to the medications she was receiving.  I wanted her to know that Mike and I were there but couldn't think of much to talk about.  So, I started reading my book out loud to her.  Mike bought me the Divergent series for Christmas and I waited to read it so I would have something to look forward to at the hospital.  Therefore, Katie and I read Divergent together.  Fun times!

Surgery, Friday 1/17/14

The evening before surgery we did a pre-surgery antibacterial wipe bath.  They gave us instructions of the order of the body parts to wipe for 30 seconds each.  You start with the neck and chest, then arms, legs, hips, etc.  Katie is used to wipe baths so she actually enjoyed it.

I didn't get much sleep that night.  I was too worried and I had to manage the weird feeding schedule. I fed her at 10:15, then tried to sleep, but didn't.  The alarm went off at 1:10 to feed her because we had to stop all milk at 1:30.  She did great with this feeding and ate much more than I thought she would.  Then I actually fell asleep around 2:30, but was woken by the next alarm at 4:10 for the pedialite feeding.  Katie hates bottles so I dripped a few drops of the pedialite on her lips.  She tasted it and acted like it was toxic, so I didn't push it and put her back down to sleep.  Then the final alarm woke us up at 5am to get ready to go.  We got dressed, packed up the jeep, then got Katie up for a quick diaper change then directly into the car seat.  She fell right back to sleep in the car seat, miracle.  Once we got to the hospital I put her in a moby carrier.  It is a long cloth wrap that holds her to my body, and she fell right back to sleep, miracle.

We found our way to the check-in area and they called us back to the prep room almost immediately.  The nurse asked us a zillion questions.  Since Katie was peaceful the nurse offered to wait to the very last minute to do the final things before surgery.  I got to sit in a rocker for about 50 minutes with Katie sleeping peacefully.  The anastesiologist came in and talked to us.  I asked her to tell me what blood type Katie was in their records to make sure it matched what I knew: it did.  They had also run her tyroid levels which we found out were normal.  Then, right before they took her back they did another weigh measurement, which was 9lbs4oz.  We new the scale the day before was wrong!  We also did another antibacterial wipe bath.  Then we got to give her kisses and she was wisked away.  Absolutely no tears from Katie, too bad I wasted many hours worried about her screaming from hunger.  Our last moments together were perfect.

Then we waited.  We went up to the pediatric cardiology waiting room and sat there.  We were all alone because no other family members or friends were allowed due to flu restrictions.  Mike and I sat there most of the time.  We were not hungry and we were afraid to leave.  Since the surgery was relatively short we didn't feel like we could go anywhere for fear of missing any updates.  I also had to pump my milk.  It has become a running joke between Mike and I, because everytime, EVERYTIME, I leave the room to pump the doctor comes to talk to us.

The first update was by the nurse.  She came to make sure we didn't want to meet the surgeon before he started.  He had had a meeting that morning and was running late.  We didn't feel the need to meet him (we had already talked to his assistant surgeon) so we told them to go ahead.  She also wanted to enroll Katie into another study.  This study was on blood transfusion levels.  Currently each doctor sets their own threshold for when they feel a child should get a blood transfusion during post operative recovery.  If we agreed, Katie would be randomly given one of the two testing thresholds.  One is higher than the other but both are safe values.  If she fell below her threshold she would be given a transfusion.  Either way, if the doctor felt she definitely needed a transfusion based upon her symptoms he could override the study and give it to her anyway.  So, we agreed and enrolled her.  We later found out she was given the lower threshold but her blood levels are so high she wasn't even close to needing a transfusion at either level.

Then Pastor Jane arrived.  We went down to the general hospital lobby, got some hugs, had a prayer for Katie, and chatted for awhile.  It was great to see her and an excellent distraction.  When she left, we went back up to the waiting room.  We didn't have to wait long until the assistant surgeon came up (I was out of the room...grr).  Mike came and got me and it was EXCELLENT news.  They were able to fix everything they wanted to.  They closed the large hole between her ventricals (with a Gortex patch) and also the much smaller hole between her atria was closed with a single stitch.  The reason for doing the surgery early was to attempt to save the pulmonary valve.  The surgeon said the pulmonary valve was already borderline on whether it could be saved but they attempted it anyway and they were successful.  Her pulmonary artery was narrowed, it should be 8mm and it was below 6mm.  They were able to stretch it open to 7mm which is close enough to normal.  The blood flow and pressures improved and her pulmonary artery should grow with her.  At that point they were stitching her up and the main surgeon would come see us in about 30 minutes.  So we waited.

When the surgery was complete Dr. Alfieris the head surgeon came to visit.  He confirmed everything the other surgeon had told us.  He was extremely pleased with how the surgery had gone.  He told us Katie came off the heart lung machine with no problem.  She was officially on bypass for 1 hour 22 minutes.  He said he can not guarentee Katie will not need another surgery but his (very confident) opinion is that she is completely done with heart surgeries!  He even said that if anyone tells us in the future that she needs another surgery, he wants us to send her records to him so he can give us a second opinion.

When he left we waited another few minutes and Katie was brought by us on the stretcher and she was beautiful.  What a relief.  The doctors were happy and all I could see was her.  I didn't even notice the tubes.  We got a quick kiss then waited while she was settled in the ICU.  This seemed to take forever but when we finally got to see her it was with no more restrictions.  We can visit 24hrs a day.

We had heard it would be difficult to see her with all the tubes but it really wasn't for me.  I knew what they were for and I see them as a baseline.  As each tube is removed we are progressing toward the goal of going home.  She had open heart surgery, of course she would need a lot of tubes!  I imagine it is much more traumatic seeing your child like that if they had and accident and you were not prepared, but we were and it was fine.  So here is her baseline.

1) Ventilator - forcing air in an out of her lungs
2) NG tube - running down her nose into her stomach removing any contents
3) Central line - IV in her neck to provide medicines
4) Arterial line - IV in her groin to provide other medicines and take blood samples
5) IV- in her foot, for hydration
6) Catheter- to remove her urine
7) Lots of monitors, for blood oxygen, temperature, blood pressure, respiration rate, electrical pulses
8) Two medicines to make her heart squeeze tightly
9) Morphine and tylenol for pain

The rest of the day was spent by her side.  We have to leave for food, sleep, and pumping but all the rest of the time was with her.  She did great and quickly began to take breaths on her own off pace with the ventilator.  This resulted in them starting to ween her off the ventilator!

Day Before

We woke up this morning, played with Ellee for a while then Mike, Katie, and I made the trip to Rochester for her pre-operation appointment.  Katie cried some on the way, not really sure why.  We stopped at a rest stop to feed her then finished the trip in.  We scoped out the hospital by car, had lunch, fed Katie again then went in for the 12:15 appointment. 

We were supposed to have a hospital tour but that was cancelled due to the new flu guidelines.  Only the patient and their two parents are allowed into the Children's Hospital. Since she is not yet a patient we couldn't see the area.

They took Katie's height, weight, an EKG, and temperature.  They said Katie weighed 8.15, but her pediatrician said she was 9.4 last week. We are not sure if she lost weight, the scales are wrong or the pediatrician one was with a diaper.  Weird.

Then we met the surgeon's nurse. She went through the details and consent forms.  Katie can have milk until 1:30am, pedialite until 4:30am, then nothing.  This is very different from her normal schedule so I am expecting tears in the morning. :(  She told us to expect a full week in the hospital.  If everything goes very well I can potentially feed Katie Sunday night.

Then we talked to a researcher on an NIH grant looking at the genetics of congenital heart disease.  They want blood samples from the three of us and for us to answer some survey questions later in the week.  They are looking at the genes of Mike and I and how that combination of genes resulted in Katie's defect.  Of course, the biologists that we are, signed up.  We are now officially NIH case numbers!

From there we went to the lab to have Katie's blood drawn.  They needed six baby vials full.  They pricked her heal and then dripped it out drop by drop.  It took about 15minutes and she was screaming and kicking the whole time.  I held her hands and looked in her eyes (when they were open).  Mike held her other leg to keep her from kicking the technician.  The technician said Katie was VERY strong.  She didn't even know about Katie's DS.  Apparently she is strong even for typical babies. 

Then Mike and I each had our blood drawn for the genetic study.  The technician that took our blood was a doctor from Albania.  He was excited that Katie was getting the surgery and said she would be "excellent" after the surgery, not just "better".  He said the surgery is very good and not to worry.
  

Then we went to the imaging department to get Katie's chest X-rays.  Only one parent could go back, so I went.  They had Katie straddle a harness, then pulled her arms up over her head, then closed a clear plastic tube around her whole body from waist to above her head.  Once she was smushed in there, we left the room and took two X-rays one from the front and one from the side.  She was not happy about that procedure either. Then we were done!

We are now in a hotel provided by the hospital for the night.  Katie is eating and sleeping a lot recovering from the day.  She isn't in a deep sleep yet and keeps fussing and falling in and out of sleep.  

We are going to get up early in the morning, pack up the Jeep and head to the hospital.  We will check in at 6:30am, and stay with Katie until 7:30 when they will take her back to the OR.  We will wait in the pediatric cardiology ICU.  They will not let anyone but Mike and I in there.  Therefore, my mom is not going to make the trip to Rochester.  She is going to stay in Ithaca with Ellee.

That was the excitement today.  We are as ready as we possibly could be for tomorrow.  I'm definitely ready to get the next 24 hours behind us and a new super duper heart!  

New surgery date/plan

It is now one week until Katie’s heart surgery in Rochester. We got the call yesterday to confirm the surgery schedule. Unfortunately there is a new baby that is critical and needs surgery first. So Katie’s surgery has been moved (just one day later) to Friday, Jan 17 at 7:30am.

The plan is that Katie, Mike and I will travel to Rochester in the morning of Thursday Jan 16. We will have a pre-surgery appointment that starts at 12:15pm including a tour of the hospital. Katie will have a history, physical, lab work and blood work. That night we will stay in a hotel provided by the hospital.

Katie will have to fast that night. I do not know how long they will want her to be off of milk, but looking online it sounds like it should be about 4 hours. This is stressing me out. I think she can manage four hours but if they want more she will be really upset. I do not want her screaming hungry when I hand her over for surgery. I really want the moments leading up to surgery to be pleasant and calm for her. Hopefully it is only four hours and she does well with the required timing.

On Friday, we will arrive at the hospital at 6:30am with a surgery start time of 7:30. If the weather is okay, my mom is going to take Ellee to Nancy (a wonderful lady from church that plays with Ellee whenever we have appointments or need help) that morning. She will then meet us at the hospital. Katie should be away from us for about five hours. One hour set up, one hour surgery, two hours to wake up, one hour settling into the PCICU (Pediatric cardiology intensive care unit). We will get to see her as soon as she is settled into PCICU. My mom will travel home that night and pick up Ellee before bedtime. Mike and I will stay at the Ronald McDonald house located within the hospital. We can visit Katie 24 hours a day, and will have a bed just a few floors away from Katie.

After a few days in the PCICU, Katie will be moved to the pediatric cardiology step down unit. At that time a parent can sleep in the room with her. I will stay with her since I will hopefully be back to feeding her by then. Mike can stay at the off campus Ronald McDonald house (a few blocks away) until Katie is discharged. The average is 10-14 days in the hospital but some come home as quickly as 5 days. If there are any complications it could take longer. Once Katie is stable and doing well, we will decide about Mike returning to work and visiting Ellee.

This, of course, is all dependent upon no other babies needing surgery before Katie. Hopefully the schedule will hold with this plan. We were surprised that Katie’s surgery was moved a day but we all agree that is wonderful that Katie is healthy enough to be bumped. We do not know what is wrong with the other baby but are praying for them and their family.

We are very worried about Katie’s surgery but know that without it Katie will not survive. This surgery will save her life. Since she is going into it healthy, strong, and eating well the chances for complications are as minimal as possible. Hopefully in a few short weeks our baby girl will have a fixed heart and will be home, happy and healthy!

Holidays

We had a wonderful Christmas. On Christmas Eve we had a stay at home fun day including watching a new movie, “Little Mermaid, Ariel’s Beginning” with popcorn and sleeping bag camp. Then we had a make your own pizza dinner. Ellee’s had two cheeses, pepperoni, chicken, and cashews!

On Christmas day, Santa came and left stockings for everyone. He also left “Shiny New Red Boots” and a set of construction gears for Ellee. For Katie he left a toy octopus and taggies toys. We spent the rest of the day playing with the toys, doing craft kits Santa left, and Grammie and I did a Christmas jigsaw puzzle.

On New Years Eve, my dad came to visit and we opened all the family gifts. Ellee had a wonderful time with all her new toys and really enjoyed helping Katie open all her gifts too! Then we had a full Christmas dinner with chicken, dressing, gravy, sweet potatoes, rolls, strawberry salad, and pecan pie bars.

On New Years Day, we played some more and had black-eyed peas and ham. Yum!

Daddy/daughter microscope fun.

 Ellee's stash.

 Katie's stash.

 Sleeping through Christmas!

 So cute.

 Ellee helping Katie open her gifts.

Isolation

It is essential that Katie does not get sick leading up to and for about a month after the surgery. Therefore, we have Katie and Ellee in isolation. The adults are leaving the house for errands and Mike for work but the rest of the time we are hanging out at home. We are not going to church, Ellee is not going to preschool, the girls are not going out shopping etc.

In order to break up the time we have become very crafty! Grammie (my mom is staying with us through the surgery), Ellee and I have made popsicle Christmas trees, candy cane reindeer, paper plate angels, construction paper Christmas trees, construction paper snowflakes, paper plate Santas, and paper plate snowmen.
 

 Our craft display window: snowmen, trees, angels, Santas, and snowflakes.

  

 Our popsicle Christmas trees.

 Ellee's candy cane reindeer.

We have also found books that have age appropriate activities and other fun at home activities. We have taught Ellee to bounce a ball and catch it on the first bounce, jump off a pedestal and land on both feet, make stencils and color them in, and scissor. We have played red light/green light, riddles, and find the hidden kitchen timer, tons of games, books, puzzles, coloring, and baking.

For Katie we play follow-the-light, hold the rattle, find mommy by sound, watch the baby in the mirror, straighten your arms and legs, clap your hands together, discover your body parts, side time, rolling, tummy time with an emphasis on hold-up-your-head, and sister fun!

 

 Sister fun.

Side time

 Tummy time, hold-up-your-head!

When the weather is nice outside we take Ellee sledding, which she absolutely loves. When we just have to get out, we have car picnics! We all climb in the car, drive to a waterfall, and eat lunch in the car together watching the waterfall. We really are making the best of it and having a great time together.

 

 Waterfall car picnic in the subzero temps