Scarlett Surgery

Scarlett Jane had tubes placed in both ears on Friday, January 9th. 

The day before the surgery, the surgery center called to tell me this: no food after 10 pm and no nursing after 1:30. Now, if her ears hadn't been making her so uncomfortable this wouldn't have been a major issue. But for the week leading up to surgery she had been going to bed at 8, waking up at 11:30, 2, and 6. Then waking up for good around 8:30. Thankfully she is an awesome napper so we weren't really feeling exhausted from all the wakefulness. 

But the night before surgery my mom came into town and helped me feed her a giant dinner in hopes of keeping her full. I put her to bed at 7:45 and she woke up at 10:30 to nurse. In hindsight I should have woken her up at 1:15 to nurse one last time but I was so concerned with her being well-rested I didn't think. Well, at 1:50 am she awoke. And I had to rock her and sooth her with no nursing. Obviously it was a major fail--I hope you could tell from the tone and all of the foreshadowing. I got approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes of sleep that night. We NEVER went back to bed. Texan got up and played with her for an hour while I tried to sleep, but I was too stressed from having to push her away from my "nursing zone." I cried. She cried. Then I gave up and took her into the living room and turned on the television. She was fine. Happy to be awake, even. I baked 36 cupcakes and a chocolate cake for her birthday the next day and by 4:30 she had fallen asleep in my arms in front of the morning news. Of course, by this point we needed to be waking up at 5 to leave at 5:30 for the hospital. So all I could do was clean up my kitchen and get dressed. Texan had gone back to bed around 4 because there was no sense in both of us being utterly exhausted that day. 

When we got to the surgery center at 6:15 we were checked into our room and told that our surgery was scheduled for 9:30. Three hours of waiting, no nursing, was what we must endure. But at least there was cable and Starbucks for me and a wagon and toys for Scarlett. She was so tired but in great spirits for such a starving, sleep-deprived girl. She looked so tiny yet so grow-up in her hospital gown on the gurney. We took turns walking her around the halls in the wagon. My mom did most of the walking since she had a blissful 9 hours of sleep. At one point Kyle came into the room with Scarlett on his arm and started rummaging through the cabinets asking, "Isn't there a girly-looking hospital gown in here?" And I knew exactly why he was asking. "Did someone call her a boy while you 2 were in the hallway?" His reply was so classic, pouty and angry, "Some guy nurse said, 'we'll get to you soon,  little buddy.'" I laughed pretty hard. Poor Scarlett. We had to take her earrings out when they checked her in. Poor Texan.

The time finally came for surgery and the nurse came in to take her. As she wheeled her away on her miniature hospital bed I watched the back of Scarlett's head. Her face was so curious. Alert. Not at all bewildered or concerned. She looked so brave. Tiny. Texan took the opportunity to go to the bathroom and I sobbed for about 10 seconds on my mom's shoulder before getting it together. Within 10 minutes her doctor came in and said she had done great and that she was in recovery. "Those ears were REALLY bad," he said. "I don't know how she has been feeling lately, but they were awful." I felt so guilty. Waiting for her to come back wasn't so bad because it felt like nothing compared to the night of waiting, crying, and baking I had endured. But once I heard her cry down the hall I bolted to the doorway only to see a nurse wheeling her back to the room on her gurney. But this time Scarlett didn't sit up straight looking brave like before. The nurse was hunched over the bed with her arm encircling Scarlett's waist. And Scarlett was on her knees, her left thumb in her mouth, her right Arm around the nurse's neck and dried blood covering her left ear. And she was crying a broken, weak cry. More like bursts of tired sadness. Later Texan would tell me, "that broke my heart to see her crying on that bed. That's my baby girl and my heart broke."

The nurse was very serious and instructed us to move a rocking chair close to the left side of the bed so I could pick her up without her falling from my arms. She told us that Scarlett had no control over her movements and could very easily flop around and fall. But Scarlett laid perfectly still in my arms and I nursed her. Finally. 

Her pulse monitor told the story of a mother and baby's bond. On the bed her pulse was rapid. The beeping was deafening. As she nursed and curved to my body under a warm white hospital blanket we heard her pulse drop and drop and finally regulate. I loved that my warmth and milk were able to put her at peace. 

Soon she fell fast asleep. She nursed for 15 minutes, sat up, and wanted to play. So we got the thumbs up to go home. The surgeon had given her a large dose of Tylenol and a narcotic, so that paired with her sleepless night sent her into a 5-hour nap at home. After which, she was ravenous and just as sweet as could be. I was so grateful to have my mom and Texan both there. And most of all, I am grateful for the prayers of friends and family which were answered for my sweet baby Jane. Grammy's girl

Getting measured and checked in.

Daddy helping out.

In our room

Sweet baby on her mini hospital bed with Santa. 

Santa got to go in the operating room too! For those of you who don't know, I have had this Santa doll since we got married and I get him out every year with my decorations. But this year I kept catching Scarlett carrying him around under one arm and if I would hand him to her she would give him a great big hug. So, yes, Santa will be staying around for a while and not going back in the attic. Her gown was purple with orange, black, and white cats all over. She also got a fluffy pair of white socks and a blanket, which we brought home with us.

A sneek peak at Scarlett's First Christmas Eve

Scarlett's Birthday Party--Planning

I am so excited for Scarlett's first birthday. It's not only a celebration of the day she came into our arms and the year that followed. January 10th of 2014 was also the biggest day in mine and Texan's lives. And for me, it was the day I discovered an untapped well of love and nourishing. Scarlett has brought out my favorite part of myself. Thanks, little baby.

When it came time to choose a theme--who am I kidding? There was never a time to choose a theme. I was trolling the Pinterest boards mindlessly months ago when I came across a tea cup or something or other...and it hit me like a good shot of espresso! A tea party theme. That's it! When I counted up the family that lives close enough to attend, I decided the house would feel very cramped with that many people in it, especially if the weather is nasty and forces us to stay inside, as it very well could be in mid January. So, I found out through a friend that our church is open to hosting parties. Which is perfect because our church is a beautiful, convenient location for a little shin-dig! Tables, chairs, a full kitchen, it has everything we need for a fabulous day. Yesterday I made the invitations, so it seems a party is imminent. Yes, I need to hand them out still, but that's just a technicality. It's happening.

Does having a tea-themed party mean that I can guzzle down as much coffee as I want without shame or retribution and claim that it's in the spirit of the party? Say yes.

The invitations are printed on card stock, the "afternoon tea"-themed stickers are from a Melissa and Doug book I found at Target, and the little tags are from Office Max--made awesome by some glittery scrapbook paper cut to look like a teabag tag.

 

I love that each one is a little bit different and I made more than needed so I can have one to put in her scrap book. By the time this party is over, I am going to exert every last ounce of creativity that I possess, or that my budget will allow. That's my goal.

 

*There are a few little baby gentlemen who will receive invitations, and on their invitations I placed some dapper little prince charming stickers. This sticker book I found has a ton of themed pages, including a princess page, which is where I got the princes.

My only wish is that all of our favorite ladies could come be fancy with us: My sister and niece in Vegas (oh, heck, bring the boys too!), our Florida friends and family--we miss you all!

 

Las Vegas and 11 Months

Tomorrow morning Scarlett Jane will be 11 months old. Here's what we have been up to recently:
-Scarlett loves to put lids on things. I discovered this on our plane ride out to Vegas the week of Thanksgiving. I brought her new sippy cup and a squeezy baby food pouch--astronaut food, so called by Scarlett's Grampy--and she was just as interested in returning the lids to each of the vessels as she was in tasting their contests. It's her new thing any time I take a lid off of something before handing it to her. She demands the lid and tries to return it to its rightful place. She's actually got pretty good coordination.
-Scarlett loves to yell "Ha-Dah!" whenever she is in an echoing place, such as the bathtub--or the Titanic Exhibition at the Luxor in Las Vegas. Do you know the one? The true-to-life historical re-creation of the wreckage that is very somber and quite morbid and doesn't call for a shouting baby to ruin the mood? Well, her Aunt Leah and I thought it was funny at least.
-Scarlett has learned the sign language for "more" but only uses it when she is being sung to. I would love for her to tell me she wants more sweet potatoes or more eggs, but alas, she just wants more horn on the bus go BEEP BEEP BEEP at this point. She's a lady who knows what she likes.
-Scarlett shuffles around on two legs as long as she is holding onto something, like her Aunt Leah's coffee table. Here is my nephew, Levi, trying to kiss her. She evades him, narrowly escaping his pursed lips.

Scarlett and I spent 10 days in Vegas visiting my sister. We saw strip^

The inside of Cesar's Palace...

And the dancing fountains at the Bellagio. 

There was more seen that day, but you just had to be there. 

On thanksgiving^

Watching uncle Steve play football with big cousin, Steven Jr.

Gabby was so sweet to her!

My nephews are such snuggle bugs. They love to read aloud to anyone who will sit still long enough, especially Jack. Missing his cuddles! (I'm not sleeping in this pic, I'm looking at the book...)

This was my last day in Vegas. Levi climbed right into my lap. It took him 10 days to warm up to me, but I'll take it! And doesn't Scarlett look pleased? Her sweet smirk is just the frost to my flakes.

My favorite part of Vegas wasn't the city lights, the cookies my sister baked or the holiday festivities. It was laughing with my sister until I couldn't breathe, watching our evening soap opera drama together, seeing my niece and nephews get excited for Christmas and cherishing their sweet hugs as I said goodbye. My neice asked me, "Are we going to cry when we say goodbye?" No! Because I get to see them all again in March! 

Scarlett and I are sleeping great now that we are home in our own beds. It is so nice to be home enjoying all of the sweet memories from our trip. 

She still wakes up once or twice in the night, eats a mix of solids and purée, loves bread above all foods, nurses day and night, has a molar and is working on 3 more, is starting to get curly hair at the nape of her neck, LOVES to be crazy in the bathtub, is fearless in water and on stairs/ledges, says "bye bye," "mama," "dada," "BA," (for the dogs) and "nee-nee-nee" when she is upset. She sucks her thumb, doesn't know a stranger, and loves to try to feed me. She smes when she sees her Daddy and crawls faster than any baby I've seen when she is up to something. She is my girl, my fresh air, my Scarlett Janey-poo.

Scarlett's First Turkey Day

I always want to remember Scarlett's first thanksgiving. She had 3 diaper blowouts that day. I thought moving up to size 3 would solve our blowout problems--wrong. 

She ate some ham and stuffing for dinner, then had a 40-minute nap right through the rest of the meal. I enjoyed that time so I could focus on my food and help clean up. After she woke up she played and had a bath. She was a wild woman in the tub--splashing and shouting all the while. Then she ate some more ham, applesauce, green beans and stuffing. She was very social with every single one of the 20 guests in attendance and even learned to climb stairs. She climbed them over and over as I followed closely behind her, returning her to the base once she had reached the summit. She stayed up until 9! But that was simply because the house was so full of people and on Nevada time it was only 7, so kids were running and jumping and adults were laughing and talking. There were lots of times during the day where I wished Texan was there. While I bathed her, while she climbed the stairs for the first time, while she ate her thanksgiving meal.

This is what she looked like 5 minutes before I took her upstairs to see if she wanted to nurse and she instantly passed out in my arms. 

I love her more with every breath. I am beyond thankful for my Scarlett Janie-Poo. I am also thankful for the beautiful outfits given to her by her Mimi, Nanny and Aunt Shoe. She was the belle of the ball, as usual. All she was missing was her Prince Charming--Daddy, of course. 

But we know he works so hard so we can have fun with our extended family who we rarely see. And we will make up for lost time by making extra special memories at home for Christmas! There's no place like home for the holidays! 

Ten Months Today

I wish I could've captured the first time Scarlett showed preference. Now, that sounds weird, I know. But in a sea of Cheerios, I witnessed that girl pick out the one banana-flavored-hydrogenated-bleached PUFF and gobble it up with glee.

 I have never bought puffs, (she said, turning her nose up at the rest of the puff-feeding mothers--I'm not being snooty, I just prefer to give Scarlett Cheerios because their ingredient list is more no-nonsense) but puffs seem to be the "happy pills" of baby land these days. They are stored in cases at our wonderful church nursery and I have seen many a cry turn to smile at the taste of these manufactured "fruit" treats. So when Scarlett joined the crawler room in nursery I knew she would be given many puffs by the caretakers, and when it was Mama and Papa's turn (that's us) to work in the nursery room last month, I saw it for my own two eyes. I placed the babies in the feeding chair--described in a blog post of mine from last year-- and sprinkled some plain Cheerios on the table. Then I added just a few puffs. And I'll be darned if Scarlett didn't shove a couple unassuming O's out of her way on the way to the chemical candy, as I like to refer to them. Then today she did me one better. It was afternoon snack time and I sprinkled some Cheerios on her tray then cut (bit) some raisins in half and poured them amongst the Cheerios. She reached for a raisin but accidentally grabbed an O and actually chucked it. Threw it with gusto across the room, she did--much to the delight of her dog, Bentley, who has recently acquired a pallet for whole grains. 

**I found a brand of "puff" snacks that are made with rice flor and dried fruit and no artificial anything!**

At 10 months, Scarlett:

-waves and says "bye-bye." 

-says Pa-pa, Ma-ma, Da-da and lots of other more meaningless "words."

-"pets" the dogs with lots of enthusiasm.

-naps twice a day.

-goes to bed at 8.

-loves to watch kids play.

-loves her Daddy, who has decided he wants to be called Papa. Not pronounced like "paw-paw," or like "p'PA," like a snooty rich kid in a movie (I don't know) but more like "Papa bear, mama bear and baby bear." You know? You know.

-is very ticklish under her arms,

-loves books. She has a bookshelf, but I often store her board books in the pockets on either side of our rocking chair in her room. I reach in and pull out a book, then put it back and find another one and so on until we have read about 5 each night before bed. Recently, this week she has started to kneel in my lap and lean over the side of the chair and reach in for a book. It's  basically the first one she can reach, but it is still adorable to see her reach for her book then lean back in my lap and hold it up for me to read to her. And as I read she strokes the pictures as if to say, "pretty," or, "that bear sure is fuzzy!" I would read to her all night if I didn't suspect her of stalling bed time even at such a young age. Last night she was getting a little rowdy, wanting to keep reading as I turned off the light to rock her to sleep. So I said sternly, "No more playing. It is time for bed." She looked at me and threw her head back, and cried out like I had pinched her. I had hurt her feelings and I knew it. Of course Texan came running in, "What's wrong with my baby? Come here, what did Mommy say?" *pause while my eyes roll back* 

-has started challenging Mommy at bedtime.

-is almost off puréed food. It's easier to get meal time over with if we are rushing to do bath and bed if I can shovel in some puréed green beans or mashed sweet potatoes, but most of the time I let her feed herself whatever we are eating or something especially for her. A typical day of meals for Scarlett is as follows: 

Breakfast>scrambled egg yolk with avocado or toast then yogurt or fruit.

Lunch>veggie pasta w/ puréed veggie then fruit or yogurt.

>cereal, fruit pieces for snack

Dinner>whatever meat/veggie we are eating if possible, if not I make her shredded chicken and a veggie with a biscuit or bread of some kind. Scarlett loves carbs. Any bread or pasta she can get, she is all over it. 

And finally, Scarlett has learned that being tall is awesome. She is in the 40% for height, but those long legs do so much to her advantage in reaching up to grab exciting things that I didn't think she could reach--out of the refrigerator mostly. 

I love her. Her laugh, her sweet baby smell, her toothy grin, her chubby cheeks, and every single solitary cell of her being! 

Tomorrow I'm going to photograph her in her beautiful November outfit that doubles and her 10-mo suit and a thanksgiving dress. Stay tuned! 

Eight and Nine Months

Nine months sounds so old. But that's my baby! I have a great big nine-month old.

On September 12, after being 8 months old for two whole days, I was sitting at my parents' dining table when my dad announced that Scarlett was standing. And sure enough, I turned around to see her holding onto the living room ottoman for dear life. My parents and I then proceeded to photograph the moment sufficiently as she stared up at us, most likely hoping we might save her from an impending fall. Since then she has taken to standing anywhere she can--in her crib, by the couch, at the French doors yelling at the dogs ( DA-DA!), and in the fridge trying to commandeer the soy sauce. My favorite thing about her standing is when she is fussing and I can say, "Come here, sweet girl." And she'll crawl over and climb into my lap and stand up by the couch and wave her arms around until I lift her up. I also think it's pretty cute how she chews on the edge of the couch, squealing all the while. 

It's pretty impossible to get Scarlett to sit still, especially when it's 50 degrees outside like it was the day I tried to take Scarlett Jane's 9 month photos. I always try to take her pictures outdoors to get the best lighting. Or at our last place we got a ton of light into Scarlett's giant bedroom window so I always took her photos at that window. And after how adorable her 8 month photos turned out...I mean, look at this face!!

 I was set on getting something just as adorable this month. But, alas, every time I sat her down she simply LUNGED toward the camera. Oh well.

 

These are the only ones I could get that didn't show her in a partial blur. She looks pretty as can be in brown in her cute little t-shirt from Mimi. Thanks, Mimi!

 

My 9 month old eats cheerios, chicken, and green beans among many other little finger foods that she can pick up all on her own. She still gets tired of feeding herself and demands that I shovel in some puree and she still nurses plenty of times throughout the day including once around 4 am.

Her bedtime is between 7:30 and 8, at which time we read, sing and rock until she can barely keep her eyes open.

She takes no interest in her sippy cup except to chew on it.

She takes two naps each day. One starts 2 hours after waking up and lasts around 2 hours. The second one is about 3 hours after that first one ends and lasts about an hour.

She loves to shop. She admires all of the colorful items on the shelves and sucks her thumb when things get boring.

She sucks her thumb for many reasons and oftentimes for no reason at all.

She loves to watch children play. I'm thinking of hiring some local children to entertain her so I can get some work done around here...just kidding. Child labor laws and such.

She is a super fast crawler, can take about 2 steps with the help of her push walker (in the picture above) and when she is really ready for a nap, she tries to climb my legs.

She says "Dada" and "Mama" very clearly and yells, "Badu!" or "Bada!" at the dogs.

She puts her index finger in her mouth when she is being shy with people.

She wakes up around 7:30 or 8:30 each morning.

She weighs 17 pounds 14 ounces and is 26 inches tall.

She loves her bath time.

She loves to eat just because I am eating.

She eats a poached egg yolk every morning.

She loves the theme song to Gilmore Girls. It makes her stop whatever she is doing, smile, and shake her arm all around like it's on fire.

She gives very sweet kisses to Mommy and Daddy.

She is my very favorite thing!