Ear Tubes

For nearly a year now we have been battling some fluid in Georgia's ears. No ear infections, just fluid and failed hearing tests. We watched it and watched it and hoped it would resolve itself, but no such luck. Last month the doctor decided it was time to put in some tubes and suck out all the fluid (eewww) so that is what we did this morning. They don't like to let the fluid sit in the ear canal for too long because it can cause infections and is most likely causing sounds to be somewhat muffled.

I snuck in and quietly woke Georgia up bright and early this morning and we headed to the surgical center. She knew something was up about a mile down the road and she started asking for Maddy - who got to stay home and party with Grandma - thanks again mom!

We waited for a bit and watched some Elmo and then a lovely nurse came in to take us away. After some weighing and chatting with the doctors the anesthesiologist carried her away. By the way... if you want to break a mommy's heart just watch that little face as it gets worried and scared and further away.

They sedated her with a little gas, made a couple of small incisions and about 15 minutes later the lovely Dr. Cox came in and told us he was finished and everything went fantastic. We snuggled with her for a little bit while she woke up fully and then we were out of there. But not before a chance for a funny story....

We bought the girls each a small Elmo stuffed animal as a surprise for our busy morning. We gave Georgia her Elmo after surgery while we were chatting with a nurse. All of a sudden she turns Elmo over and says "butt" and then proceeds to jab Elmo in the "butt" and say "ow, ow, ow." This was funny, and weird and seemingly out of the blue (I was thinking something about a recent diaper rash...)  then Craig remembered this afternoon that a nurse had mentioned giving  her a Tylenol suppository. Apparently she was awake for that...  and apparently it made much more of an impression on her than the whole tubes in the ears thing. I can't say I blame her!

She is doing well now and sleeping comfortably. She was a little cranky this afternoon but thankfully doesn't seem to be in any pain. We'll go in for a check up and some follow up hearing tests in 2 weeks.

Party of Five

We are excited to announce we are expecting a new addition to the family in January 2012! Yes, we have checked and there is only one little he or she. This new baby has been given strict instructions to stay put until then... I hope he/she is listening.

So while I was lying in the hospital before the girls were born I distinctively remember telling Craig something along the lines of "no way! why would anyone put themselves through this more than once?!?!" The nurses would laugh and say it was some kind of maternal amnesia that kicks in and softens the edges around all those hard and scary pre-baby moments. After a couple of years, when your babies have grown out of those sweet little newborn outfits and are now running away from you and telling you "no" babies become cute again. You find yourself saying things like "aaaaww look at that little baby" and not even thinking "his poor mother must be so tired..." so that's when you know the amnesia has hit you and you start having crazy thoughts like "hmmm... do we want another baby?" Then your husband decides he's willing to risk being surrounded by even MORE estrogen and well here we are.

Yes, I know, we are crazy. It's already slightly messy loud crazy chaotic around here at times... There are definitely times when I think to myself "really?!?! was this a good idea??" and then Maddy shares her snack with Georgia who sweetly replies with "tank-ooo" and I think.... oh yeah, who wouldn't want more of that in their life???

NICU Re-visit

I am really excited about some upcoming ventures I'm taking on this fall. One of them is volunteering at the hospital, in the NICU as part of the Parent to Parent Partnership. If you've been through something traumatic in your life you might also feel like your best sounding board/support when you were struggling was someone who had been in your shoes before. That is the basis of this program, parents with various NICU experiences are matched with parents currently experiencing the NICU. Most often you are matched with families who are struggling with similar challenges, such as preemie twins with the same struggles as the girls.

This week we had our first training. It was a little surreal to be back at the hospital. To walk past the rooms I used to spend hours in, and to see them full of other babies and other frightened families. The nine new volunteers all spent the evening sharing our stories, our experiences. It was comforting and sad all at the same time to share what we had been through and to hear other's stories. All of them so drastically unique yet similar.

I am very excited to find some more "silver lining" to this journey we took with the girls. Their existence is of course the most amazing silver lining... I would love for our experience to provide another family a sliver of hope or comfort.

I don't know about you but I will never forget these sweet little faces. I try to take time often to remember how far they have come and to be thankful for their presence in our lives. They make our days and lives so much sunnier and wonderful.