Odessa and her Health

It’s time to update the blog.

I have to say that updating her birth story is going to be way easier then updating her current health status.  But it must be done as this is the story of our family and all parts must be included.  Well the parts that I feel will influence others. 

So after we brought Miss Odessa Dei home we were able to enjoy her for 3 days.  We were able to bring her to Tait’s office so that they could see her and they passed her around to everyone.  We were able to enjoy her 2 hour need to be awake feedings.  In which she would only eat 1 oz before falling fast sleep but in 2 hours she was going to be awake and waiting to eat again.  She went a couple of feedings where she would sleep for 4 hours and then want to eat when she woke up.  She was the sleepiest baby I had EVER seen.  She just wanted to sleep all the time and I had NEVER had a baby that didn’t eat 4 oz by the end of the first week we brought them home.  Well little did we know that these were all signs of trouble brewing. 

Tait, Nikolai and I were all on our way home on Thursday from Tait’s office Christmas party when we were talking about how orange Odessa was and the fact she skipped 2 meals.  We talked about how we would wait until Friday because that’s when she was scheduled to see her doctor the very next day.  But as we talked I think Tait could sense the concern in my voice and suggested we call the doctor and see if they wanted to see her today or schedule a blood draw today.  So we did.  And sure enough they wanted to us to go in and get a blood draw.  So we did.  Took the baby in and then we left.  They said if the numbers were high they would call us or whatever.  So we went on with the evening as if everything was fine.  Well at 9 pm (my phone had died) my phone was finally charged and we had a missed called from the doctor.  So Tait answered the phone as he noticed we had missed call and it was the nurse stating she was expecting us to come to the hospital 3 hours ago but they couldn’t get a hold of us.  Well we loaded up the kiddos to take them to Helen’s and packed a few things to take to the hospital because both Tait and I were ready to spending the night. 

So she was she was put in the sun lamps.  She did great all night.  We didn’t sleep really well b/c Odessa kept trying to take off her blindfold.  But after 12 hours her numbers were improving.  Well Dr. Lorenz came in and checked her out and said that she has a significant heart murmur.  So he said he was going to order an Echo for her heart.  So we knew we were going to be home sometime later so it was okay.  Well the Echo started and stopped twice b/c there was only one tech there and he kept getting pulled in different directions.  Well they finished the Echo which the Echo was about 4 hour total long.  So after they got that all done we waited for the doctor to come and tell us what the results were.  So we waited and waited.  Well it was about 6 pm and the doctor came in and said that he wanted to talk to both Tait and I but Tait had stepped out getting some supplies b/c we figured we would be in the hospital another night.  Well the nurse wouldn’t tell me ANYTHING.  So I called Tait and told him that he needed to come back right now b/c the doctor wouldn’t tell me anything but wanted to talk to us both at the same time.  So we knew it was going to be horrible news.  Well Tait and I had both called Helen to let her know. 

The doctor came in and said that she has a heart defected called Truncis Arterious.  This basically means she has one artery in her heart instead of 2.  It’s a VERY uncommon issue and that they needed to take her right away down to Riley Children’s Hospital.  Talk about a moment frozen in time.  So they said that it would be a couple of hours but Riley was on the way to come and get her.  So we waited.  Finally they got there.  We all took turns holding the baby and telling her that everything was going to be okay and that we would be in Indy shortly.  So they came and got her.  Tait and I made a quick trip to our house to get clothes and anything we might need.  And we were off to Indy.

By the time we got to Indy it was 11:40 pm and we were so beat because of all the stress of the day.  Tait and I tried to answer questions as best we could but we were so tired it was hard to kind of even concentrate on what they were saying.  They started an Echo again and so Tait and I tried to wait for them to tell us what was going on.  But sleep quickly overtook us and we slept until the next morning.  The next morning we found out what we were dealing with.  We found out what the matter with her heart was and what they needed to do.  This was Friday but with everything going on and there were no surgeons assigned to anything yet and so they said that we would keep her stable and find out what was going to happen, but Monday would be the day we would find things out.  So Tait and I were just waiting and watched our baby go from eating bottles and awake to having her bottle feedings taken away.  She was still pretty sleepy but they were too concerned about it yet. 

So the weekend went by and little changes here and there but overall she was stable and doing well.  Well on Monday they announced her surgery wouldn’t be until December 29^th which was an entire week away.  Tait and I were so disappointed because we were told that she has to have her surgery to survive but they were willing to wait until the 29^th to fix it b/c of the Christmas holiday and staffing issues. 

So we were at the mercy of the doctor’s.  So Christmas Eve rolled around and we had decided that we needed to go home for a couple of hours to see the other kiddos at home.  We knew Odessa was going to be fine and we hated leaving her but we knew that the other three really needed us b/c we had heard that they weren’t doing very well with what was going on.  So before we left they moved our baby from ICU to “step down care” b/c of staffing issues and nurses and since she was doing so well that moving her wasn’t going to be an issue.  So we moved all of our stuff over to the new room and we pressed forward with our plans.  We went home and spend Christmas with the other kids.

Santa came and went at our house.  The kids did get several things for Christmas.  During the course of the night we had gotten two separate called about Odessa.  The first call was regarding Odessa needing some more blood b/c her blood oxygen levels were going down and they wanted to help her heart out.  So they did that.  Well after we got another call telling us that Odessa was moved back to ICU b/c her stats weren’t improving and they needed to watch her better.  So she was moved and they moved all of our stuff before. 

Then on our way home back from Christmas they called one more time and said that they had to sedate Odessa.  They said that the reason why is because her heart has been working way too hard for her body to take and so by sedating her and intubation her it would allow them to control her air intake and be able to medically help her heart.  So we got back and walked in our little baby asleep and on a ventilator.  It was so hard to see and watch her.  She is so little had has had some many pokes and prods and it was downright scary to see her in this condition.  So we talked to the doctor about her and all of the changes they have had to do and the fact it looks like she is slowly dying right in front of us because they haven’t done the surgery.  We were told that that isn’t what’s happening.  Yes she needs the surgery but she’s not dying.  They need her to stay very calm and keep as little activity as possible to help her heart.  When she is moving around and awake it makes her heart really work but her heart isn’t able to get the oxygen rich blood to her organs b/c it’s just not working the way it should.  So the last couple of days we have had ups and downs but she is doing well.  Her stats today are really good.  She has been removed some medication and her stats are still good.  They had had to do an Arterior Line for blood draws they had to move the Central line b/c it was leaking.  And they added another IV because they said that they will need it when she has surgery on Monday.  Everything is just leading up to MONDAY.  It’s like the date that just won’t come!  We just don’t want anything else to happen before Monday so that she won’t have any delays. 

We have spoken to the surgeon about the surgery and it looks like what we will be dealing with.  It’s SCARY to listen to all the good and the bad for Monday.  It’s scary to think that they won’t be sealing her chest back up (her skin will be closed but her bones will not be sealed) until after New Year’s which is HORRIBLE b/c of the freaking holidays I hate holidays.  It is official I mean everything at the hospital is depended on scheduling it is so frustrating.  I just want the baby to be on the mend so we can go home and heal and put this behind us but it’s like we are facing this big schedule that has to give everyone time off b/c of the holiday… well what the hell I would like to be home and I can’t be b/c my baby is IN THE HOSPTIAL!  It’s just frustrating.

We found out also that this won’t be Odessa’s only surgery.  She will actually have up to 4 open heart surgeries throughout her life.  She will need additional surgeries to help her with the new artery (conduit) that she will have installed.  After the surgery she has on Monday they will do another one sometime between the ages of 2-8, then again between the ages of 12-18, then again sometime in her late 20s it will depend on how fast she is growing.  The cardiologist will be her best friend growing up.  She might not be able to have children in her life it will depend on how her body and her cardiologist.  So we’ll see what happens.  We are just wishing that the surgeries are over and that she is on the mend but time just doesn’t work the same way here.  It’s so frustrating and scary. 

Tait and I talked today about missing the other kiddos but we know that this is just going to be a blink in the eye of time.  So we just need to do what’s best for all of the kiddos and not make any big decisions until we can get Odessa healthy and home. 

Tait and I have been staying at the Riley’s Ronald McDonald House.  We stayed there last night and were really wonderful sleeping in a bed.  So hopefully we can continue to get good sleep and remain as a support for Odessa and get the baby home. 

So I won’t update again until after the surgery. 

Welcome Odessa Dei!

Well I know that I was really horrible about updating my blog... but we have a new member of the family to add to our blog that I wanted to write about as quickly as I could! Hopefully this will make it up to her for my failure to blog basically nothing about this pregnancy... so I'll write her little birth story. So this baby really liked to tease me. I thought for certain that I was going to be having this baby on Thanksgiving. I was having lots and lots of contractions and honestly I was really feeling that she was gonna come any time... Well I was wrong. She would give me 3 hours of contractions BUT then they would stop... and then it would start all over a week later... then nothing... So I went to an appointment on December 10th and while we were there I asked very nicely if they could do an induction... Well wouldn't you know it... they were WILLING to do it. They said they would do it FRIDAY! Only 2 days from my appointment... cloud nine I have to tell you. So I started my maternity leave that day so I could get all of my ends ready to go for Miss Baby to make her appearance! So I was off on Thursday and did a lot of running around... then Friday I was scheduled to go in at 5 pm. Well Friday morning came around and they said can you come in 2 hours earlier... so start at 3 pm. I'm like HECK yeah! So we were in at 3 pm. Well they checked me and I was only at 2 cm! Blah... but the doctor came in at 3:30 and said that they were going to put some internal monitors on me and the baby and they were going to break my water... I'm like seriously... I have only been here a 1/2 hour! So they did all that started my dripping on Pitocin and the wait was on. I was told that I could get the epidural anytime I wanted... so I wanted to wait as long as I possibly could... mainly b/c the week before I went in all the women I know kept telling me about how their epidurals ran out before the baby came and how that was so horrible... so I didn't want that to happen to me. So I waited and waited... well I was told that the doctor could be in in 20 minutes... so just when ever I just needed to call. Well they checked me a 4:30 and I had gone to 4 cm... THAT WAS IT! I'm like holy cow this is going to take all night!!!! So at 7 pm the contractions were starting to get really painful... so I called for the doctor... and then instead if waiting 20 minutes it took 1 hour before he could be in!!! So that was the longest hour ever!!! They hurt so bad. Then he came in and started getting my all ready and was like "well I'm going to let you have this contraction then we will get started." I'm like seriously... let's get this show on the road. So they started the process... and it was painful... it just felt like he took forever!!! Tait has some marks on his hands from where I was digging my nails into his hand! So they did all that... then they laid me back and said now just relax... you were fighting the contractions and now you're body will be able to do what it needs to do. I'm like okay... so then at 10 pm they checked me and I was at 9 cm and was ready to go. They called the doctor... and she arrived a little before 11 pm. I was already in the "open" position when she came in. It was one of those moments when she makes eye contact with your "you know" and doesn't make any eye contact with you... I'm like "hey lady eyes are up here" So it was 11:30 and it was time to push. This baby came out at 11:44 it only took 3 contractions to get her out... which was 9 pushes, which was hard and horrible... but wonderful b/c I knew she was here. Well she came out they cleaned her off and she was BLUE and I mean BLUE. So they took her over to the other side of the room to clean her up. She didn't really cry much to be honest with you. and I was worried b/c I could see how blue she was and I was worried she wasn't breathing. Tait stayed at my side the entire time and he watched. Well the placenta didn't want to come out. They had to restart my pitocin to get it to come out... and once it did they were able to get my all stitched up and ready. Well they kept talking about how bruised she was. Well the baby was still pretty far from me and I could see just how blue she was. Well after 1 1/2 hours they FINALLY let me have her. They said that she was blue from bruising they talking about how far up she was and when she came down she hit my pelvis bone really hard... so that's why she was so bruised. We loved her the moment we saw her blue and all. Then a little while later the kids came in and was able to see her. Lehna and Maya were so excited to see her and Nikolai wanted NOTHING to do with her. He kept saying "she doesn't like me." and laid on the floor. Well we figure it was b/c she was so blue and he was expecting a pink baby. But by the next day he was all over her. So she was 8 lbs 2 oz well that's what her birth certificate says... but it turns out she was actually 8 lbs 0.2 oz but the nurse reported it differently at the time of recording or whatever... so she was right around the size of Nikolai and Maya :) So here are some pictures of our little bundle. We love her and the girls can't get enough of her. So far she is waiting up the 1st night at home she woke up every 2 hours... last night she woke every 3-4 hours she was only up 3 times total last night. So we are working on it. She does a LOT of sleeping which is kind of fun we don't see her eyes very often. She has blood shot eyes and she is still getting less and less blue every day. We just don't want her to be hurt or in any discomfort and so far I think she is doing okay. I remember that Nikolai's head was REALLY bruised when he was born too. So that is our new baby story. The little doll is fitting in well and we can't wait to watch her grow and develop :)

Update!

It’s time for an update. So I have to say that I have seriously lacked in giving updates with this Pregnancy. I have to say this poor kiddo is going to look back (like Lehna and Maya are already doing) and have NOTHING to read about. So I’m going to start with this baby’s update! So we have some good news. We are having another girl! Yep that’s right we are having another girlie. I’m nervous about having another girl b/c my other two princesses are VERY dramatic so adding another one will be interesting. I was hoping for a boy but we are going to be blessed it a girl. I have to say I LOVE buying for a little girl. It’s so much fun. All the little dresses and such is just so much fun. We have named this little baby already her name will be Odessa Layne. I am feeling this little lady kicking all around already. So I have to say that’s probably my favorite part b/c it just reminds me of how important it is to take care of myself. I have to say so far I have not done so well at that. I gained way too much already I gained 10 lbs in a 1 month period… so I was not so excited about that. I think it’s mainly b/c I have been eating out b/c I have been staying at a hotel for training. So that makes it more difficult to stay healthy. Of course by the time I get home I just want to relax and not do anything physical. The last two weeks I have been at in Indy training I have been getting lunch stuff so I don’t have to keep suffering with eating out and ingesting all of those calories and salt. Another think that was concerning so far was the fact that my blood pressure was SUPER high for me. So I really have to watch that. I’m also starting to get a little swollen with this baby. That could be of course from the gaining weight… b/c it’s just more stress on the baby; so I’m trying to take it easy. At least trying to anyway. I have been in training for the past 6 weeks so I have been in and out of Indianapolis, so that has been a challenge with the family and so it has been interesting. I feel like when I’m it’s only for a minute then I’m repacking and heading back to Indianapolis. I am half way done so that makes it easier for me. But still it’s a long time be away from the kiddos. I haven’t been able to talk to them everything and when I do it’s pretty brief and not much to say. Which I don’t like that either and I don’t know why that is. I would think they would have al to more to say to me but they just don’t. It’s hard not knowing what’s going on a daily basis. I have to say though Tait has done a great job keeping them all reined in and keeping everything moving. It’s a strain though on everyone. So school wise everything has started. Nikolai has returned to Michelle’s during the day, which I have been informed he cries every morning; which breaks my heart. We are still in the process of potty training. We can get him to go potty as far as peeing but pooping… not so much. So we are working on that. Again it’s tough b/c I want to help but I can’t be there to. Not that I’m not HEART broken that I’m not there with the messy times. Maya has returned to 1st grade. There was a glimpse of hope that maybe they would move her to 2nd since they found out that she is dyslexic but that hasn’t really gone anywhere yet. I don’t know what they are doing in her class yet to accommodate her yet since I haven’t been home to have those conversations with her teacher and Tait has been busy doing his stuff. So I don’t know what’s going on that with. I’ll be back home next week so hopefully we can get something going next week so we know what’s happening at the school. Lehna is in 4th grade. She has the new teacher and so far LOVES HER. Of course it helps that the teacher on the first day told them that she is tired of reading so let’s go outside and play; and they did. So she won over her class on the first day. I mean when you only are scheduled for 1 day of recess and you allow a second one… yep you become the hero. Tait went to the open house yesterday and he didn’t have much to report. So I’m assuming everything is good. Lehna is excited b/c she is of age to get to take her IPad home with her every day and that has just been the BEST ever. Tait says she spends her entire evening with her nose in it. It’s kind of like Nikolai when I come home and he grabs my Kindle and I don’t see him until it dies. Technology isn’t it great! Well that’s the update so far. I’ll continue to try to improve on updating this thing so again… Odessa will be able to have something to read!

It’s My Birthday!

Okay so it’s not my birthday TODAY but it was my birthday and let me tell you it was a really good day.  I had a really good day.  To start the day I got an OptiGrill which is what I wanted.  It’s basically a George Foreman but WAY better.  I love it.  We have used it already and it’s wonderful.  I can’t wait to try some of the recipes that are in the book.  I learned about it through an Infomercial and I was sold, Hook Line and Sinker!  So that’s how my day started was getting that.  My kids were so excited about it… Lehna especially was excited… I think it’s b/c I WAS so excited. 

 

Then when I went to work.  I received word back from my interview last week.  It was GOOD news.  So I’ll let you draw your own conclusions on this.  So we are going to be doing some changing!  I am waiting on my Official letter but it looks GREAT!  Tait and I have done the pros and cons and weighed the options so I feel good about my decision.  As far as my current employer I haven’t made those changes yet, I would like my official letter first… but that might not happen as my time frame is only a week (but I have 3 weeks before it starts) so it should be good.  Unless someone has stolen my identify it should be allllll good.  But I’ll get those changes after next week.  My coworkers were so good to me on my birthday they brought in food, which was so good b/c we got to eat all day!  Hey look I’m prego so it’s okay.  So it’s a tough decision to say the least. 

 

After work we headed to Olive Garden.  We brought the kids, Helen, myself, and Tait all went and had pasta, bread sticks, and pasta.  After our dinner we headed to Tanna’s for cake and ice cream.  Little Deklyn had her tonsils and adenoids out so we wanted to go there so she didn’t have to be up and moving around so much.  Of course she had dressed up and was up moving around the silly girl.  But she didn’t last long before she wanted to lay down. 

 

It was a great day to say the least we went home and watched TV and fell asleep.  AWESOME!  I love days like that. 

 

So coming up this week we have a couple things.  It’s FAIR TIME.  So that means Little Miss Maya gets to have her time in the spot light via her royalty and her year.  She’s supposed to wear her sash and crown every time we go to the fair.  We are planning on going there  every day just so she can truly enjoy her time.  She also gets to go to Indianapolis for testing.  I know the doctor is planning on doing testing  so I’m glad to hear that.  They wanted us to bring any “testing” she had done at the school and well she hasn’t had anything besides what she did and her reports from her normal schooling.  I think that is the problem is the school is refusing to do anything until December.  So she will be 1 ½ years behind.  BLAH the Education system just drives me nuts.  So we will be doing that on Wednesday… so that should be good.  I know that she’s nervous but we have told her don’t worry about it… it’s nothing that you won’t be able to handle.  I’m kind of excited about having the one on one time with her.  Her self-esteem has really just taken a downward spiral and I think this time will be good for her.  She seems to be so sensitive right now and I’m not really sure.  So she just finished summer school.  I’m glad that now she’ll be able to have a full summer.

 

Also Trent will be coming back from Las Vegas this coming weekend so I know that the kids will be super excited when he gets back.  They do miss him so.  I know that Tait and him will get in many hours of xbox time.  So it will be good.

 

This weekend we have some garage sales to go to.  I’m not really looking for anything in particular but just want to see what’s out there clothes wise.  I’m sure I will find something I just don’t want to spend a lot of money to get stuff.  So we’ll see what happens.  I also don’t know what Baby O will be yet so I don’t want to get too specific of clothing since I don’t know what they will be.  Baby O has an appointment in two weeks so that will be good.  Maybe they will do another ultrasound… to see if they can tell what Baby O is… wouldn’t that be GREAT!  But if not that’s okay.  B/c in 6 weeks they will be able to tell me any way J

 

So that’s all I got for now…  that’s life.  I’m going to get Maya’s Dance Video up this weekend.  It didn’t convert very well last time I tried and then the computer locked up so…  I’ll try again this weekend.  I’m sure there is a faster way to compress and load it… but I am not aware of what that is so I’ll do it the way I know how.

Lehna's Dance and Maya's Dance

So let me just say I apologize for the blurriness.  I didn't realize how to make my camera go into focus until Maya's Dance.... so enjoy any way.  And Maya's dance will be posted soon... I'm waiting on it to load!

Update

It’s time for another post.  So today is father’s day.  I have to say that 2 weeks ago the bishop called me and asked me to speech for father’s day.  He wasn’t really specific on what he wanted me to talk about… just the role of the father.  Well I have to admit this is probably one of my hardest holidays b/c my father isn’t here anymore.  So as I was preparing it I was truly dreading what I was going to say and not crying.  The thought really made me want to cry b/c I didn’t know what route to take.  Sometimes being given free range truly makes it harder.  Well you will be happy to know that I got through my entire talk without one tear shed.  I don’t even thing I got weepy in my voice.  So I was really excited.  I ended up taking 20 minutes which I thought was pretty good. 

So father’s day is pretty low key.  Tait asked for fiesta lime chicken, which I haven’t had true success in making this at home.  This is usually an Applebee’s dish that we both get… so I able to get it pretty close.  I even got Maya to get 3 pieces.  This is HUGE for me… she never likes what I cook.  We are doing Pizza for dinner so again pretty low key.  I took the kids to the park to give him a break.  He enjoyed himself I think.  He was able watch the master’s so I think he was digging it.  Tait, Nikolai, and I all fell asleep.  The girls kept watch over the house… we were all down stairs so there was no threat. 

So I have to say I’m kind of stuck.  My house stinks.  These 5 cats are slowing taking over my house and I can’t stand it.  I listed the 3 kittens online and of course I have had NO response for them.  I don’t know what to do but I can’t stand it.  Tait is constantly complaining about changing the cat boxes.  Since we have so many we have to change it like every other day.   I said I would like to just put them outside permanently and of course Tait does not love that b/c we live close to a busy road and he doesn’t want them to be killed and we have to bury them.  So if any one has any ideas on how to combat cat smell… I’m open for suggestions. 

Another piece of interesting information… is I was contacted by Wabash DCS for a position for them… I’m supposed to interview for them.  I have to say I’m a little nervous and wondering if this is the path I should choose.  I don’t know… I guess we’ll cross the path when we get here… but that’s kind of where I’m at… I had my evaluation at work and it went really well.  I have a few things to work on but pay is always a concern for my life… I mean I make beans… but to switch jobs means yes a pay raise but it comes with a lot more stress.  And I’m going to have 4 children… do I want that kind of stress….  I don’t know…  I guess I will have to make that decision after I interview. 

So that’s life I guess… still moving… still growing…

The baby is doing great… my gut is telling me it’s going to be a girl.  We have a name picked out Odessa Layne.  My skin is breaking out like CRAZY.  I can’t stand it…  I did get my hair cut… I was trying to grow it out… but couldn’t do it… I just don’t do long hair… it just doesn’t appeal to me…  I don’t mind a little length… but shorter works more for my style.

Maya goes to Riley for testing on June 25^th.  I think it should be interesting for her and us.  I don’t know what to expect or what kind of expectations to have.  But I’ll let you know what we find out. 

Lehna dropped 20 lbs this spring.  She was so excited.  She saw her dance pictures and said “I think the camera is making me fat.”  So I just have to keep encouraging her to stay active. 

Nikolai is still our little escape artist… it’s driving me insane.  I took the kids to the park today and I was following Nikolai up to the concession stand… he went around the corner… and was GONE!  I was following the kid for goodness sakes!  So I went around the building and he must have just gone around the building and went back to the park… but I grabbed his hand and we were off home… I can’t get him to understand that he can’t run off it’s driving me nuts!!! 

So that’s life… 

Pictures of the girls...

So instead of spending a million dollars on the dance pictures that you can purchase.  I decided to take the three girls to the park and take their pictures.  I think it worked out.  This was after their last dance so their make up is a little runny but heck... it works... and I didn't cost me anything.... so BONUS.  I'm working on uploading the girls dance video... but I don't know what I'm doing yet on that... so we'll see...

here you go... 

Ballet Pictures

So this coming weekend we have the ballet recital for the girls.  I was able to go to one of the practices and was able to get some pictures.  I am NOT paying to have them done this year but hoping to take the girls somewhere on Saturday to take their pictures before the final recital.  It should be good.  So those will follow.  They had the lighting set up for the group pictures so this is what the cord lights are in some of the pictures.  The theme this year is Dances of the World.  Maya and Deklyn are Brazilian Carnival and Lehna is Irish Eyes

Enjoy!