Etta's Journal

This week was a lot of fun!! My friends Natalie and Alyssa and their Mommy, Ms. Lori, came to visit us!! They got here Monday evening and stayed all the way until Friday morning. We had a lot of fun all week and I learned a few things while trying to keep up with the other girls. Alyssa taught me how to open cupboards and Natalie taught me where the very fun door stopper is (BOING!). We also played up in my playroom a lot and we had a dance party in the breakfast nook. On Thursday, we took a walk that lead us to a creek and Natalie and Alyssa had too much fun playing in the water. I thought the water was too cold to play in, though. So, while Momma played with Natalie and ALyssa, Mrs. Lori took some cute pictures of me!

After they left on Friday, the house was too quiet. I had to get use to playing by myself (and with just Momma) again. I can't wait until our next visit! I guess it will be our turn to go there next.... :)

By the way, the videos DO work, just click on them...

Happy Father's Day to Daddy and to all of my Grandfathers (Lito, Granddaddy, and Grandfather)!!!

We've had a really fun day so far! Daddy took me and Momma to Henry Horton State Park and they had a hotdog picnic and then Daddy and I swam in the Duck River. I got kinda sleepy around this time, so Momma let me nap in her lap while Daddy went swimming some more in the Duck. After I woke up, Daddy tried to put me back in my duck bathtub that was doubling as a raft, but I didn't want to have anything to do with that!

So, we came home. I enjoyed the scenic drive through the country and I just had a little snack, I'm not sure what else I get to do today, but I know I will be happy with whatever it is if it involes my Daddy!!! :)



New Stuff:

I'm dancing now. It really cute and Momma is trying to get a cute video of it. I like to bounce my booty up and down when I'm playing with my musical activity tables (especially my calypso monkey) and if you're holding me and you start to sing a ditty I jop up and down.

Also, I've started this really funny fake laugh. I mean, I'm happy when I make the sound, but it's not a true laugh. Once again, we're waiting for video of this...

So, I'm ONE now! How did THAT happen?

On my actual birthday, Daddy took the day off work and the three of us spent the day together. We went to the park, but I was sleepy and didn't really enjoy it. After a good nap, I played in the baby pool in the backyard and LOVED splashing around in there. Then, after another nap, Momma and Daddy sang "Happy Birthday" to me and gave me a zebra cake with one candle in it. I liked the way the sweet cake tasted!

Later in the week (Wednesday), I had a visit with the NICU Follow-up Clinic. Nothing major happens at these visits. Momma thinks they're more for Vanderbilt than for us. The most significant thing about this visit was my weigh-in. This was the first time I had been weighed in a couple of months and I had not gained ANY weight in that time. Momma talked briefly about this with the Doctor at the NICU Clinic, but saved the more lengthy conversation for my pediatrician, Dr. Hood.

I had Physical Therapy on Thursday. Once again, I impressed Ms. Shannon with my progress and my strength. She suggested I get a pair of Stride Rite shoes to give my feet a wider base for balance. She also gave Momma some ho,e exercises for the next month. After PT, Momma and I went home. I took a nap and soon after I woke up, Nana May and Nana V got here. I was happy to see them!

On Friday Momma, and my Nana's and I spent the day out and about. We wore ourselves out that day! That night (after I was in bed) Momma and Nana V went to the airport to pick up Grandfather.

On Saturday, we had my big birthday celebration at my house. There were A LOT of people here (29 including the three of us) and by the time everyone had arrived and we were able to start opening gifts, I was about ready to take another nap. So, guess who was pretty fussy and overwhelmed with the attention!... ME! I did smash my "smash cake", well, sort of. I put my paw in it once and IMMEDIATELY pulled it back and started crying! I don't think I liked the way the squishy icing felt. Momma was able to give me a taste of the cake and I liked it, but I only took a couple of bites before I started fussing again. Momma put me straight in my bed. Icing still in my hair and all! By the time my nap was over, half of the attendees had left. My mood was a little better after my short nap, but my eyes were still pretty red, giving away my exhaustion. I was happy when I finally got to have a bath and go to bed that night!

On Sunday, Nana May and Grandfather went back to Alabama and Nana V stayed behind for a few extra days because she had a conference in Nashville for work. I spent some time with Daddy that afternoon. He set up my pool again and I did some splashin! While I hung out with Daddy, Momma and Nana V went for pedicures and then Momma took Nana V to her conference in Nashville.

Monday was Momma's birthday!! Happy Birthday, Momma! I had an appointment with Dr. Hood that day. We talked about my lack of weight gain and decided that it may be that my activity level had increased. I don't look underweight, so she told us to just keep an eye on it and come back in if we become concerned before my next appointment in September. I had to get three shots and that was the worst part of Momma's birthday! Later that night, after I was already in bed, Momma, Daddy, and Nana V celebrated Momma's birthday with Mexican food for dinner and fancy cupcakes from GiGi's.

Nana V went back to Alabama on Tuesday, On Wednesday, Ms. Amy (my teacher) and Ms. Yolanda (my service coordinator) came for a little bit, and on Thursday (today), I went to the Down syndrome Clinic at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. Momma and I had to get going MUCH earlier than either of us were use to. We got to Clinic around 8:30. I met with ALL the therapists (physical, occupational, speech), the nutritionist, the nurse practitioner, and the doctor. There was some more concerned expressed over my lack of weight gain. The nutritionist suggested I start drinking some Pediasure each day to add calories and Dr. McGregor ordered some lab work to rule out Celiac Disease (it's an immune-mediated toxic reaction that causes damage to the small intestine and does not allow food to be properly absorbed when one eats gluten). We'll get the results of that lab work back in about a week.

So, that brings us up to date. WHEW!

Sunday, Momma and I are headed to Alabama to help Nana V out while she recovers from surgery. I hear that I'm going to get to see Aunt Kimi and Aunt D while I'm there.

Zebra Cake

The day I was born, Momma woke up concerned about me. She had not felt me move in her belly very much (which is why she was able to sleep all the way until 10:00 that morning) and that was unusual for me. I was regularly quite active! So, after she got up, she drank a glass of strawberry (organic) milk hoping that the added sugar would perk me up. It didn't. So, she had more sugar. She ate a Zebra Cake (a Little Debbie snack cake) and drank a Mountain Dew, and later some ramen noodles. I still didn't really move. Momma didn’t eat like this throughout her pregnancy! She *mostly* ate VERY healthy, but she was starting to get desperate. Momma was able to find my heartbeat with her Doppler, but she and Daddy were still pretty concerned.

So, around 2:00, they called the doctor who told them to go to the hospital so they could check me out. After making sure they had their "just incase bag" packed and got showered/dressed (and Daddy ate a hamburger), they arrived at the hospital a little before 4:00pm. After Momma was admitted, a nurse came down from Labor and Delivery to wheel her upstairs. That nurse asked her what she had eaten that day and she answered “A Zebra Cake”. That nurse thought Momma had LOST her mind!!! She actually treated Momma like she was not being a good Momma! She was CERTAIN that the reason I wasn’t moving around was because of Momma’s poor nutrition and possible dehydration. This made Momma feel very sad and mad at the nurse. The (yucky) nurse strapped monitors to her belly and started watching my heart rhythm. It wasn’t quite “normal”. So, she made her drink LOTS AND LOTS of apple juice and fed her. Did they feed her something super healthy? NOPE! They brought her FRIED chicken fingers, FRIED french fries, and a big slice of chocolate pie (which Daddy ate).

After eating a lot and drinking a lot (and peeing a lot), I was still the same. So, around 7:30, Dr. Bell came in the room with an ultrasound machine. As she performed an ultrasound, she was watching for me to do certain activities and I would get points in a 30 minute time frame. I needed to get 10 points. I only got 4, two of which were because I had the hiccups. Before the 30 minutes were even up, Dr. Bell was calling for the OR to be prepped for a C-Section. She said I was in distress and I needed to come out of Momma’s tummy. This was 18 days before I was due!!! So, around 8:00, Daddy was making the calls to family to tell them I was on my way and at 9:00pm on Sunday, June 1st, I was born! I weighed 5 lbs and 14 oz and I was 18 inches long. My tiny little cry sounded like a kitten to Momma.

We still don’t know why I was in distress, but after I was born, the on-call pediatrician *thought* he found a problem with my bowels that would require surgery. Momma and Daddy were sad that I had to go to a different hospital, but they knew I would be in good hands over there. The surgery for my tummy wound up cancelled when they discovered my bowels were fine, but I did need to stay in the NICU because my kidneys had gone into failure (this was caused by a drug called Gentamicin – an antibiotic given to me when I was admitted to the hospital). Then, as my kidney’s FINALLY started getting better, my Pulmonary Hypertension was discovered. I stayed in the NICU at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital for 18 days and came home on June 19th- ONE day after I was due!