Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

Mommy's friend from where she used to work, Jennifer, knit me this awesome hat and scarf, just like yours! What do you think?! Mommy had a hard time getting my picture taken because I was being "snooky classic". Is it true that you really visit every single home on Christmas Eve? That's amazing! Can I come along sometime? I will wear my hat! I could be your helper. I do like to help, even if I am a bit messy sometimes. I love you Santa and can't wait to meet your reindeer!

Love,
Mia

P.S. Guess what Santa, tomorrow is my mommy's birthday and we are going to Disneyland!!!! I'm so excited!!!! And it's going to snow!!!! I'll put some more pictures on here when we get back.

School Days!

Here is Mia's school picture, it was taken at the beginning of November. Isn't that the cutest 2 year old school picture EVER! I am not biased, but she does look darling.

Mia's bottom is looking better, we still don't have the elusive ilex cream, we've ordered some and are waiting for it to get here, but with some minor changes in how we clean her bottom, she's doing much better.

And I'll get the "mama" on video and we'll post that on the blog, it is so sweet!

Mama

Today we went to LA to see Mia's surgeon. He thought that her incisions looked fine and gave us some advice on taking care of her bottom. They also brought out the Ilex cream, so we put that on her bottom right away, hopefully we'll see some changes in the next couple of days. We have a few other remedies that we are looking into if this doesn't work. The good news is that we don't have to go back to visit the surgeon for another 1-2 months! That's a nice feeling!

The surgeon gave approval for Mia to be able to go back in the tub again, so when we got home we put her in there straight away. She loved every moment of it and it was great for her bottom because it cleaned everything off very gently. So, we'll definitely be doing daily tub time.

When Mia got out of the tub she said, "mama" for the first time since this summer! It was so sweet. We've noticed her saying a few more sounds, so we know that God continues to work in her speech. Praise God for saying mama!!!!



This picture was taken awhile ago, it is one of Mia's favorite activities...pulling all her socks/night clothes out of her drawer. :)

The Same

So her bottom is still the same, it is extremely red and irritated, occasionally it bleeds and we are just in agony every time we change her diaper. We have got some different recommendations from a few people and have tried alot of stuff, but we are still going to give a few more different remedies a try. One that seems hopeful to us is called Ilex cream, and from what I've read it does wonders on the worst looking bottoms. But we can't get it until Monday, so keep praying that her bottom would get better and not worse. Pray for normal bowel movements because they just aren't normal yet and continued healing.

In the back of my mind and deep in my heart I keep having this feeling that the reason we are where we are with the diaper rash is because she can't control her bowels. And I imagine that it is too early to actually determine that, this is all very new for her, but I can't seem to get that thought out of my mind. I didn't actually want to right this paragraph because as I type it, it seems more real and that there might be some truth to my fears. But I also know that we serve a God who is HUGE and if he wants Mia to control her bowels, then she will. And so my real purpose in writing this is for those of you who pray for Mia, that you would add this to the list, we've prayed for it before, but I just feel a renewed need to pray for it again. And now as I finish this paragraph, that fear isn't so scary to me, I feel a burden lifted knowing that you will pray as we pray and I trust God's answer completely. So, thank you for praying!!!

Aside from a very sore bottom, Mia is doing great. We went back to school for the first time since Mia's surgery and everyone was very excited to see her. The kids said, "Mia" when we went inside, it was very cute.

We've been noticing more sounds and attempts at talking with Mia, which is great. She will mouth the word Mama, but no sound comes out, so we will keep working on that.

Please just keep praying for healing of her bottom, we are trying some different remedies and hopefully it will clear up soon.

Diaper Rash

So Mia now has a case of diaper rash. We were anticipating this happening eventually. It is super uncomfortable and changing diapers is no fun. We keep putting on the cream that the doctor gave us and so hopefully it will start to get better soon, but be praying for her.

She's getting around much better and eating much better! Those are definite praises! We have even started back to therapy, but aren't pushing her too much yet.

We were supposed to go to LA today, but since the grapevine was closed (the pass over the mountains to get to LA) because of ice and snow we rescheduled for next week. Hopefully the weather will clear up and things will be much better next week!

A little better...

So, Mia is actually doing a little better today, thank you God! She was much more active and ate a little bit better today. She still isn't drinking great and we can always improve in the area of eating. As for bowel movements, it continues to come just a little by little, maybe as she gets more active and eats better things will start to regulate. She is still in a bit of pain, especially when she passes gas or stool, so keep praying for that to become more normal.

On a side note, I weighed her this morning, we are back to 20 pounds, I'm not surprised with everything she's been through, but pray that she would quickly put back on the weight.

This morning we decided to hang some Christmas lights outside, and Mia was Daddy's little helper. Here are some pictures. :)






And this next one is Mia's "bedhead", this is what her hair looked like when she first got up, oh my.

Still Waiting

I thought for sure today we'd have lots of movement, but there hasn't been much at all. And Mia is still obviously uncomfortable. Today she also hasn't eaten as well. The good news is that she is a little bit more active and I know that will help in this area also. Pray for continued healing and movement and pain management for our little pumpkin.

Tonight we have finally had a little bit of a bowel movement, that makes me think we are getting closer. Mia is still very uncomfortable when things are trying to get through, so keep praying and Praise God for movement in the right direction!

Still Uncomfortable

We've been home from the hospital for about 2 days now and Mia is still very uncomfortable. What is slightly concerning is that she hasn't had a bowel movement in 2 days now, I know that is not uncommon for kids...I just wish I could see inside her tummy/intestines to see what was going on. I talked to her surgeon today and he said to give her another day or two and then we'll check back in and go from there. So pray for a bowel movement! When we were in the hospital (this might be too much information, but it will help you gain perspective), her bowel movements were super runny, like diarrhea, and so when we started feeding her "regular" food, we tried some foods that would help get rid of that, I don't know if that was too much and now we've flipped to the other side, or what is happening. So pray for wisdom and a bowel movement!

Discharged!

We have officially been discharged! We are on our way home as I write this. Mia is doing well, she still is very uncomfortable as her body adjusts to real food again. Pray that she would adjust quickly. It's great to be going home!

So, they are starting Mia on regular food today and assuming all goes well we should be discharged tomorrow! She has been healing well and is uncomfortable every now and then, so pray that her body would tolerate the food adjustment.

Mia's First Dirty Diaper!

Mia has been having small amounts of clear liquids since about 12:30 today and she has had her first dirty diapers! There was much rejoicing over the stinky diaper! So, we are doing great! Praise God for dirty diapers!

Mia lost her IV this afternoon, so they are closely watching her liquid intake, so far she has barely been making the cutoff, so hopefully she won't need a new IV, pray that her tummy would continue to adjust to the stuff going in and that she wouldn't need an IV.

Mia continues to look and act more and more like her normal self each day. What we've heard is that because her tummy has started waking up (she has been passing gas), they are going to start her on some clear liquids today. We haven't started yet, but we will let you know how it goes. Pray that she would tolerate this well.

Her IV is still working, thank you Lord! We aren't ready to lose it yet, so pray that it would hang in there until she doesn't need it anymore. I'm amazed it has lasted this long, it's a definite answer to prayer!

Mia slept much better last night and only needed a half dose of pain medication one time, so far today she hasn't needed anyway, which is more great news! We continue to be so grateful at how well everything is going! Thank you for praying (I know we say it alot, but it means the world to us that you would take time to pray for our little girl.)

Doing great!

Mia is doing awesome! She started passing gas, and let me tell you, I have never been that excited about gas before in my life. That is an excellent sign that her plumbing is healing, and we'll be trying some food in no time. (A day or two?) Mia is also acting more and more normal, smiling, laughing, just being her normal cute self. Thank you SO much for praying, God gave the skills and abilities and knowledge to the doctors here, and we are forever grateful.

Philippians 4:6-7
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Mia continues to do really well, she has been sitting more upright and watching us play with her toys, and that's been very good for her. Her surgeon stopped by this morning and thought she looked really good for only 2 days after surgery. His concern is for her intestines to start working in the next day or so, otherwise we are going to start some different IV fluids with more calories/nutrition in them. The downside to this is that they have to make sure she is getting the proper dose and that means daily blood draws, and there is a potential risk to the liver with this, however if she needs nutrition then this is what will happen. Pray for those intestines to start working.

She hasn't been in too much pain, she hasn't had any pain medicine since last night, which is amazing. Continue to pray for her pain management and overall healing. Her IV is also barely holding on, so keep praying for that too. And as always, thank you for praying!

Colorful Friday

Mia is still doing very well overall. We got some better sleep last night, we were still up several times to change diapers and take vitals, but it was less interrupted than the day before. Hopefully Mia will get several good naps today.

So, right now some of the concerns are that her tummy is a little bloated because her intestines haven't "woken up" yet. If she were a little more active that would help getting them going again. Pray that she would start to pass gas because that will help with the bloating. Her lungs have a bit of junk in them also because we haven't been very active, so pray that they would clear up as she gets to feeling better (we just don't want it to develop into pneumonia, which can be very common). Also, her IV is starting to show signs of not lasting much longer and we still need it, so pray that it would hang on as long as we need it.

Last night Nana was very creative and we ended up having a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings. It was nice. We have so much to be thankful for! Thank you Lord for blessing us abundantly and may we be continually reminded of how you sent your son as the ultimate blessing and sacrifice in the coming weeks as we prepare for Christmas.

The Best Thanksgiving Ever...quite possibly. :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are so blessed, I know the next few days won't be easy for Mia, but my heart keeps doing these little summersaults of joy. It's so exciting to be on the final road of recovery. Thank you God for such a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Mia is doing great, she had a small fever last night, but after some Tylenol she's much better. She is getting morphine for pain control and so that makes her a bit itchy, so then she gets Benadryl for the itchiness. I think she is tolerating her pain fairly well, so keep praying for that! Right now she and Daddy are watching Elmo and she is happy as can be.

They just came in and did a blood draw on her and I was so thankful that they had no problems getting blood out of her, her veins have miraculously become better with this surgery! Praise God! You can keep praying that she won't lose her IV, it's on her right hand and she rubs that hand on her nose when she is itchy, I try to keep holding her hand, but I don't always catch it. :)

Yesterday the surgeon told me that he used a muscle stimulator to test how her anal muscles were doing and she was able to contract her muscles very well, which is a great sign that she will be able to physically control her bowels, now time will only tell if she cognitively is able to make that connection herself, but such great news! Thank you God for working muscles!

You can continue to pray for healing, they will be listening to her tummy for the next couple of days and listening for the right sounds that tell us when her body says it is ok to put food in. They also look at what comes out of your diaper and when she starts to produce stuff, then they will know her intestines are starting to work again. Pray for her to pass gas because that will help to keep things moving through the tummy. Of course, every time we give her morphine that slows down the whole process, so pray for a good balance, that her intestines would start working in spite of the pain medicine.

May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving as we are!

Not eating for three to five days

We just learned that Mia is not going to be eating for three to five days till her intestine repair has a chance to heal. I assumed that they would give her calories by IV, but the nurse said that was not the plan. There are some calories in IV fluid, but not as much as TPN. ( Total Parental Nutrition) Some residents from the surgery team came by and told us that when the body starts putting stuff through the repaired intestine, that is a sign it's ok for Mia to start eating. Mia got some Morphine by IV, every two hours as needed for pain. We don't want her to hurt. We also met some more people from Bakersfield here, our neighbor Isabel and her husband Richard, and Darren Singleton is here with his son Jacob. What a small town! Thanks for thinking of us this thanksgiving, and all your prayers for a quick recovery.

Great News

Praise God, Mia is done with surgery and everything went really well! She is in recovery and we are waiting to see her, I will post more later tonight, but we are so grateful and thankful to all of you for praying and to God be the Glory!!!