The Second Month

Our friend Theresa gave us the book What To Expect The First Year. I have to admit I didn't read a bit of the book those first few weeks home from the NICU. Sadly, I don't how Willa did with the first month milestones. I know all babies develop at different rates. I like how this book puts things at different levels so you know that not all babies are super stars.

What your baby may be doing -

....should be able to:

• smile in response to your smile  We have this one down pat (Daren added when she is happy smiles are easy)
• respond to a bell in some way, such as startling, crying, quieting I tried playing some bell sound effects from You Tube to see if we get a response. Daren thinks she was startled a little bit. I'm not convinced. 

....will probably be able to:

• vocalize in ways other than crying (e.g., cooing) Daren says she coos some but crying is her favorite. 
• on stomach, lift head 45 degrees I just started tummy time yesterday. Willa can lick the blanket.

....may even be able to:

• hold head steady when upright She kills this. More than 20 seconds. She could produce a how to video
• on stomach, raise chest, supported by arms Nope. She licks the blanket.
• roll over (one way) Willa is stationary. 
• grasp a rattle held to backs or tips of fingers Daren said not on purpose.
• pay attention to an object as small as a raisin She can focus on the pacifier that fell out of her mouth.  
• reach for an object Nope
• say "Ah-goo" or similar vowel consonant combination Daycare Sharon says Willa is a big talker during the day. 

Layna and RJ even perused the book on Sunday between the football games. RJ is just shy of five months. I'm not sure if Layna was checking to see how he was doing with the four month milestones or   getting a preview of the fifth month. All I know is that RJ discovered his toes. Which month does a baby start using their toes as a pacifier?  

Saturday Morning Smiles

I think the background is a nice combination of Styx and me pumping.

Out and About

Willa is quite the social butterfly. They practically yell her name when she shows up at Los Tres here in Cary Park.  Friday evening we met some friends at the other Los Tres location.  Willa was very considerate and sat nicely in her car seat while everyone at the table enjoyed their meals.  I pulled her out of the car seat once I was done eating. I almost think a well behaved baby gets more attention than a fussy one. I noticed plenty of eyes on Willa from the surrounding tables. She didn't start crying until T and B.O.B. started doing baby talk.

Ladies of Williams Sonoma

On Saturday we had a play date with Brooklyn and some of my former co-workers from Williams Sonoma. I was pretty excited that Willa once again had a positive weight gain for the week. She is now a getting some more chub at 8lb 2oz. Well, Willa looks like a little peanut next to Brooklyn. Brooklyn's mom describes her as a sack 'o potatoes.

We did have to separate the two a bit. Willa started popping Brooklyn in the face with her fist. I think Willa is jealous of Brooklyn's obvious style. Not to worry my little Willa Bean. Once you are done with your surgery we can start dressing you in separates. 

On Sunday we had some friends over to watch football. I think the two babies got just as much attention as the two games. RJ is just shy of five months. He is going to be a big boy judging by the size of his feet. Hanging around older babies gives Daren and me a good idea of what the future will hold with Willa. I think RJ's parents said he goes through around 8 bibs a day because of drool. I think we own two bibs. I better go shopping. 

Willa wasn't so sure about RJ.

Willa wondering who is making all that racket.

We couldn't seem to get them both in a good mood for pictures. Willa wasn't happy on the floor and RJ wasn't happy on the couch. 

Daycare

Willa has been in daycare at Sharon's house for two weeks. Things are going great. I started researching potential daycare options around third month of my pregnancy. There are plenty of daycare facilities in the area, but how do you know which to go with? My sisters and I grew up going to an in-home daycare. I tried to get Musch to move here...but she turned us down. I found out about Sharon when I posted a message on our neighborhood message board asking for recommendations and experiences with area daycares. I got a glowing review from a gentleman about the care his son received while staying by Sharon's.

Sharon has 20 years of daycare experience. Even with all of those previous babies, Willa is the first with an omphalocele. Luckily for us, Willa's om did not deter Sharon for taking us on as clients. We let her know she would only need to deal with the om if Willa managed to soil the dressing.

As I said before, things are going great. Knowing Willa was going to be well cared for made it an easy transition back to work for mom.

Belated Merry Christmas

Trifecta

Thursday was the trifecta appointment at UNC Hospital. First up was an appointment with plastics to take a look at Willa's skin tag. Next on the books was an appointment with her pediatric surgeon. The final stop of the day was prosthetics for a brace fitting.

The day began with Willa routine weigh in.  She is up to 7lb and 10oz (up 4oz from last Thursday). Her height was confirmed at 21 1/4 inches. During the weigh in I noticed Willa's diaper was dirty. I didn't see the point in changing her since the plastics doctor would need the diaper removed for his inspection. We were in the room for about 15 minutes before the doctor arrived. I started the diaper removal and realized Willa gave us the ol' silent poop. This is a new skill. After a quick cleanup on aisle one the doctor took a look at the skin tag. Because the skin tag isn't causing any issues they will wait until the omphalocele repair for removal.

Mid-plastics visit our pediatric surgeon came in our room. While the two doctors confirmed the procedure coordination, I realized Willa was lying on the exam table without a diaper. Also, I was sitting on the exam table at the butt end. I asked Daren to hand me a diaper because I was in the line of fire. Well, just as the handoff occurred we had another silent poop occur. Thankfully, she is over the projectile baby poop.

Our pediatric surgeon, Dr Adamson, was once again pleased with the progress of the decreasing om. Closure surgery has been scheduled for February 27th with a pre-up visit one week prior. Dr A is very confident the closure will go well because the skin growth of the om, the muscles of the abdomen, and the amount of space in the rib cavity for the protruding organs. 

The final stop of the day was a quick fitting of Willa's brace. Once again, she needed to have more padding added as the om continues to shrink. We let the tech know about the future surgery date. Daren and I realize that the support and pressure from the brace is a big part of this surgery happening so soon. The guys in prosthetics knocked it out of the park on their first brace created for an om. 

I know I'm super excited to have a surgery date. Daren has said we can't fly home to Iowa until after surgery. Tentatively we are looking to go home over Easter because I have Friday off from UNC and it is also my Grandpa Keizer's 88th birthday.  

I really wanted to post a video of Willa hanging out in her bouncy seat. No dice. Instead, the latest picture of the shrinking omphalocele. 

William & Grace Keizer

Grandparents. We all have them. Growing up in small town Iowa meant I lived within minutes of my grandparents. I don't remember my Grandpa Marvin Green. He passed away when I was a small child. You won't find a picture of G'pa Green holding me because he thought I was a loud baby. G'pa Green's favorite was my older sister Sheila.

My sisters and I spent a lot of time with Grandma Lena Green.  She was our occasional caretaker after school. We could walk to her house from the elementary school. Also, the entire family always went out for lunch after church on Sunday. It was G'ma Green's treat. My G'ma Green kept a tin of small Snickers bars in her cupboard. I partially blame her for my lack of willpower when it comes to candy. We had no restrictions while staying at her house. G'ma Green passed away while I was in college at Morningside.

Grandpa Bill and Grandma Grace Keizer lived about 20 minutes from my childhood home. I used to love to go visit and play at their farm. I remember jumping hay bales with my sisters and cousins. Also, they had the best dog named Shep. I can't exactly remember when G'pa and G'ma Keizer moved to town. The great thing about their place in town was they lived across from a park and softball field. Even better, my cousins lived in the same town so I got to go to their house and play Nintendo and swim in their pool. G'ma Keizer just passed a few years ago but G'pa Keizer is alive and kicking.

Naming a baby is a difficult thing. Some names are never considered a possibility because you know someone with that name and it has tainted that name forever in your mind. Other names are crossed off the list because of the potential nickname factor. Take my name as an example - Smelly Shelly, Shelly Belly, Smelly Shelly with the big fat belly full of jelly. You get my point.

Daren and I decided we didn't want to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. We I had lots of folks try and give me reasons of why we should find out the gender of our baby. That was their reason to find out and not mine. We also decided to keep our names a secret. I got to pick the girl name and Daren picked the boy name. Not telling the names also annoyed people. Oh well.

I knew before I was ever pregnant that I wanted to name my first daughter Willamina Grace after my G'pa and G'ma Keizer. I'm going to put it out there - G'pa Keizer is/was my favorite. He is such an ornery cuss. As soon as Willa has her surgery and is cleared for travel we are hoping on a plane so she can meet the man she was named after.

Wedding Picture

Keizer Family

Skyping at Christmas

Grandma Visit #2 (a new message from Willa)

Fancy bandaids

Wednesday I was lucky enough to have Grandma Streett come visit me. It's a good thing, because things were pretty nasty on Thursday. Mommy went back to work, and daddy and grandma took me to see the pediatrician for my two month vaccinations. An oral med and three shots later, we left the doctor's office. The good news is that I was up to 7 pounds, 6 ounces officially. I was also 21 and 1/4 inches tall. I was not very happy with the shots, but my nurse was wicked fast at giving them to me and after a minute or two of crying, I collected myself and we headed back home again.

Thursday I was pretty sleepy from the shots. I slept most of the day until daddy thought I needed to eat, so he woke me up. I made sure that I let him know how I felt about that. After voicing my displeasure for quite a little while, I settled down and eventually had a little bit to eat. By the time that mommy got home from her first day back at work, I was back to being a little sleepy.

Friday was pretty uneventful for us. It was a beautiful day outside, so I went for a stroll with daddy and grandma. We met some good friends out for Mexican for dinner, but I didn't have any. I'm still sticking with milk for now, no Cholula sauce please.

Saturday grandma and I supervised while mommy and daddy took down Christmas decorations. It was hard work for us, but we kept them on task as well as we could. Pretty much everything is back in the basement now, except for a naked tree. I can't wait for Christmas again... I got all kinds of great stuff, even if none of it was from mommy or daddy!

Tomorrow, grandma flies back home again. Mommy is going to play in a volleyball tournament - her first since having me. That should be entertaining - I wish I could go watch that! After tomorrow, things should start becoming normal. Monday, both mommy and daddy are going to work, so it will be my first day at day care. Very exciting! Daddy will drop me off and mommy will pick me up. This will be the start of my official schedule.....

Nursery Pics Plus Odds and Ends

I think I promised nursery pictures a half dozen times. Heck, I thought the nursery would be completed before this baby was born. I'm pretty sure the decal in the nursery will be the only decal ever seen in our house. Daren and I picked a tough one to start with. My advice is to avoid trees.

Willa's room was also the location of my tiny Christmas tree purchased in college. Previously, this was the tree used in our living room. Not a good sized tree for a living room, but it is perfect for a nursery. Willa got plenty of ornaments in 2012. Including three beautiful first Christmas ornaments.

Willa's growing library

On to the odds and ends -

Today is Daren's first day back to the office since December 20th. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle being alone all day with Willa. It will be very strange! I enjoyed having Daren at home because we got some major cleaning and organization completed. Also, after 2+ years of marriage, there are now wedding pictures gracing our walls.

This afternoon Daren is picking up his mom from the airport. This will be Grandma Streett's first visit to see Willa. Her timing is perfect to accompany Daren to the pediatrician for Willa's two month shots on Thursday. I'm sitting this one out b/c Thursday is the day I start back at work. I saw enough poking and prodding with all of the IV's in the NICU.

We just added a second detail to Daren and Rita's day on Thursday. They need to go and get an estimate for the damage to Heidi (my new car).  I was involved in a fender bender on NYE afternoon heading home from the mall. There were no injuries and Willa was not with me. Quick version - I was following a car that was turning right. The guy started to make the turn at the intersection and I proceeded to pass him, within the lane, when he turned back to the road. I was unable to stop or avoid him and the entire right side of my car is now damaged. BLEH!

Monday will be Willa's first day at daycare. We found a woman just down the road who has run a daycare out of her home for the past 20 years. She came highly recommended by folks from our neighborhood. Sharon will only care for three babies at a time and only until they reach the age of three. I'm hoping her daycare experience as well as being a mother of eight (that is not a typo) will jumpstart Willa's weight gain. Two weeks ago I claimed Willa was a chunky monkey and I can't say I had the same excitement with the weigh in last week. She didn't gain an ounce.

2012 was filled with lots of surprised for Daren and me. I can only imagine what 2013 will bring.