Wow, can it really be that our little Emily is already 2! It seems like just yesterday that she was as small as Lydia!
We decided to celebrate this milestone by having a few friends over for cake and ice cream. Growing up my mom always made a special cake for our birthdays, so keeping up with tradition we stayed up past 3:00 in the morning the night before and made a butterfly cake for Emily. It was a lot of work, but I think it turned out pretty good.
The cake.
The birthday girl and the cake.
The tired Mommy, Emily, and the cake.
Yes, it did taste as good as it looks!
Note that the cake has two flavors. I first made a white cake, but it didn't seem like quite enough, so I baked a chocolate cake and then we layered it. Mike did a great job lining up the sheet cakes on top of each other.
Proof that Emily did eat a little bit of cake this year. Last year we could barely get her to touch it. Oh the difference a year makes!
Homemade ice cream!
Emily and her friends.
Present time!
Just before the party we had woken Emily up from a nap, so it was nearly impossible to get her smile, let alone look at the camera. She looked pretty tired in most of the pictures, but we did get one picture of her smiling:
Happy Birthday Emily! We love you and are excited to see what this next year brings!
Monday was a big day of tests for Lydia. She got two x-rays, an ultrasound, and a CAT scan (all of her head).
Lydia before her CAT scan -- doesn't she look so tiny?!
We picked up all the results on Thursday and she was diagnosed with bi-lateral coronal craniosynostosis. Craniosynostosis is a condition in which the sutures (area between the cranial plates) in the skull fuse prematurely. If untreated, this could cause pressure on the brain. From the CT scan, we can see that her two front sutures are fused (bilateral coronal). Fortunately, it is treatable with surgery. Through hours of research, we’ve been learning more about our options.
There are two main types of surgery. One type is called cranio vault reconstruction and basically reconstructs the front half of the skull. This surgery lasts between three and seven hours, requires an incision from ear to ear, results in quite a lot of blood loss, requires a blood transfusion, a 3-4 night stay in the hospital, and causes quite a bit of swelling in the face (usually the child doesn’t open their eyes for about three days). The timeframe for this surgery is between 6 and 9 months of age.
The other option is called endoscopic craniectomy. This surgery is newer and less invasive. This surgery removes the fused suture and uses a helmet to help reshape the skull. This surgery lasts between one and two hours, requires only two or more small slits, results in far less blood loss, rarely requires a blood transfusion, patients can usually return home the next day, and doesn’t cause much swelling in the face. The timeframe for this surgery is as soon as possible, usually before three months. However, this surgery requires the child to wear a helmet for up to 18 months that needs to be adjusted every few months.
So, two very different options. There are only a few places in the country that specialize in these types of surgeries and only a couple that have long-term experience with the second type. We had originally thought we would have the surgery done in Dallas, but they only do the first type of surgery. Since the second type of surgery is far less risky and has had excellent results, we decided to try to find a place that does this type. After more research we contacted San Antonio and have a tentative surgery date for mid-January.
This gives us a little less than eight weeks to be in San Antonio. Our next step is to find airline tickets to the States. We also have lots of other logistics to figure out such as getting passports, figuring out what to do with our the house we’re renting in Soytown, finding a place to stay in the States, figuring out what to do for a vehicle, etc.
As of right now we’re not sure how long we’ll be in the States, but our current plan is to stay in Dallas and take some advanced linguistic classes which we were needing to do at some point anyway.
As for us, we're doing pretty well. We knew that this could be a possibility before Lydia was born, but it is still hard to think that our precious little baby having to go through this type of operation. Although it’s been somewhat stressful these last few days trying to do research, getting tests done, worrying about the many unexpected expenses that we have ahead of us, and thinking about our different options, we realize that we have so much to be thankful.
We are so thankful to God for our precious, beautiful little baby girl, that the condition is treatable, that we have access to some of the best medical care in the world, that we noticed the condition in enough time to do treatment and that when treated there are no long-term problems. We are so thankful for the support group we have around us – our family, our branch family, and our many prayer partners and friends.
We appreciate your prayers as we make decisions, figure out logistical details, and as the reality of this all sinks in.
When we found out Emily had a cleft palate, I was doing some reading online and came across a letter written by another parent with a cleft palate. The gist of the letter was that God had chosen you to be this child’s parent. That the child was not just their condition. We thank God for entrusting us with being Lydia’s and Emily’s parents. Please pray with us that we’ll be the best parents we can be for our two precious little girls.
Disclaimer -- this is for women only who want to hear all the gory details of my labor and delivery. It's kind of on the long side and is a "too-much-information" post, very personal, so if you don't want to know the details, just skip to the next post. Thanks!
So, here it goes...
For the last few weeks the baby had been sitting very low which has made just about every moment with my legs very painful. Wednesday Mike and I walked around the grocery store for a while and I felt as though the baby was going to fall out! I had a feeling that the baby would come early, but was waiting for some other prelabor signs besides just the baby dropping.
Thursday morning I woke up and I was soooo tired, so around 10:00 I did something I rarely do these days, I took a nap. (No burst of energy here!) About 1:45 that afternoon I got the first definite prelabor sign, and 15 minutes later I had a second! Last time when I had the first one, Emily was born within 24 hours, so I had a feeling that this baby might follow suit. At that point, we washed all the baby clothes as they had been sitting in storage for over a year. We hung them on the line to dry but they weren’t drying very quickly due to the rainy weather we’ve been having. At 6:00 that evening I started feeling some light contractions. About 20 minutes later I started timing them and they were about every 5 minutes apart. At that point we really started to get our bag for the hospital ready and Emily ready to go to stay with our friends. Mike was almost pushing my out the door to go to the hospital, but I was dragging my feet because the baby's clothes weren't dry and I didn't want to get to the hospital and be only 2 cm dilated. But, he managed to get my out the door by 7:30 and off we went to the headquarters of our sister organization here in Brazil to leave Emily with some friends.
Only two days before we had gone to the mission to see if there would be any one there willing to watch Emily should the baby come before my parents arrived the following week. Fortunately we had gotten to know the people at this mission pretty well when we had taken classes there for a couple months last year. We ended up talking with a Brazilian couple there that was more than eager to agree to watch Emily, so Thursday night we called them and headed their way with Emily! The headquarters was located about 15 minutes away from the apartment, so we got there pretty quickly. While Mike got the pack-n-play ready for Emily, I threw the baby clothes in the clothes dryer (they actually had one there) and waited by the laundry area while my contractions were becoming stronger and stronger and about every 3 minutes apart. I must have been a sight, walking in circles around the laundry area and breathing deeply every couple minutes. After about 20 minutes we were ready to go to the hospital (although it felt more like an hour).
We got to the hospital and the doctor was there waiting for us. We had found a woman doctor to be my obstetrician. However, as we got to the hospital, we found out that she was actually pregnant herself and had suddenly had complications, so was on strict bed rest -- so her husband who is also an obstetrician was filling in for her. He was nice, so we weren't too disappointed.
Within minutes of getting to the hospital, the doctor checked me and I was only at 4/5 cm. I was so bummed. With Emily the contractions weren’t nearly this strong or close at this point. So, we went out to the waiting room (well, actually to a second waiting area for paperwork, etc).
About three months before we had gone to the hospital and gotten an estimate of the costs and were told that the hospital needed a $10,000 Real (Brazilian currency) cashiers check (which is pretty standard down here). So we presented the check but were told that in the last few weeks they had changed their policy and now needed a $3,000 Real check. So, ironically they wouldn't accept our $10K. So, we were in a bind because there was no way of getting another check made at 9:00 at night. So after making calls to the accounting department, talking with lots of different people, and finally having the doctor say, come on and push for us, we were finally able to be admitted to the hospital. In the meantime, this had been about an hour and a half while I was having contractions every couple minutes. A lady even came up to me and asked if I was in labor as she could see my stomach tightening!
Finally we got a room and the doctor asked if the contractions were more intense. I said a little bit, so he went ahead and checked me. When we had gotten to the room I had said to Mike, “I want an epidural! I don’t think I can handle this anymore!” At that point the doctor checked me again. His eyes got really big and said that I was already at 9 cm and the baby was right there. He had me to get back into the wheelchair and we headed up to the delivery room. I had a strong contraction in the elevator, then they wheeled me outside the delivery room while the doctor and Mike scrubbed up. Mike told me later that he after he saw all the delivery rooms and women coming in and out, he asked the doctor which room it would be. The doctor said, “Follow the screaming.” I guess the rest of the ladies that night were having cesareans.
As I waited outside the delivery room while in the wheelchair, I had a really strong contraction and felt like I had to push. I leaned forward (because if you’re not very tall, a wheelchair is very uncomfortable). Immediately a nurse rushed to me and called for help shouting that I was going to fall out of the chair. At last the contraction ended and I was wheeled into the delivery room. As soon as I saw Mike I told him “I have to push, I have to push!” The doctor has just made it into the room at that point. A short contraction came and I pushed and my water broke. Or as Mike says, it shot half-way across the room, almost drenching the doctor as he walked by.
Then another contraction came and I pushed again, screaming a lot. Mike told me that if I could get the baby out in the next contraction I wouldn’t need an episiotomy as the doctor was trying to find something to make the cut with. The pediatrician was beside me and said the baby would come on the next contraction. The next contraction came and out came Lydia! I was so relieved! They brought her to my face and I was able to talk to her for a couple minutes before they took her to be cleaned and weighed.
Mike said later that the doctor was kind of upset because the delivery room wasn’t completely ready and so he wasn’t able to find the scalpel for the episiotomy. That was ok with me! I just had a minor tear and only needed a couple stitches. After I was cleaned up, they wheeled me into a type of recovery area. I ended up waiting there for almost an hour and a half but the whole time I prayed for Lydia and kept thanking God that I wasn’t still in labor!
Lydia was taken to the NICU for about an hour and a half because they wanted to monitor her breathing. When I finally got to my room I saw Mike, but no Lydia. After a few minutes, they brought her to us and we were able to enjoy the little miracle that God had given us.
Some quick facts:
Weight: Lydia: 7 pounds (3.205 kilos) Emily: 8 pounds, 7 ounces (3.830 kilos)
Length: Lydia: 19.5 inches (49.5 cm) Emily: 19.5 inches (50 cm)
Length of Labor (from first contraction to delivery): Lydia: 4.5 hours Emily: 9.5 hours
Time at hospital before delivery: Lydia: 2 hours Emily: 3.5 hours
Length of pushing: Lydia: 5 minutes Emily: 40 minutes
Day, time: Lydia: Thursday, October 22, 10:39 p.m.; 15 days early Emily: Wednesday, December 5, 11:38 p.m.; 8 days early
Last minute changes: Lydia: Our doctor was on bed rest, so her husband filled in instead Emily: The hospital was full, so we had to go to another hospital
Thanks to everyone for praying for us. I'm healing well (I feel far less pain walking now than I did before the delivery) and nursing is going well. (Nursing is so much more convenient than pumping and then feeding with a bottle!) Lydia continues to be a joy and an overall content baby. Big sister Emily hasn't shown to be jealous so far and is enjoying giving her sister kisses. She also thinks it's hilarious when Lydia starts crying, which we find irresistibly funny. Thus far the change from one to two hasn’t been too bad, but we’ll keep you posted!
Last night we arrived in BrasÃlia to wait until the baby comes. It's really starting to feel real now! At my appointment today the doctor said that the baby was very low and could come soon. I was not surprised at all that the baby is low -- for a few weeks now it's been very uncomfortable to walk! We had to hurry home last week because it had started to rain. Even though we didn't walk very far, by the time we walked in the door I could barely stand up, I was so sore! I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore, but we're praying the baby will wait until my parents arrive next week Thursday!
Fortunately during our time in Soytown we were able to collect lots of language data. We have lots of notes which we need to input into the computer and we are also in the process of transfering our data to another computer program. This time in BrasÃlia gives us the perfect opportunity to catch up on our linguistic work!
In other news, we've started working with Emily to sleep in a big bed. Last night she did great, hopefully she'll continue to stay put when we put her to bed!
This past week Emily has started to really babble! It's so cute! She'll point to things and then start babbling as though you can totally understand what she is saying. She's added a few words to her vocabulary, but she still doesn't say too many words yet. She's been surrounded by three languages which accounts for some of the delay but she also still has trouble pronouncing most consonants. I'm hoping to take her to speech therapist when we get back to Soytown. However, we're very encouraged that in the last few days she's started to show more interesting in talking, hopefully the right sounds will follow!
It's now been about five weeks since we moved to Soytown. I have to say that it's like a different world here. In Rubbertown, so many things of daily life were stressful. For instance, the flies were incredible. I could literally feel myself going insane as the buzz of flies became the background music of our house. You didn't even have to move in order to kill them, they were so prevalent.
A strip of fly paper after one day.
I think our record was killing five flies with one swat.
Secondly, living on a dirt road meant that our house was always dusty.
I would dust in the morning and by the afternoon I could write my name (or Emily's) in the dust.
Here in Soytown 95% of the roads are paved, almost eliminating both flies and dust.
One of the hardest things about living in Rubbertown was the feeling of isolation. The town is located literally in the middle of nowhere. Why you would found a town over 3 hours away from any other town by dirt I will never understand. It's no wonder that only about a thousand people live there. Let's just say there isn't a lot to do in a town that big. We were definitely the oddity being the only foreigners. It was somewhat disconcerting being stared at every time we left the house. In Soytown we feel much more comfortable. The town is much nicer and has about 15 times the number of people that we don't stand out so much. Plus, there's enough other things to do that people don't take the time to ponder why in the world you would live there.
In Rubbertown we were the only people who spoke English but in Soytown, there are three other American couples. When living in a foreign country, having someone to make tacos with and talk about things in the States and talk with in your mother tongue makes a big difference. Plus, it's nice having "instant" friends who have similar interests.
Besides having more contact with our group and more language sessions here, there are so many things that make living here so much more peaceful -- having reliable internet and a landline phone system that works, having a pool in town to escape to on really hot weekends, places in town that accept credit cards so we don't have to carry so much cash, being able to travel to our town without worrying about breaking down on the dirt road in the middle of nowhere with no way to call anyone, having colleagues in town that try to help you succeed with your work, being able to go for a bike ride on asphalt rather than uneven dirt roads, having the option of eating at a restaurant, being able to get fresh vegetables at the market, etc, etc, etc. As a friend of mine said after moving to a new town, "my heart doesn't feel heavy all the time now." I agree!
Here it is! Our blog! We're both not big fans of writing, but for a New Years' Resolution I (Kelli) pledged to create a blog and update it once a week. Well, eight months later, here is my first entry! Hopefully this isn't an indication of how frequently we'll be writing in the future!
Many people have told me that I should keep a diary living overseas. I've had good intentions, but many times this hasn't gone beyond buying a pretty journal and feeling guilty that I haven't even opened it! I'm hoping I'll be more motivated with a blog.
Our hope is that this will replace our former website. Although we would like to write about our work in Brazil, we have many restrictions on what we can and can't say, so in essence this blog will be more about our personal lives rather than our work. We hope this gives our friends and families a chance to feel more connected to us by sharing pictures and subjects we don't have room in our newsletters to tell. We hope you enjoy it and we welcome your comments!
