Ah, the joys of motherhood...

Determinded to be productive during this 3-day weekend, I woke up, took the baby with me downstairs, fed her, and then left her with a pile 'o toys while I began cleaning the kitchen.

Fast forward to 12:30.  Still not showered, and wanting to hit up the park with Ryan and Cameran, we trekked upstairs to take baths.  I thought it would be a wonderful idea to get Cami interested in her bath toys if I hopped in with her before taking my own shower.  All was well until the end (and might I preface by adding that overall this was her longest and otherwise most successful bath) when she began wailing.  I called Ryan to come and take her, which he did.  As I drained the tub I began reminiscing of my own days playing in the bathtub.  I would pretend I was Cinderella, and would wash the walls with my rags washcloth.  I am thinking that my mother encouraged this because it helped her clean the tub and not because she was proud of my imagination.  In any case, I was scooping up Cameran's bathtoys--cute little crocodiles and fish and sea horses and poop.  What?!?  What was that?  Did I just write the word poop?? Yes.  Yes I did.  Unbeknownst to me my darling little one decided to drop her kids off at the public pool.  Too bad I was in it.

Thanks Cameran.  You're the best.

:) Happy Memorial Weekend.

She's famous!

Cameran is a local (albeit anonymous) celebrity!  We took a tour of a newly opened special needs therapy facility a few weeks ago and the leader of our local Down syndrome organization asked if Cameran and another little boy would be able to pose for a picture to be used in a new member pamphlet.  I said sure, why not?

Apparently the photo-op made its way to the Daily Record because low and behold on page 9D is Cameran's picture.  The caption reads "Pictured center are two Leg Up Farm visitors having a rest."

So stinking cute. I can't wait to see the color version!

Here is also a Daddy/Daughter picture that makes my heart melt.  I love my two favorite people.

Bathtime and Books

Bathtime is always a rush job since the seemingly wonderful baby tub with temperature gauge and cushy foam back padding that does not actually turn into a toddler tub has gone downhill fast.  The temperature gauge fell off.  The foam padding floated away, leaving behind Johnson's oil-coated balls of yucky adhesive glue that apparently wasn't all that adhesive.  Feeling thrifty, I laboriously smushed and scraped all the gluey gunk off and the tub became usable once more.  Not so comfortable though, and Cami would slink from one side to the other, not necessarily crying, but clearly not enjoying the bathing experience as fully as she should.


Fast forward to the past two weeks.  Cameran is now almost 14 months old.  Since being on Topamax to help with her seizures her activity level has definitely increased.  She's more alert, she smiles more, plays with toys now, AND.................................. She is finally sitting up on her own! 


Not only that, but she has actually become quite the multi-tasker!  Before you could tell she had to fully concentrate on just sitting and it wasn't pretty, but now she can sit, babble, pat her head and chew gum, AND hold a toy all at the same time.  Okay, so not the gum part, but the rest is all good...


So this morning before church I decided to bust out the bath toys, filled the big people tub with an inch or two of water and bubbles, said a prayer she didn't have a seizure that would drop her into the water and drown her or get in her ears (tubes), and plopped her in.  She liked it! So much easier and I am sure she is twice as clean now that she stays in for more than our old minute dash baby bath!


Pictures to come. 


Oh, and now that she is sitting and playing with toys, did I mention that I actually read not one but TWO books in one week???  A.maz.ing.  I haven't gotten to do that in forever!  I love chic lit.  Finished Kristin Hannah's older On Mystic Lake first and just finished Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin.  Awesome. 

Apparently because I took a three hour nap at my parents' house I will be up for a while tonight so I am off to start Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. 

Finally...

...a bit of good news!  We got rid of the opthamologist for 6 months! Woo hoo! I will take what we can get!  I told the opthamologist all about the seizure diagnosis, tubes in her ears, and basically admitted to not putting on her glasses for the better part of a month.  At any rate, her eyes have indeed stopped crossing, other than an occasional fluttering inward of her right eye!  We are going to wear the glasses occasionally for the next 6 months and go from there, but for now...NO MORE EYE DOCTOR!!

Mother's Day Magic

Today is my second Mother's Day.  It seems hard to believe that my little Peanut is almost 14 months old.  Times does truly fly. 

I woke up this morning, gave Cameran her medicine and breakfast food, since for some reason it is a "Mommy thing" and ever since Cameran massively hurled all over Ryan while I was away at the movies Daddy has changed his duty to bottles only. 

Then I went back to sleep.  At first I couldn't fall asleep.  I could hear Cameran's coos and goos along with the gibberish Daddy-talk that Ryan does when he thinks I am not listening.  Soon, I fell asleep. And it was splendid until waking up realizing it was already 9:30 and we leave for church at 10:15! 

As I opened the bedroom door I almost stumbled over my gift bag.  I joined Ryan and Cami downstairs and opened the bag to find a beautiful glass necklace and a Willow Tree angel. 

Then we were off!  --To get ready anyway.

Fast forward to after church. 

Target was my only request for the day.  I wanted to relax.  So we shopped, came home, and then something magical happened.  Something far better that glass necklaces and Willow Tree angels.

Cameran sat up....AND STAYED UP!  Had I known she wasn't going to immediately topple over as usual I would've timed her, but I swear it was 15-20 minutes if not longer. 

It. Was. Amazing. 

Not only did she sit up, but she used her hands to balance AND she played with the toys that were placed in front of her all while jabbering away with a puddle of drool sliming her face.  She is turning out to be quite the multi-tasker!

It has taken having Cameran to appreciate the little things in life.  And even though this is a small thing, it is a HUGE deal when you have a child with special needs.  I once read somewhere that we celebrate not milestones, but inchstones.  How true that is...

Someday, with a lot of prayer, love, and patience, the inches will become feet, the feet will become yards, and soon we will be running the mile. 

I am a going to do my best to celebrate each inch along the way.

Happy Mother's Day!

ABC, 123, EEG

Yesterday was Cameran's second EEG.  She is such a little trooper.  I wish I had taken a picture of her with all of  her spork-like electrical wires taped and glued to her tiny little head.  She fell asleep almost instantly, and for 20 minutes Ryan and I sat and waited while the EEG tech did her thing.  Flashforward to the appointment a few hours later. 

WOO HOO!!!

Her EEG showed improvement!  This time around there was no seizure activity during the EEG, however, it still showed abnormal brain activity.  Soooooooo, Cameran is now slowly increasing her amount of Topamax to double what she is currently taking.  Hopefully by the time she has her MRI she will be seizure free.  If not, we are opting to take the aggressive approach of ACTH steroid therapy.

Day by day.  We will get through this.  Cameran is one tough cookie.  Go away seizure.  Don't come back!