Reflections from an early rising, chatty, growing Bean

The Bean had us up early today -- 3ish, 4ish, and at the 5ish hour with her screaming so the neighbors down the street could hear, I determined it was time to bring her upstairs.  Since coming upstairs and getting all dolled up for a morning of mirror gazing and pacie obsessing -- she's been a very happy Bean.  She's chatting it up, sucking on her hand, gazing at the morning news on TV, and reaching out for her Winnie The Pooh.  Despite Andi chatting it up, I tried to lay down and go back to sleep.  As I laid on the couch, my mind flashed back to our time up at Doernbecher's and all the people that helped get us here.  Four months of people that filled our days and nights, most of which made a lasting impression on us.  Well, the Bean probably doesn't remember them, but they definitely made a difference.  Andi has yet to complete her second wave of thank you cards, ...lazy lil' Bean, ya know?  But, our hope is to send proper thank you's around to the various groups in the hospital, with an update on how our lil' Bean is doing.  Given the scale of all the good that place has done for us, a simple 'thank you' card seems silly.  But in our four months there, the nurses, med students, and even the Doc's said that they see the kids when they're sick, but rarely get to see them when they're healthy and doing well.  I think the reward in what they do is probably seeing how much they help make a difference, and seeing a kid doing well.  I'd like them to see how much better our teething, chatty butter bean is doing today.

Next week should be interesting.  We have a check-up with our pediatrician, we meet with a feeding specialist, get our first hearing-aid mold, and have an inital meet & greet with an occupational therapist we will be working with as well.  Also, the hope of help is looking more promising as I have two people we're meeting with to possibly help us with the Bean.  I don't know how that is going to work, as one works and one goes to school, but least it's something!  I noticed yesterday that I've been walking around with four fingernails painted one-layer of red polish, with the remaining digits plain jane.  It's now day three of the partial manicure, and I have no idea when I'll get those remaining fingers done.  What's most odd about this scenario is how little I seem to care about it.

The Bean has since fallen asleep, and I'm wide awake thanks to my best friend these past few months, super strong coffee. Oh well, it's Friday and that means, after watching the Blazer game tonight, the Bean and I will likely make it an early night. Oh, I also just realized that I've failed to mention that the time has come for me to finally remove the 'newborn sleeper' from the Bean's pack-in-play - which is her downstairs bed.  She's grown too long and too big for it.  This is a huge milestone in my mind, as she used to be a tiny speck in her sleeper -- her head too small for the head-stabilizing pillow.  Yes, this is a big deal.  Here's a crackberry photo of the pack n' play after I assembled it.  The 'newborn sleeper' is the item on the right. All we need to say to that is, 'see ya later, sucka!'  ;0)

Giggle Bean

Here's a snippet of Bean video.

Beached

Why is it when you take a vacation, you often come back feeling even more tired than before you left?  Well, we stole away for a night at the beach. Saturday's weather stunk - with torrential rain blowing sideways as we got out to go to dinner, but Sunday's weather, wowza!

We went to our favorite place in Cannon Beach.  Our room was amazing, and our crab dinner was perfection.  However, we determined that next time, we're not going to go for just one night.  It's just too tiresome.

Andi never really saw the ocean, but she got to experience the wind, the mist, the road trip, although she slept through a lot of it, including our traditional breakfast at Camp 18.  It was incredible to travel with her though.  We don't really motor around town a lot yet, mainly because it's a lot of work.  When she was fussy somewhere, I simply walked her out of the room.  It worked, although it was a bit stressful.  We discussed starting to travel more, as we're itching to go new places and try out different things.  I'd like to get Andi used to traveling now, so that when we try to take her to restaurants as she grows, it's not a foreign concept to her and she knows how to behave. 

She did enjoy the view from the bed.

Here's Andi on Sunday, enjoying some sleepy time before we hit the road to come back to town.

Andi Bean, Madder Bean and the yellow dog outfit

sunshine & dry skin

I don't have much left to offer at this hour, but believe that Andi has crown cap and maybe a little eczema.  Both are harmless, and I believe to be the result of all the med's, especially the diuretics.  I massaged some olive oil onto her scalp and massaged it with a brush for 15 minutes and then shampooed it really well.  Seems a bit better.  Will do that a couple times a week I guess.  Her Dr., whom not only is on speed dial, but we're email buddies now... said to get a certain type of lotion, so we might have to venture out to the store at some point in the next day or two.  Today would've been the perfect day, as it was simply gorgeous, but, we never made it out.  Sadly, the walk probably would've done us both good.

Election Day Rash

It's election day.  All I really need to say about it is HALLELUJAH - all the smarmy TV ad's,  junk mail, and phone calls will finally cease!  Oh HAPPY Day!!!  I think I'm one of the few that feels it doesn't matter who gets elected, schtuff still ain't gonna get done because they've all forgotten life lessons learned in kindergarten class.  Politics give me a rash.  Democrat's, Republicans, Tea Baggers...whatever.  You all suck.  Therefore, I vote for Montgomery Brewster and the "None Of The Above" campaign.  (Brewster's Millions, 1985)

Andi Bean and I felt the need to get out of the house today.  So I took her to the office to see the guys.  The Bean was very good and we had fun getting out in the sunshine.  It was a beautiful day -- the fall colors are in their full glory.  The drive made me realize that it's really fall.  I have very little concept of the date, being my summer was spent at the hospital. It's bewildering to realize it's November, truly bizarre.

I'm excited about taking the cameras, Madder and the Bean to the beach.  I hope the weather holds, so we can get some great shots and show the Bean what I've been talking about for the past several months.  While enduring her first four months in the hospital, I tried to encourage her with promises of a trip to the beach.  I tried to explain the smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves crashing at the shore, the warm and soft sand under your feet, and the dreamy crab dinner we usually enjoy.  Yeah, pretty silly, but perhaps it was done to soothe my nerves more so.  I'm looking forward to it, and I'm sure Maddux is equally as excited...he just doesn't know it yet.

Well, my rash is in full bloom with all this news coverage of the election results.  Time for something much more liberating... the Blazer game and some Bean time.

drooling

The Bean got a great night sleep, starting around 8 p.m, however, I did not. We got up at 2:15, 3:20, 4:15, 5:05 and she'd declared herself done at 5:20, which means - time to get up and start eyeing herself in the mirror with her pacie.  So simple, and yet she finds it so rewarding.  She went back to sleep around 8:30, but then *insert mini violin* the phone rings, text msg's & emails ding... no rest for me.  Dragging indeed.

I'm thinking that teething discomfort has started. The Bean has been unpredictably fussy.  She sucking on her fist.  She drooling a bit.  But mainly, I've found that when I give her a cold pacie, she calms right down. 

The regional hearing specialists called today and they're pulling us back to them (instead of OHSU/Doernbecher's) for our hearing aid fitting, as they do all the follow-up hearing related therapy.  So, we now have an appt. in two weeks to see them.  They will take a sort-of playdough mold of her ear, and send that off to some place back east that will create the ear-piece portion of Andi's hearing aid.  This is the piece that will have to get a new mold every other month or so, as her ears grow.  They said they have loaner hearing aids too, so, I will only have to pay about $38. for this, at this juncture anyway. Yippie!

I think this will be the weekend we're finally getting out of town and heading to the beach. I'm sure the weather will be less than ideal, but, at least it will be a change of scenery. It's will be a great first road trip for the Bean, and exposing her to our beach trip tradition we started many, many years ago. Should be interesting, exhausting, and freeing.  I think we're all drooling.