Just a Short Update

Kira is doing well. She has been mostly pain free for two days.

We did have to take her to get her hair cut today because it was so badly tangled from our stay in the hospital. She now has a very short pixie cut. Think Tink - Tinkerbell, that is - and you'll have a really good idea of what her hair looks like now. Yes, I cried and cried. I have invested a great deal of time and energy into her long and healthy hair. It was gone in less than ten minutes.

Grandma Janet took us to dinner tonight and Kira really enjoyed being out of the house.

We also went to Wal-Mart and, much to my amazement, Kira spent an hour wheeling herself around the store. She quickly learned how to maneuver herself to turn in a specific direction and back up when necessary. She refused to let me push her even when she was getting tired.

She is apparantly much stronger than I am because she's adjusting to this new life much easier than I have.

Kira's Big Day

Here is Kira with her doctor before the surgery.




Here's Kira taking her silly juice. She did not like the taste of that stuff.



Here's silly Kira - the walrus. We had to take about 30 pictures of walrus Kira because she kept insisting on more pictures.



Here's Kira post-op. If you've never been there - this is VERY hard to see when it is your little one. Honestly, though, I was so happy to see her that I barely noticed her appearance.



Kira and her new attachment...still during the recovery time. They were just about to move her from the recovery bed into the hospital room bed. She screamed and screamed when they moved her. Very heartbreaking.




I can't really add more to the pictures with narration so I'm going to leave you with these images. I also want to say that Kira is doing remarkably well. She loves to play and paint. Her only frustration is her inability to get up and move on her own.

Fire Safety

Did you know that young children rarely know what to do in the event of a fire? Children often hide in closets or under their beds to get away from a house fire. This, of course, can turn into a terrible tragedy if an adult is unable to get to the child.

It is important to discuss fire safety early and often in order to make sure your child is well prepared if there is ever a fire in your home or in any home where they may be sleeping over.
I recently learned that Allstate has a fire safety video available. My trip to the fire department produced this video, and I have to say I'm impressed with how good the video is. Kira loves singing the "Fire Safety" song and talking about what she would do if there was a fire. This video has opened up a new avenue of conversations that will help her if the need arises.

I highly recommend that you get a copy of this video. It is geared to children of all ages. Even I love watching the show and listening to the music. There are many top name celebrities that took place in the making of the video. The smoke detector even looks like the person who is voicing those lines.

Contact your local Allstate agency to see if they can send you this video. It is well worth your time.

Now, I have to give you a few tips to go along with my praise of the video.

1) Teach your children not to hide. Tell them to go outside as quickly as possible. Be sure to point out the escape routes available to them.

2) Teach them to crawl on the floor to avoid smoke inhalation. Explain that smoke rises up and the floor is the best place to be if they are unable to see through the smoke. It is also a good idea to practice crawling through your escape routes so your children can learn to recognize key landmarks from the lower views.

3) Teach them to never play with matches or lighters. I also recommend testing them. Leave a lighter out when you are nearby and see how they react. You can't be sure how your child will react in a situation unless you test them.

4) Let them hear what the smoke detectors sound like so they will know. If they don't know the sound of the machine then they won't know what to do when they hear it.

5) Mark your child's window so fire fighters will know what room they sleep in. I got stickers from the fire department to put on the windows. The firemen did tell me that it was very important to move the sticker if the child changes rooms. That way they won't waste time going into an empty room to save a child that isn't there. You can also get a "save my pets" sticker to let the firemen know there are animals in the house. Yes, they will try there best to save animals, too.

6) Determine a meeting place and practice an escape to make sure everybody knows where to meet. Discuss ahead of time who will be responsible for getting small children. It can be quite chaotic if you have not made a decision about which parent will go after which child.

(This is where I tell you that there is NO WAY I am leaving my house without trying to get to my babies. I don't care that the firemen may be able to locate them. I am not going to leave my house and wait for somebody else to get here and go in after my babies. My older children can get out. My little ones, can not get out of the house on their own. Randall and I have clearly discussed how to handle the situation so one of us goes out to be under their bedroom window and one goes to their bedroom to get them. )

7) If you have 2nd story floors or higher, I highly recommend that you purchase and install escape ladders in those upstairs bedrooms. They are pricey, but could possibly save the life of your child by providing a safe exit through an upstairs window.

Kira

We're home and well. Kira is doing well with her new adjustments. She is mostly pain free now.

I'll give you all the information with pictures tomorrow. Right now, we are all very tired.

Thank you for all your prayers.

Just So You Know...

Those of you who entered my give away a while back....

Your prizes are now officially in the mail. I actually managed to get them to the post office today.

Yes, I know I emailed each of you and told you that I would mail them on Tuesday. However, I am the world's worst procrastinator. I always seem to have such a hard time getting anything done.

Today, I managed to get to the post office five minutes before they closed. Yep - I showed up at the door with an arm load of packages just FIVE short minutes before they were able to lock me out. He he... Poor postal workers had to deal with me and my mess.

Did you know that sending a package out of the country requires a customs form? Guess who did not realize this? Luckily, the form only takes a minute or so to complete.

I hope you all enjoy your treats.

I Love You!

Today's post is dedicated solely to honoring my husband.

I just want to tell you that I love you.

To my readers, I would like to say that loving the father (or mother) of your children is one of the most important things you can do to ensure they grow up in a healthy environment. Make sure your children know that you love that other parent with all your heart. Your children should see affection and hear terms of endearment. This teaches them how to maintain a relationship.

Now, if you happen to be divorced - as I am from Gibson's father - then loving the other parent may not be a valid option. In instances such as this, being nice to the other parent and avoiding parenting competitions is the best thing you can do to help your children deal with a difficult situation. You should never talk negatively about that other parent in front of your child. It only breeds resentment. This is where being the bigger person comes in to play. If that other parent fails to understand the damage that can be caused by such negative comments, you should avoid responding to these situations. Instead, have a standard phrase at the ready for those times when your children tell you what is being said by the other party. "Is that so?" can be a valuable addition to your verbal skills. It leaves the conversation open for the child to vent without pointing fingers. It is never easy to control your own emotions, but the rewards are far greater than the immediate gratification of "telling it how it really is."

I hope you have a wonderful day today. Go tell your partner just how much you love them. Be sure to let your kids overhear your conversation.

Labor - What Mom's Do

I was over visiting THAT family and noticed that Kristen has an interesting post up today. I feel a little crazy today, so without being pressured from a certain Pet that I know I decided to play along and give you a bit of personal information all about me. So, in honor of Labor Day I'm stealing the post from Kristen and making it my own. Of course, she took it from somebody else...so maybe she won't mind.

How long were you in labor?

#1 - 40 + hours. Yes, you read that right. It was not a joke. I went into labor with Gibson on Friday evening and he was born on Sunday evening nearly 48 hours AFTER labor began. It was NOT fun. I could not hold him when he was born because I was so weak. The labor was all in my back. I ran a fever during the last 12 hours. Gibson stalled in the birth canal and required assistance via the vacuum machine.

#2 - Scheduled C-Section. Can you guess why? However, I was beginning to have contractions when I went in for the C-Section.

#3 - Scheduled C-Section. The C-Sections were so much easier for me than natural birth.

How did you know you were in labor?

The pain in my back was very regular and increasingly uncomfortable. I called my doctor around 9:00 PM and he said to wait and come see him in the morning. I did - and in the morning I was dilated to a whole ONE centimeter after a very uncomfortable night. Then I called my doctor every hour for the rest of the day and into the night because the pain was getting worse.

Well, about 3:00 AM I woke up groaning. My then husband told me to call the doctor and tell him we were going to the hospital regardless of what the doctor had to say about it.

So - while I called the doctor - he went and took a shower. Yes, my dear friends, he left me to call my doctor all on my own when I could barely breath much less talk. Can you begin to guess why he is my "then" husband and not my "now" husband?

The doctor did confirm that it was time for me to go to the hospital. So off we went. I checked into the hospital at 5:00 AM. Gibson was born at 5:39 PM. He was stubborn about the whole thing. Come to think of it - he's STILL just as stubborn as the day he was born.


Where did you deliver?

Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, GA. All three of my babies were born there.

Drugs?

OH YES!!!

C-Section?

Yes. The two girls were delivered via C-Section. My blood pressure was high during my pregnancy with Kira. My doctor was concerned about me going through labor again, especially considering that Kira was a bit bigger than Gibson. I was stunned when he suggested a scheduled C-Section. It was the last thing I had expected to hear him say. However, after a few hours of consideration and a ton of reading, I decided that it was a much preferable method than the previous delivery. I was right, by the way. I was actually able to hold Kira within an hour of her birth. I was also back on my feet much quicker.

Marisa was a repeat C-Section. I told them at the first visit that I wanted to go that route. The doctor, of course, agreed.

Who delivered?

#1 - Gibson was ultimately delivered by Dr. Kelley, who just happened to be the on call doctor that evening. However, if he hadn't been so stubborn about it all he would've been delivered by Dr. Sutherland who was my preferred doctor.

#2 - Kira was delivered by Dr. Sutherland.

#3 - Marisa was also delivered by Dr. Sutherland. However, they threatened to take her 3 days earlier than scheduled because of my blood pressure. Had they done that, she would've been delivered by a different doctor that I didn't really care much for. Luckily, the hospital agreed to let me go home as long as I promised to stay in bed for the next 3 days. Randall was relentless about that, so I did actually get stuck in the bed for 3 whole days.


NOTE: For those of you wondering about that 4th child listed on my profile, I didn't give birth to her. She showed up on my doorstep about 3 years ago. She's technically my niece, but definitely my own child in all the ways that any adopted child could be.