Friday, February 22, 2008

Eating, here we come!!

So, Faith passed her swallow study with flying colours. First we sat her in a nice red chair and buckled her in, then she had a facecloth draped over her sleeper. I suggested that it was a lobster bib and she was waiting for the meat!!

I was wearing the nice big lead jacket and fed Faith tinted iodine from a spoon. It has been sweetened so the babies will be ok with swallowing it...I have to sing a song to get her to open her mouth so I started singing "num num num num num num....num num num num num num..." (to the blues clues doodle doodle doodle song...) then I would turn my head and say "ok" and pop the spoon in her mouth.

They would only turn the machine on when I said I was putting it in her mouth, to reduce the amount of radiation. Pete was behind the glass watching on the computer screen and said it was so cool...they could see the dye go in her mouth and then down her throat. One time she spit it out and he could see it run down her chin...it was apparently really neat. So, yeah, that is how the appointment went.

Now we get to start giving her formula on a spoon instead of water and we are trying to encourage the bottle as well. Once she can take more by mouth then we get to ease up on the tube feeds...eventually not needing to use them at all...it is going to be quite a long process, so we are happy to be able to comfortably start it now.

While we were at the hospital, they asked if we had an appointment for today (Friday) we said yes, that we would be driving back again. They asked if we wanted them to do that appointment at the same time and save us that trip, and of course we said yes, why not.

So off we went to the children's section of the hospital and were brought into the therapy room. This appointment was to determine the amount of injury that she received to her brachial plexis...and what our options would be after the assessment.

So, in we went and Faith basically got to play on the floor with some toys and they watched how she moved her arms and legs. By the end of the appointment, they said that they were very happy with how fluidly she is moving, but the left arm is much weaker then the right. There must be some scar tissue on the muscle/nerves that is inhibiting the use of that arm as much. Faith has always had a preference for the right side of her body...sucking her right hand, rolling to the left (using her right arm and leg to get the momentum to roll over, etc...).

So, we have been given a number of exercises to do with her arm, and also are encouraged to restrain her right arm frequently throughout the day, so she is forced to use her left arm instead. Hopefully with these exercises we will be able to see an improvement by April. If there is no improvement then she will likely need surgery to remove the scar tissue. So, we are going to work like crazy, since we really don't want to have to go that route. They like to do that surgery before the baby is 6 months old, so it would be within the next 2 months or so...

Enough of that now...I have a question to anyone out there who knows about e-businesses...and how they work. There is a product that I absolutely love and would love to become a retailer for them in Canada, and also to find some other products to sell...basically like a store. I am not sure how to go about doing all that and if there are any other products that I could find that are sold like that...my mind has been trying to come up with a way to make some money, and aside from getting a job...which I have seriously been thinking about, I would love to do something from home and I really think that something like this could possibly work...I just need to figure out how to do it...so, if anyone has any experience, or advice, I would seriously appreciate it...

Thanks, and have a great day everyone!!

3 comments:

  1. Good news! Faith is doing SO WELL! I'm glad. I think of you all so often - especially because Faith was due around the same time the baby I lost was. You and your family have been in my heart and on my mind a lot.

    As for e-business, I've had some success selling sock monkeys through my Etsy shop. Actually, I have to get busy this weekend because my shop is getting empty! My mom is really the talent behind the whole thing, but it has a been a join venture that's paying in cash. Not a ton of money, but every little bit helps. Etsy is a great place to sell handmade things of all kinds. You could check it out and see if inspiration hits you! I know you're creative.

    Also, why not apply for BlogHer ads? You already blog. They pay based on hits. It may not generate an enormous income, but a monthly check, even of just $25 can make a difference. Their program is really great. Here's the link:

    http://www.blogherads.com/

    Good luck with your e-business!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yay Faith!

    Wow, I tell you Faith has been an incredible encouragement and inspiration to me in my faith and she is only like 4 months old?!!
    I tell people your story all the time and I get excited every time I tell it. God Bless!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow isn't God good, I'm glad to read of the progress Faith is making :-)

    ReplyDelete