It Makes Me Smile

Every mom knows that moment when they're in the middle of doing something at home and she notices that it's quiet in the house. Her heart stops because she knows that the quiet isn't good and for sure her child is up to no good.

I've been having those moments quite often, especially with the busyness of my days. When I realize that I don't hear Karis playing with a toy and she's not by my side, I think,"uh-oh" and I go looking for her. When I turn the corner to see what she's up to, to my delight, this is often what I see:

I love it and it makes me smile! She's been so into her books and loves to look at them. She finds lots of ways to keep herself busy. I feel bad that I haven't been able to spend as much time with her during the day. There are definitely times when she is needing attention, but there are also times when she's pretty content playing by herself. I'm thankful for that because it relieves some of the guilt I have for not giving her more undivided attetion!

Makena had surgery but is recovering nicely

Makena had been spitting up quite a bit. But, her big sister Karis used to spit up, too (In fact, she had trouble swallowing and would often begin choking and then vomit out the milk.) we didn't think much at first. Additionally, Lena was getting frustrated with Makena's inability to remain latched while feeding so she went to meet with a lactation consultant April 15th. We discovered that Makena had no problem latching, but rather she was purposely detaching because she was getting too much milk. In fact, she shot up from being 25th percentile weight after birth to 90th percentile at one month. The consultant gave her some tips on how to slow down the distribution of milk so that Makena wouldn't struggle as much. We hoped this would end the frequent spitting up episodes.

However, they continued into the next week. In fact, it turned into vomiting (without choking) non-stop nearly 24-hrs starting Tuesday evening (with the exception of two middle-of-the-night feedings). We called the doctor and he wanted to observe for a day thinking it could be the stomach flu. The symptoms seemed better for one night and then the vomiting returned. So Lena called back to the doctor and we were given a referral to see radiologist for an ultrasound on Friday. We wanted to rule out pyloric stenosis which is genetic and something I had as an infant. The surgery to fix it involves cutting the outside of the muscle that operates the flap from stomach into the small intestine. The flap remains closed ("stenosis") because the pylorus muscle is too thick/strong. (LINK to medical description.)

Friday afternoon's ultrasound was sent to radiologist and our doctor for review and consultation. We were admitted right then to ER for a second opinion. We waited around for about 3 hours for the doctor to show up to give us his opinion. Then, suddenly, we were advised that Makena was headed to pre-op even before the consult. Apparently, they were certain it was pyloric stenosis and wanted to operate immediately. It snuck up on us as we knew it was a possibility because I had it, but with the whole getting too much milk and likelihood of flu, it wasn't fully on our radar.

Here are some photos of her pylorus muscle before the incision, of the incision, and then after showing the membrane beneath. For frame of reference, the pylorus is about the size of your thumbnail (for small hands, the size of the last joint on thumb to tip of nail).






















All the while our babysitter for Karis needed to leave, but thankfully our wonderful roommate offered to watch Karis while we were at the "quick" doctor's appointment. Little did he know it would turn into "feed Karis dinner" and then even "give her nighttime bottle and put her down for bed." He did fantastic and he says Karis was fantastic and without fuss. (We're going to get notes from him and how to do all that without fuss by the way.)

I was pretty calm about the surgery as it is pretty successful nowadays. The surgeon performed same surgery on a couple from church a couple of months earlier. My scar from almost 40 years ago is about 7 inches long from the side of my belly button up towards my neck and comes complete with scars from staples and stitches as well as a scar in the shape of an 'x' on my ankle where they inserted the feeding tube. My niece had the same surgery 20 years ago and has a thin 1.5" horizontal scar beneath her rib cage. It's much cleaner and harder to see. Makena will have three very small scars (see last photo below). Anyhow, I was good after they whisked Makena into surgery until Lena said, "They're cutting open our baby!" When put that way, it hit home. The next 90 minutes were going to seem like days. They finished earlier than anticipated (45 minutes) and shared it was a success. Yay!

Lena and Makena were to stay at the hospital until Sunday. But since Makena was doing so well they released her Saturday night. Here are some photos of Makena post surgery.















































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rAnDoM piCtURes of kAriS

Earlier this week, we took the girls to Petsmart to see the animals. Afterwards we went to Jerry's Dogs and Coffee Bean. It was a fun spur-of-the-moment family outing. Here is a picture of Karis enjoying a product from Coffee Bean for the first time. I gave her her own cup and spoon but she hijacked mine and worked from both of them.

We bought Karis her own sofa/futon. Secretly it was in hopes that she would stay off of our couch which she loves to jump all over (we're just waiting for a bad tumble off the couch one of these days). It didn't work but we like how she enjoys her pint-sized furniture.

Karis always keeps us laughing whether it be because of a facial expression or something she does. Here are a few examples:

The other day while I was making Karis her dinner, I gave her a raw carrot to keep her occupied. I then went upstairs. When I returned, I found her walking in my shoes with a carrot in hand. She looked like a clown!

I put Karis down for a nap today even though she told me she wasn't tired. She fell asleep in a squatting position. After I snapped the picture, she fell forward onto her face, let out a soft whimper, and then continued to sleep for 2 1/2 hours.

The other day my friend dropped off her baby while she went to an appointment. It was fun watching the two of them play together. Here is what they enjoyed doing the most.

Resemblance

Can you tell which one is Karis and which one is Makena?

You probably can tell. We have just been amazed as we look back at old pictures of Karis. When Makena was born, we didn't think she looked like Karis at all. As Makena has put on some more weight, they are starting to look very much alike!

Sisters

I would like to say that this photo represents how my girls are when they are together:

But in reality... it's more like this:

Makena doesn't cry often, but when her sister is around, that all changes. We're still trying to show Karis how to be gentle and teach her that hitting her sister is not okay.

The first few days we brought Makena home, Karis showed very little interest in her. After a few days, she was more curious and aware of her presence. Now Karis loves to run into Makena's room to see her. The first thing she'll do is squeal in delight then kiss her on the head. She'll then pat her head a couple times and before you know it she'll give a big 'ole smack on the head. Karis also likes to point/jab at parts of her face and most recently, she likes to hold her on her lap.

When I nurse Makena, Karis stays close by and hardly ever leaves the room. As much as I try to protect Makena, she often gets a beating while nursing. Juggling two young ones every day keeps me busy, but it has been surprisingly easier (not easy) than I anticipated. I'll have to share those thoughts in a later post.

Karis at 15 Months

Aside from becoming a big sister, Karis has been quite busy these days. She is non-stop all day long. She loves to be outside, either in her stroller where she watches for birds and airplanes, or exploring on her own. She loves the playground where she goes down the slide by herself, plays in the sand, and follows other kids around.

Inside, she likes to climb on furniture, read books, and learn new songs. She is learning her body parts with the song "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes."

She continues to enjoy meeting new people either at the house or out in public. She is fearless when it comes to people and being in new surroundings. Everything is an exciting opportunity!

She has been testing her limits and gets so frustrated when she doesn't get her way.

She has dropped her morning naps and is now only taking one nap per day.

Here are a few other things she's been doing lately:

She's been pretty good about playing by herself. One thing she does is carry around and play with her stuffed animals. She also takes her stuffed dogs for walks around the house.

Flip books are her favorite books to read.

She likes to put on big people shoes.

She also tries to dress herself and put on her own socks and shoes.

She now enjoys taking showers more than baths.

She has become pretty good with using a fork and spoon to feed herself.

And lastly, she loves to play with Sierra. She likes getting her face licked and going outside to give the dog her tennis ball. Unfortunately, she also likes to play in the dog's large water bowl.

I am loving this stage that Karis is in. I love how she understands more and more things each day. Just today, I put Makena in the car. Karis was upstairs so I stepped in the house and called for Karis to come down. I continued to pack the car and out comes Karis with a shoe in each hand, ready to go "bye-bye."

I thought I would be sad to see her grow up and no longer be a baby, but surprisingly I can't wait for to become a little girl!

The Day Makena Was Born

Some information about the day up on our room board. We checked in at 7 am and things got started at about 8 am. Our goal was to have the baby by 1 pm!

Experiencing some contractions and waiting for the intensity to increase.

In the meantime, Derek was updating our friends and family. He and Julie were also looking up some new baby names to consider.

At 2 pm, Makena Grace was born (though we didn't decide on her name until two days later)!

She was healthy, weighed 7 lbs 2 oz, and measured 19 1/2 inches long.

Makena Grace is born!

(I'm back-dating this to Tuesday, so forgive me if I mess up the verb tenses).

Makena Grace Robinson was born Tuesday, March 16 at 2:00 PM. She weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.

Lena was again quick to dilate... not as quick as last time. But she did jump from 7 to 10 cm just as fast as she was from 6 cm to 7 cm. Although we warned everyone and the doctor knew it, too, we (Lena) still caught them off-guard.

Julie and I were focused on the machine showing contractions and heartbeats. Lena or the baby would shift every so often, and we'd have to readjust the band that measures the contractions. At the end, Lena thought baby was shifting again... the baby had, but she was primed and ready to come out. [FLASHBACK: With Karis, I could she part of her head when they checked her. It was about the size of a quarter and they advised Lena not to do a practice push. We had to wait on the doctor to arrive. Upon doc's arrival, Lena pushed 4 times in about 12 minutes for Karis to emerge. ] Once again, Lena had arrived at 10 cm. They again enforced the "no push" rule. They called her doctor so she could rush from office to hospital. She apparently rushed a little too much and was pulled over for speeding (20 MPH over posted limit). When she explained her patient was at 10 cm and waiting, the officer advised she wasn't going to be able to assist if she were in an accident from speeding but left her off without a ticket.

Doctor arrives and is prepping at the foot of the bed. Don't know who said something to make Lena laugh (probably her hilarious husband), but she started laughing. The crowning that began even more than the quarter size of Karis, began to grow more. With each laugh, the baby was coming out. We had to add a "no laughing" rule until doc was ready. When she got the green light to push, Makena joined us on the first push. Lena almost literally birthed her from laughing. Reminded us of Abraham's wife Sarah in the Bible who was laughing as she didn't think she could be pregnant at 90 yrs old. They named baby Isaac which meant laughter. But we couldn't find a female equivalent that we liked.

Upon further baby name research, one of the top three names ("Makenna") had a variation in spelling that had a meaning we liked. Makena means "happy one" in Kikuyu (a tribe of Kenya). We were sold on it but cautiously took our time to make sure it fit. We can both attest that there is more pressure when you go into the hospital without a finalized name. I still like that we didn't go in with one name picked and that we were open to a selected few, but it was harder than I thought to narrow down. We even opened search up again.

I could tell a difference in the baby being born earlier in day. It seemed much easier on us both. Karis was born at 10:30 PM or so. It seemed like the doctors and nurses kept us up later with tests and such.

Sadly, Karis wasn't allowed into the hospital to visit her little sister. We didn't get the memo that no one under 16 was allowed up because of the flu scare. My mom and c0-worker Yukie worked really hard to get to the hospital so we could get a family photo at the hospital. But Grandma and Yukie both got to meet the unnamed baby at that point in time.

Thankfully, Lena was experiencing no pain afterwards all around. She did incur some sore plumbing apparatus as a result of a baby that sucks hard. We do need to take Makena to the pediatrician before the weekend as she's lost more than the acceptable amount of weight (7% vs the allowed 5-6%) and is showing signs of being jaundiced. She has still been spitting up fluids that had surrounded her and she ingested because perhaps she didn't have it forced out with many labor pushes. Prayers for healthy and quickly recovering mom and baby are appreciated.

We've posted photos and videos on Facebook (you don't need account to see them). Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=55148&id=1483001948&l=837f3e92cb. We'll likely continue to add photos there, so bookmark it if you'd like.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for your continued prayers. We have a lot of learning and adjusting to do. We're very grateful that Grandma is here to help for another week.

For the record...

In 7 hours we'll be checking into the hospital to induce our second daughter's birth. I am not nervous one bit. I'm excited. I'm excited Lena will once again get to eat whatever she wants at will. I'm excited to see how great of a big sister Karis will be. I'm excited for changing teeny tiny diapers on a child that won't arch her back, kick her legs, or otherwise resist. =)

Now, also for the record, I will be nervous as heck the first day I am watching both girls by myself.

A name and plenty of photos will be forthcoming....

Pleasant surprises tonight

(Derek typing... finally)

Friends and family, thanks for visiting our blog to try and keep up with what is happening in our world. I'd much prefer to catch up over coffee (or boba tea), but sometimes we just have to do what works. I've been awful at posting entries, but am quite thankful Lena is consistent.

The other day Karis was being quiet while Lena and I were in the kitchen. I stepped out to see what she was doing, and saw her sitting next to the book shelf on the floor with a box of facial tissue. The tissues were supposed to be out of her reach.... I instantly shouted, "Karis, no!" and ran in to sweep her away. Afterall, she could have been victim to multiple paper cuts (I hear that there are microscopic paper particles in facial tissues) or possible suffocation as that pile of tissues removed the box was nearly as tall as Karis sitting down. Okay, okay, I wasn't concerned for Karis' safety. It was my gut instinct in stopping her from doing something wrong.

After about an hour of feeling distanced from both Lena and Karis, Lena made an astute comment about Karis not knowing it was wrong to remove the tissues from the box. So I pulled my daughter in close, looked her in the eyes, and then asked for forgiveness. I'm seeing that ugly side of me that catastrophizes. Upon first seeing Karis next to the pile of tissues, why couldn't I have turned back into the kitchen to laugh and invite Lena to witness? I am imperfect. Hoping I can work on that negative reaction quite a bit and soon. I can get better and I love that God is using my wife to be the voice to help me recognize and improve.

On a high note, Lena is away at a retreat. No, that isn't the high note. But my time today with Karis was fabulous. As I was talking with my sister on the phone tonight, Karis picked up one of her favorite books (yes, it's about dogs) that I often read to her. She made a long, drawn out noise while holding the book. I was wondering what she was doing when it dawned on me.... She had open the page where 9 dogs were sitting in the dark looking up at the moon while one howls "AAAAA-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO." (She likes it when I do the howling when I read it.) Then I realized she was howling! I am never cease to be amazed at what she is learning. She doesn't talk much outside of "momma" and "dadda" other than grunts. So I was quite impressed that she knew what page she was on in the book and that she made such a great howling sound.

Then as she was finishing her nighttime bottle and I was holding her across my lap in my arms, I told her it was time to say night night prayers. She immediately put her hands together as if to pray. She'll do that sometimes at dinner after she sees us do it but typically loses interest and stops shortly thereafter. She kept her hands together tonight, so I kept praying. =)

Digging this stage where she is better able to express herself.

Hope to post pictures of Karis' little sister very soon.