Josie is 4 months old today!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Go Ceiling Fan! Go!

Josie's latest obsession:

Go Ceiling Fan!  Go!

A little to the left...

Atta boy!  Nice work!

Wow!

Aunt Leanne's email to Josie

Aunt Leanne

Aunt Leanne is known for her hysterical emails.  Hallmarks of Leanne's emails include overuse of the "Enter" key resulting in the column format, confusion of recipient and sender, and a consistent and descriptive mention of food.  Food terms are almost never misspelled because Leanne transcribes recipe books for fun. Food is serious business in Leanne's world.  Josie was recently fortunate enough to be the recipient of one of these famous emails from her Aunt Leanne and we enjoyed it so much, we decided to share it:

dear leanne
donit cry i.love you

best baby for

ever hope

fell better

payer

for you

every day

get well

jose catfish with ketchup nackname for baby
 
Translation:
Dear Leanne [Josie],
Don't cry; I love you.  Best baby forever.  [I] Hope [you] feel better.  Prayer [I pray] for you every day.  Get well. 
[Leanne] Josie catfish with ketchup (nickname for baby). 
 
Now you've got to love that! 

First Father Daughter Outing

Today Josie and Travis went on their very first father daughter outing.  Destination: Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse (where else?).  Mom made sure Josie was equipped with a pretty little hair bow and Dad made sure Josie was equipped with...

a screwdriver!

While I enjoyed having the house to myself, I admit I missed her terribly.  The outing was a success and Josie got lots of attention at Lowes.  I think they will have a standing weekend date from now on! 

Christmas in July

We are blessed with terrific neighbors, Deb and Verl.  They raised a super nice daughter named Jonnikka who absolutely loves Josie.  Even though Jonnikka lives in Wisconsin, she makes it a point to come see Miss Josie every time she's in town.  Today she came over and took care of Josie while I painted my nails.  I no longer paint my nails while solo supervising Josie because she inevitably ends up covered in nail polish and that polish stays on her bald head for DAYS! 

Jonnika came bearing adorable gifts for our little sweet pea. 

Jonnikka, have I told you lately that I love you?

Deb thinks every baby should have a boppy pillow and Josie agrees.  She's already found numerous uses for it including...

Ceiling fan watching

(Josie says it's way better than football or Nascar or any other spectator sport)

Arm Wrestling with Dad

Snoozing

And just hanging out, being cute!

Yesterday, Grandma Chris (Pete & Nurse Katie's lovely mother) came over and showered Josie with fantastic gifts.  Today, she got lots of goodies from Deb & Jonnika.  Heck, it's Christmas in July for Josie and she extends her thanks from the bottom of her new and improved little heart.  She is one lucky baby! 

Fashion Show

Seeing as how Josie will be four months old on Wednesday, we decided we would optimistically try on some of her size three month clothes tonight.  Hey, what else are us girls supposed to do while Travis is at softball?  As for the outcome of our 3M fashion show... Well, lets just hope summer lasts through October!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is supposed to be a onesie, not coolots!

Are Hammer pants back in style?

Necks are overrated...

...so are hands

...and feet!

You remember sitcom star, Steve Urkel, right? 

Did I do that?

I think I'm going to need some suspenders to keep these up.

Oh sweet little Josie!  I guess we'll just rock our newborn attire a little while longer.  After all, the best gifts come in small packages!

We got our old Josie back!

It is with enormous relief that I report that the worst of the C Diff appears to be behind us!  Josie's crying spells were infrequent and short-lived today.  She resorted back to her old self  - peaceful and happy!  The day started out with a nice long stroll through the neighborhood...

Relaxing in the stroller

She conserved just enough energy to impress her physical and occupational therapists this afternoon.  Accomplishments include holding her head in midline for over a minute, batting at dangling objects and...

rolling on her side!  She's less than 2 weeks out of surgery and she's already attempting to roll again!  She must be feeling better.  Let's face it; a happy baby makes for a better day for everyone involved.  Welcome back happy Josie!  We missed you!

C. Diff

Our pediatrician called me today (yes, on a Sunday!  I was impressed, too!) and informed me that Josie's stool tested positive for C. Diff.  According to MayoClinic.com, Clostridium difficile, often called C. difficile or "C. diff," is a bacterium that can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon.  It is common to catch C. Diff. in the hospital and Josie was particularly susceptible because the antibiotics that she had been taking are known to get rid of the good bacteria in your colon that fights off the bad C. Diff. bacteria.  You can read more about it here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/c-difficile/DS00736

Apparently Josie's screaming spells are the result of her abdominal cramping causing discomfort which is exacerbated by her post-heart surgery discomfort which results in a pretty miserable baby.  We are currently giving her BioGaia drops and hoping it passes quickly.  Poor Josie! 

I was, however, able to capture a happy Josie moment this weekend:

Here she is, enjoying her new quilt from her favorite next door neighbors, Deb and Verl!  The quilt was provided by Project Linus - a non-profit organization that makes blankets for children who are hospitalized.  In light of Josie's recent heart surgery, Deb wanted to make sure Josie received her own quilt.  Thank you, Deb!  Look at that smile - Project Linus mission accomplished!  Goodness knows we needed to see that grin after the weekend we've had. 

The Doctor's Office

Don't you just love it when you call to get an emergency doctor's appointment because your baby won't stop crying screaming and you show up for your appointment and this baby emerges: 

Who me?  Fussy?  Never! 

Me? Screaming at the top of my lungs?!  As if!  Look at this face!

Just as I was convinced that the doctor's diagnosis was going to be that I needed to have my head examined, Josie filled not one, not two, but THREE diapers full of diarrhea.  Whew!  Something is wrong and I'm not crazy (well, Travis may debate that but I digress...) Perhaps she caught a bug at the hospital and the screaming was due to abdominal cramping.  We're waiting to hear back from the lab but are enjoying our pleasant baby in the meantime!  Let's hope she stays that way. 

I'd like to take a moment to contrast Josie's behavior at the doctor's office with that of her Aunt Leanne.  The following photograph was taken during a routine check up:

That's right - Leanne gets on that table and is instantly on her death bed.  EVERY TIME!  I think they both deserve an academy award. 

98

The bad news is that we've been seeing a lot more of this since coming home from the hospital:

Our super mellow Josie who was always in a good mood seems to have been replaced by a very disgruntled baby.  Poor thing had open heart surgery a week ago today and is only taking Tylenol to control her pain.  Her pediatric cardiologist wanted me to bring her in for an echocardiogram just to confirm that the crying wasn't due to excess fluid around her heart and lungs.  Turns out, her heart and lungs are in great shape and her wounds are healing nicely.  If the fussiness continues, we will see her pediatrician.  Luckily, the afternoon was better so let's hope the improvement continues.  

Now for some good news.  Notice anything different about this face?

  

No more cannula stickers!  Those little brown circles are designed to secure her nasal cannula that delivers oxygen.  However, Josie hasn't needed oxygen for the last 4 days and her oxygen saturation levels are continuously improving!  She still wears a little probe around her foot that is connected to her pulse oximeter - a machine that measures her oxygen saturation levels. 

The goal is to be between 85 and 100.  Prior to surgery, her levels would drop down into the 70's.  Check this out:

98 without oxygen!  Sealing up those holes made all the difference in the world!  Just think, someday soon we will have an entirely cordless baby.  We can't wait!

Discharge Day

Yesterday, Josie woke up to some very good news...

What?  Did I just hear someone say I get to go home today?

According to my watch, it's time to go!  To quote Aunt Leanne, 'What's the hold up?'

Ok Gramps, let's go!

Shortly after we arrived back home, Daddy came home from work with a couple of cool surprises for Miss Josie:

Her very own play mat! 

(Shortly after this picture was taken, a voice cried out "Help!  I'm stuck!"  and it wasn't Josie talking...)

Dad sure knows how to pick terrific toys!  Have you ever seen such intrigue?!

And Josie's personal favorite feature, the mirror: 

That's Mama's Girl! 

But the post-surgery spoiling doesn't stop there.  Check out this brand new mobile!

Mom got in on the action too! 

Love, Travis

Love, Grandpa Hop

In other unrelated news, I came home to find my first zucchini in the garden.  Although I realize that this may be of minimal interest to anyone but myself, it's my blog and I retain the right to brag about my wicked horticulture skills!  Feast your eyes on this beauty:

Coming Up on this season of Confessions of the Chromosomally Enhanced, A Diary of Dual Downs Divas and Elizabeth's Garden...

Tomatoes

And

Cucumbers!

I know you're on the edge of your seats! 

Another Post Surgery Update

Miss Josie was delighted to be greeted by Nurse Katie this morning.  Katie was Josie's nurse after her cardiac catheterization and she is also the big sister of our good friend, Pete.  Instantaneously, the day got off on the right foot. 

9 lbs 12 oz

But just as Josie started to get comfortable, Nurse Katie whipped out a hearty dose of potassium.  We were told that the potassium doesn't taste very good but I think we could have figured it out by the look on Josie's face.  Without further ado, I present to you, "Potassium Face":

How dare you squirt that vile liquid into my mouth?!  I thought we were friends!

Which was quickly followed by this charming face:

That cherry syrup Katie mixed it with is cold comfort when you have to choke down that syringe full of bitter toxic waste! 

But Katie quickly made it up to Josie by bringing in this awesome new mobile to hang above her crib.  Josie was mesmerized and all was forgiven!

Now that nurse Katie was back in Josie's good graces, it was time for a bit more torture.  First the mean guy from the lab came to do a heel prick and squeeze 3 vials full of blood out of poor Josie's little foot.  Then this lady came in and put stickers all over Josie's chest to complete her EKG. 

Josie didn't mind those stickers going on but boy did she wail when they came off!  Then she got carted off to receive her ultrasound.  Another hour of torture!  At least she got a pacifier dipped in sugar water out of the deal.  Grandpa Hop carried her back to the pediatric floor where she caught a nice nap and then received a bath from Nurse Katie.  After a day like that, Josie couldn't wait to settle in for a good night's sleep. 

Goodnight Sweet Baby Josie!