Category: Jhyelle

Dancing From Dominoes

We have a set of double nine Dominoes, as part of our math manipulatives set.  The other day, Jamayiawas lining them all up in some creative design, with the intent of knocking one over and watching the chain reaction.  I offered to teach her how to play.  She was eager to learn.

I separated the domino set, removing everything higher than double six.  We picked out seven tiles each, and I began teaching her the basics.  She caught on quite quickly, and her enthusiasm seemed to double.  She knew that she had to watch the game area for the numbers at both ends and match them up with the tiles from her hand.  If needed, she could pick up tiles from the extra pile.

Later that evening, we played again, as a family.  Incredibly, this girl managed to find even more exuberance for the game.  She remembered how to play and was having a blast. So much fun, that each time she lay down a tile, she stood up to dance and cheer.  Hard.  Jhyelle started copying her too.  So now we had two princesses, dancing and cheering their hearts out after every turn. 

It was adorable.  Loud, yet neat to see their excitement and their passion for learning and celebrating even in a simple moment.  While I was trying to get through a few rounds of the game, my older girls were relishing the game.

The thoughts started coming to my mind.  When did I stop enjoying the learning process?  At what age did I figure out that all inner joy must be restrained and contained, kept only to myself?  And why?  Not all situations call for such displays of excitement, of course.  Discretion must be used.  But by myself, in my home, where I have free reign to do whatever, should I not freely celebrate life?

Thanks, Jamayia, for teaching Mommy in this moment.  Thanks for reminding me that there’s fun awaiting in every nook and cranny of our home.

Happy Birthday, Jhyelle

My little miracle girl is now 3 years old.  (She looked like this her first few days.  She spent a total of 2 weeks in the neo-natal intensive care unit.)  Where does the time go?  One minute, she was born and promptly whisked off to the NICU, with no guarantee of returning.  She was quite sick, but survived.  Then, we were told that she could have some developmental delays as she grew older.  The medical staff had no predictions, only precautions.

Jhyelle is doing wonderfully well!  She’s happy, she’s growing, she’s developing and she’s healthy.  My girl is all smiles and loves to have fun.  She’s into the mimicking stage, where anything she finds remotely entertaining gets copies or repeated, as she erupts into giggles.  Her vocabulary grows each day and she’s now speaking in sentences.  She shocked me a few months ago, when she pointed to some letters on my shirt and named them–correctly!  She’s growing up.

As a big sister, Jhyelle had adjust quite well.  She can always be found touching, hugging and kissing her baby sister.  She’s always trying to help care for her and keep her happy.  Her appetite clearly comes from daddy.  She’s also quite adventurous and seems to know no fear.

My dear preschooler is such a special part of our family–we’re so glad she’s here.  It’s amazing how each child just fits so perfectly into their uniquely jigsawed design, as a part of our puzzle.

Opening a few gifts at her party.

Hello October

Yes, I realize that we’re 4 days into the month already, but that’s already. Hello October. I’m now starting to appreciate this month even more. My baby turns 1 year old on Thursday–ack!! I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since her birth (and subsequent drama). Now to figure out how exactly to plan a little party for her.

For Jamayia, on her actual birthday date, I’d just invited her grandparents & her aunties over for cake & a quick savoury snack after work, as it was during the week. Then on the weekend, we had a larger family party, which my mom was gracious enough to share with her (their birthdays are 2 days apart). Nothing big was needed–she was only turning one. No need to go over the top to create an event that would’ve been bigger than her.

But for Jhyelle, we have a slight dilemma. Her birthday’s this Thursday (the 8th). Then Thanksgiving dinner is on Sunday (the 11th). I could do a little something after church on the 10th, but it’d be some of the same people from Sunday, and people are already pouring their efforts into that. I could wait until the following weekend, but I think that there are plans in the works as well. Hmmm…I’ll figure something out.

This month also brings in some visitors and lots of busyness. Nippy winds too, but we’ll just bundle up good. Oh, and my mom’s new pumpkin dessert. She tried it last year, instead of her traditional (and so very scrumptious pie) and it was a hit! So, bye bye pie, hello new dessert.

Must run…mouth is watering already…

She Walks

Jhyelle, that is. She’s now walking. **sigh** It just seems a little too fast. She took her first few steps back in late August, when she was only 10 little months old. Now she’s busy motoring around the house, and she’s not even a year old yet. Yikes!

Sweet 7 Months

Ladies & Gentlemen, we have a crawler on our hands. Jhyelle’s rapid movement progression started in utero, to be completely honest nearly 2 weeks ago. We got home on April 25th after being out all day, and she pulled herself up from lying down to sitting. By Thursday, April 30th, she was working hard at crawling faster. You should see her get around now! This kid clearly has places to go, and she’s not waiting for anyone to carry her there.

It’s so mind-boggling to watch this little one growth. She’s gorgeous! She’s just getting taller and filling out more and more. She’s trying to discover her voice and let herself be heard. Oh the fun we shall have. I can’t believe she’s a whole seven months old already. **sigh**.

She’s Got Her Routine

Jhyelle does. For pooping, that is. More specifically, for poopy explosions.

My second trip into Mommyhood would not be complete without a poop explosion story. Thanx, Jhyelle!

Last week, I’d dressed her in a long-sleeved onesie and pants. She hadn’t pooped in like two days, so I was expecting nasty whenever it was to happen. Well, that afternoon, she did. And when it’s visible through the clothes, you know it’s awful. It must’ve taken about twenty minutes and a bazillion wipes and a couple paper towels to change her. At that moment, I wished I was rich, so that I could just cut the shirt off her body and discard it without missing it. Then came the handscrubbing of the shirt. At least it all came out in the washing machine.

Fast forward to today. She hadn’t pooped in nearly a week. I dressed her in the same shirt as last week. Lo & behold, while playing in her exersaucer (same poop spot as last week too, no less!), she exploded again. And we did a repeat of the previous paragraph.

If I believed differently, I’d really wonder if her shirt had anything to do with it. I guess if she hasn’t pooped in a while, I’ll just dress her in that shirt and place her in the exersaucer.

Our Little Miracle Baby

Jhyelle is doing remarkably well. She was so very sick at birth. The truth is that we almost lost our little baby. When she came out, the laid her on my stomach for a brief moment. She looked ginormous to me (turns out she weighed 8 lbs 10 ozs, so she was h-u-g-e!!). She had her eyes open and was squirming around. But, she didn’t cry or make any big noises, just tiny little wimpers.

The very attentive nurse immediately took her over to the warming bed and started working on her breathing. And they worked, and more people were coming into the room. There were nurses of all kinds, doctors and respiratory technicians. They ended up moving her to the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit to watch her. At first, they all thought it would be quick and they’d update us in about an hour.

Little did we know….

Jonathon went to try and see her well after an hour had passed. He couldn’t get in at first..they’d told him to come back. He eventually got through a bit later and took a few pics. She was hooked up to enough machines, including a ventilator. It appeared that she’d swallowed some fluid on the way out. There was also meconium during the birth, and they weren’t clear on if or not she’d swallowed that. But she had fluid in her lungs and in her stomach. She also appeared to have some sort of infection and high blood pressure in her lungs.

Jhyelle was a very, very critically sick little baby. The doctor came by later that evening (she was born at 9:33 am) to talk to us. She explained how critical her status was and that they were proactively treating her infection, even though they weren’t sure of the specifics. She also explained that a blood transfusion is sometimes necessary and wanted our permission should they need to do it. The doctor also explained that this problem is common and that there’s nothing we could have done differently. There was also the possibility of long term developmental delays (which we’d find out down the road) and even the risk of death. She was given a 60-70% chance of recovery.

I finally saw her later that evening for the first time. They had her heavily sedated and she was receiving the blood transfusion. The fresh platelettes were helping to improve the oxygen levels in her blood. She was so fragile that they couldn’t even weigh her or measure her, let alone bathe her. We were barely allowed to touch her, only briefly on her legs.

She had intravenous lines in both arms and was on the ventilator. She also had a couple lines through her umbilicus, for nutrition and blood drawing purposes. She was quite warm, and didn’t need to be clothed.

That first night, she’d actually gotten worse. They had even put her on a heavier ventilator that helps to basically “shake” the air into the lungs. It looked more intimidating than it sounded. When we arrived the next morning, the doctor explained that her illness looks to have plateaued, and they were hoping she’d only make improvements from that point on. This tiny little baby was connected to and dependant on so much equipment that she occupied the space of 2 beds in the NICU.

Some other things that happened for her:
–Lumbar puncture on Oct 9, to determine the specific type of infection.
–Came off the ventilator and onto nasal prongs on Oct 11.
–Started on breastmilk, via gavage tube on Oct 11.
–Met Jamayia for the first time on Oct 11.
–We were able to hold her for the first time on Oct 13. We bottlefed her then too.
–Moved to a regular bassinet on Oct 15.
–Breastfed for the first time on Oct 15.
–Mom changed her for the first time on Oct 16.
–Moved to a step down pod in the NICU on Oct 17 (en route to going home).
–Finished intravenous antibiotics for the infection on Oct 17.
–2nd visit with Jamayia on Oct 18.
–Moved again to another step down/going home pod in the NICU on Oct 18.
–Nasal prongs removed on Oct 20.
–Passed car seat respiratory test the first time on Oct 21.

And she was finally released on Wednesday, Oct 22.

Play by play pictures to follow in next post.