Watch Out World

Watch Out World - Elle Belle is on the MOVE! I put Elle down on her pink play mat this afternoon while I went into the kitchen to clean out her feeding pump and get her milk ready. Our house is open concept - so our kitchen opens to our den where Elle was. I turned my back for literally 2 minutes to talk to my mom on the phone and when I turned back around - this is what I found!

Elle Belle rolled off the mat and probably 4 feet until she came to rest on the sofa. Her little legs were propped up against the sofa and she had a huge smile on her face - she was so proud of herself for her big move! That teaches me to turn my back on her ever again! We've had a really great weekend. Even though our interview with Channel 2 News got postponed, our Friday was definitely exciting. Of course Elle woke up bright and early. I was really hoping and praying she would fall back asleep but that never happened (woke up at 5am and stayed awake ALL DAY LONG)! I have discovered some truths about myself now that I have been a mom for a little over 7 months. The one thing I have discovered is that I can't sleep for just an hour. Elle gets one late night feeding - generally somewhere between 11pm and 1am. If the feeding is supposed to be around 1am -i generally try to stay awake - but sometime I tell myself "it's only 11:30 - I can sleep for about an hour and then wake up and feed her." Yeah - I don't think I have actually ever been able to sleep for just an hour and then wake back up to feed her. Oh well - it seems that I automatically wake up at 3am anyways!

Our little birdie

Animal Print Friday - we had appointments with both the cardiologist and gastro doctor. Our cardiologist took an x-ray and then came in to deliver the good news - everything looks great - we don't have to go back until she is a year old! He also said that since her scar looks pretty good - we no longer have to scoop her up - thank goodness because she is getting too big to scoop up and not just pick her up under her arms!! And...drum roll please...we are officially out of quarantine! Yeah!! I write that we are out of quarantine with a bit of hesitation because since it is flu season - and Elle is a high risk kiddo - we won't be going out in public all too often....and we are still being very selective as to who can be around her. Our appointment with the gastro doctor went well too. I'm afraid that my milk isn't going to keep up with Elle's demands so we are going to start supplementing and trying out different types of formula to add to her milk. We are also lining up another swallow study. I just want to be 100% sure that the breathing tube didn't damage anything in her throat. She still isn't taking a bottle like she did before surgery. Pre surgery she would take anywhere from 20 - 30 cc by bottle. Now - she barely takes 10cc. She isn't interested in breast feeding either. We go back to see her in a few more weeks just to make sure Elle is on track with her feeding. She also wrote the orders to start back up with PT and OT. Yeah for progress!

Elle covered up and ready for her walk on Friday morning

Elle and Lee playing on Friday evening

Saturday morning, Lee woke up super early to go hunting. I had to go and drop some prescriptions off at the pharmacy and on the way back to our house, I noticed a huge sign for a community garage sale in the neighborhood across the street from ours. So - Elle's first foray into the public post surgery were garage sales!! I had the hour to kill before her meds were ready, so we visited a few. I picked up a ton of 18 month clothes - all in pretty good shape for $10.00! Saturday afternoon I dropped Elle off with Mark and Vickie and I headed out to do some shopping. I have held out long enough on buying clothes to fit my current body type. After watching a few too many What Not to Wear marathons and hearing Stacy London and Clinton Kelly say "dress your current figure - not your intended figure" - I bit the bullet and took some of my ones money to the mall. Thankfully, Ann Taylor Loft was having a huge sale and I found some really good deals. It was kind of nice being out - alone. The drive to the mall was so peaceful. Elle has really started to not like riding in the car - at least not when she is the only one in the back seat. Our drives anywhere generally consist of her screaming and me making a few trips to parking lots to pull over and comfort her before getting back on the road. I think it might be because I take her hearing aids out when I put her in the car since she usually pulls them out to start sucking on them. Plus she can't really see me - so the combo of not seeing me and not being able to hear puts her into a mini panic. She hates being alone now so I can only pray that this too shall pass.

My garage sale finds

This morning I was tempted to take Elle to Target to pick up some necessities. I thought better of it and decided to go on a walk instead. Elle had a little photo shoot before our walk...

After Lee got home from the lease, I headed out to do some errands. I picked up a Jenny Jump Up while I was out. Jury is still out on if Elle likes it or not. She looks so tiny in it!

This week we have a super busy week! Tomorrow is a big day at the hospital - filled with appointments. One of the appointments is with the Geneticists. Both Lee and I are anxious to hear what they have to say. Whatever they say, we both know our little Elle is truly a blessing and we are so incredibly lucky to have her in our lives!

Only 1 more week until the Wee Dream Golf Tournament. Thank you sooo much to everyone who has donated to the foundation! Monday, November 16 is going to be one exciting day!!!