Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Doctors for all


Aaliyah playing in the pool while it was being filled.


Aaliyah was putting "lipstick" on it was actually a washable marker.


Aaliyah and daddy at the carnival.

One of my favorite pictures of all time.


and another...


bath time at grammys.


Ciara and great grandma Barnoff



This past week has been quite an interesting one, but we made it through! Last Tuesday night Aaliyah, Ciara, Grandma and Grandpa Benson, and I went up on Benson hill to have mountain pies. Grandma had brought a knife up to cut the onion and while no one was looking Aaliyah cut her left index finger down to the bone. We went up to the ER and she had to get 3 stitches put in. She was such a trooper though!!! She only cried a little bit but I think it was because she was scared. Afterwards the doctor gave her lots of stickers and she was happy as can be. She has to have a band aid on it at all times though. If she can see those stitches she freaks out! I have been trying to uncover them when she is sleeping so they can get some air. We went back to the doctor on Thursday to have the stitches checked and she got even more stickers then. She is in sticker heaven!

On Wednesday Ciara woke up with another horrible diaper rash. I called in to see if they could call in the cream that worked for her last time, but they needed to see her first. So I took her in when I took Aaliyah for her appointment. She weighed in at a wonderful 7lb 4oz. I was amazed. I got a refill for her cream and the rash is completely gone. The doctor wants me to put the cream on for a month and hopefully it will stay away. She is completely out of preemie clothes and we have moved on to newborns. She's growing fast! Praise the LORD!!!

I just got home from the hospital today. I went in yesterday to get my tubes tied and have an ablation done. Well when the doctor put the hysterscope in my uterus a small tear occurred. Luckily she was also doing a laparoscopy and she noticed the tear before she put the solution in my uterus. So she just tied my tubes and decided not to put the burn solution in my uterus to do the ablation. When the tear occurred I had some fluid build up behind my uterus and when I came out of surgery I was in so much pain I honestly felt like I was in labor. They gave me every pain medication they could think of. They did a CT scan to make sure everything was ok and the only thing they saw was the build up of fluid. I was in too much pain for them to send me home so they kept me overnight. I slept on a heating pad and surprisingly the only pain med that worked was Tylenol with codeine. I felt much better this morning and was able to come home. Corey took care of the girls by himself last night and he said it went very well. Aaliyah got up at 3:30 and asked him to rock her and then he just put her back in bed with him. He said Ciara got up at 2 and then not again until 9!!! Now either she had a really awesome sleep or Corey didn't hear her crying for a long time!!! Either way she is fine and they survived the night without me. I now have to decide if I want to try the ablation again. Everyone I have talked to really felt better afterwards but I am quite scared of what will happen. I don't want to be in that much pain again. At least with real labor pains you get a beautiful baby out of it!!! I got nothing out of that pain yesterday. I go back to see my doctor in two weeks I will decide then.

All in all everyone is doing fine. Corey has a cold right now but I know him and he won't be stepping foot in any doctor's office unless he is dieing!!!

An update on our friend Barbara. The last I checked she was still in Children's hospital and the doctors could not figure out why her heart rate keeps going down. Please continue to pray for her and her family.

God has blessed us so much and we continue to praise him everyday!!!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Growing, growing, growing.








Ciara is doing very well. Last Monday she weighed in at 6lb 7oz and was an amazing 19 1/2 inches long! This past week has been like any other. We really don't go anywhere and if I have to go to the store I wait until Corey is home so he can stay with Ciara. Aaliyah is doing well also and she has gone pee pee on the potty three times now. Although...She thinks that she is Ciara's mother!!! Last week Ciara was on the floor just looking around and Aaliyah went up to her and tried to pick her up! Luckily we were right there and told her no. She came back with "I can hold her mommy she's not too big. I can do it."

Then a couple of days later Ciara was sitting in her bouncy chair watching Kissy play. All of a sudden I hear "No sissy, no look at kissy." She kept telling her sister not to look at Kissy and then she proceeds to say "No sissy, hey, 1....2...3." Then she went over to slap her hand. I immediately took over and told her that she was being a little too bossy and that I was her mommy not Aaliyah. She was all upset just because Ciara was looking at Kissy!!! She cracks me up. She does love her sissy very much but she is also turning into a vibrant two year old!!!!

This past Saturday was my best friend Kaylan's bridal shower. So I helped make chocolate covered apples on Friday night and then attended the shower on Saturday evening. My mom and Aunt Libby were nice enough to watch the girls for me on Friday and Corey had the girls on Saturday. She decided she wanted a wine tasting shower and had all of her bridesmaids bring 5-6 bottles of wine. I started off the evening with one drink and stopped after that so I could help with the shower. Well when the sun went down Kaylan and I hit the bottles pretty good. Needless to say I had to be driven home. My dad was nice enough to drive me the whole way to Big Run. Thank you daddy!!! Sunday I spent dragging and took a long nap in the evening. I am glad I don't do things like that often because it is so hard to take care of babies when you feel like that. But I did enjoy having some time with my friends. I do cherish my friends so much.

On Friday Ciara's roommate, Barbara Fisher, who was also born at 25 weeks gestation was sent to Children's hospital in Pittsburgh. She was having decreased heart rate and her parents were having a hard time keeping her stable. She is still in Pittsburgh and they still don't know why her heart rate keeps going down. Please pray for her and her family. I hope they get things figured out.

Please continue to pray for Ciara's health and growth. It is definitely working. God is good!!!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Happy Due Date!



Aaliyah holding her kitty after she got declawed.



Aaliyah decided to put some eye shadow on while I was in the shower.



Yes, it has officially arrived. Today is Ciara's due date! She is doing very well. Last Thursday she looked a little pale to me so I took her to the pediatrician. Her hemoglobin was low so they sent us for some more blood work. The rest of the testing looked ok so we are just going to watch her. She has been looking well since then so hopefully it has corrected itself. She weighed in at 5lb 11oz at her visit! I was so pleased to see her gaining weight. I am still having a hard time with her diaper rash. The only thing I can think of is changing her diapers. They make sensitive diapers and I will try those. It will almost clear up and then all of a sudden come back with a vengeance.

We have been pretty much staying home. Yesterday we went over to Greg and Kristy's house to play with our nephew Hayden. Aaliyah had a great time. Then after we left Hayden spiked a 103 fever. Luckily the girls seem to be feeling fine so far. Hopefully they will stay that way. After we left Kristy's I was exhausted so we went to my mom and dad's house. They watched the girls while I went to my old room for a much needed nap. I honestly could have slept all night!!! I did feel much better afterwards, but then I was up every 2 hours with Ciara through the night so I am tired again. The cycle continues. Hopefully she will continue to grow and be able to hold more food. Right now she eats 2 hours from when she starts eating. So if she starts at one and eats for 30-45 minutes, then she sleeps until 3 and then we start again. So I get about and hour of sleep in between feedings. That being said I am so happy that she is home and she is definitely worth all the sleep deprivation. Last night she had quite the belly ache and I was up until 1:00 a.m. with her. She has been getting them pretty much every night around 10:30-11:00.

On Sunday the Detwiler family came over for a cookout and to visit with Ciara. They seemed very smitten with her, but it is hard not to be!

Please continue to pray for her growth and well being.