Our smiling girl!

So, yesterday was a bit of a strange day for Ruthlande. She was less fussy than usual - she was sitting in her seat without crying - usually she just wants me to hold her and isn't happy with anything else. And, I heard her laugh for the first time yesterday! Danielle was playing with her - showing her toys and laughing - and I heard Ruthlande laugh back! I was so excited. Of course, as soon as I came over to see, she looked up at me expectantly and stopped laughing, but I was just happy to have heard it!

So the laughter was exciting, but the rest of the day didn't go as well. She wouldn't really eat or drink much and she threw up a little bit at lunch. We're worried because this can be a sign that she's not tolerating her hydrocephalus. She did eat a bit better at dinner and hasn't thrown up since, though, so for now we're just watching her carefully. I know from my kids that throwing up once could mean just about anything (including that her food just didn't go down quite right). Still, it's hard not to worry!

Today, Ruthlande has seemed much better - no more throwing up and she's eating decently (still wish I could get her to drink more). But, the best news of today is that Ruthlande was laughing and smiling again! First, she smiled again at Danielle (she likes Danielle!). But, she was smiling and laughing like crazy when I put on the video of her momma and brother and sisters singing to her! I so wish that I had played it for her earlier! Just to preface this, I had shown her the picture of her momma a few times before and she started crying, so I was a bit leery of showing her the video. It felt like I was being a little cruel, showing her a picture when what she really wanted was her momma here with her. But, I decided to try again and show her the video today. I'm so glad I did! She almost immediately started to laugh and reach her arms up toward the TV. At first, I wasn't sure if she was laughing or crying, but it became apparent after a few minutes that she was definitely laughing and smiling! Just take a look at that picture! She actually tried to sit up in the seat to reach the TV! We'll definitely be playing this video every day now.

Denny's

Yep, the whole family ventured out to Denny's for dinner tonight. It actually went very well. Ruthlande was a bit fussy at first, but I asked the waiter to bring us a piece of wheat bread while we waited for the food and that worked like magic! She actually finished the last bite of bread just as the food came. Of course, then she wasn't at all interested in the grilled cheese or applesauce that we got for her (both of which she ate great at the hospital). Funny thing, though - on a whim I gave her a little piece of my hamburger and she loved it! She ate a lot of that!

The rest of the day was somewhat stressful, but we hung in there. For some reason, Ruthlande seemed fussier than usual - she REALLY didn't want me to put her down. And, of course, Jaden and Danielle took full advantage of the fact that I was busy with Ruthlande - they were quite the handful today. Ruthlande took about an hour to go down for her nap. She was SO tired, but just didn't want to give in. Typical one-year-old I guess!

At any rate, when Scott got home, I was ready for a little stress-relieving dinner out with the family, so I was really glad that that's actually what it turned out to be! Plus, Ruthlande went down like an angel at bedtime - didn't make a peep! So, we ended the day on a good note! And tomorrow is another day... :-)

A Trip to the Park

Today was another good day (what a difference a nap can make!). I decided it was time to venture out of the house and take a trip out to the park. I tried to put Ruthlande in the umbrella stroller at first, but it was too upright and the poor sweetie couldn't hold herself up well enough in it. So, we switched to the double stroller, which was good since Danielle wanted to ride at that point anyway. Ruthlande was not too happy to be in the stroller. She cried for about half the trip to the park, but then eventually calmed down. She was happy to sit in the stroller at the park and eat her applesauce. I tried putting her in the swing, but, as you can see from the picture, she was not thrilled with that either. She didn't warm up to the swing at all, so we gave up. When it was time to leave, she only fussed a bit when I put her back into the stroller - progress!

Bedtime is the most difficult point of the day at this point. Ruthlande doesn't like me to leave her and that seems to really intensify at bedtime. She just cries and cries. I have to sit and stroke her hair for awhile and then I can gradually move away from her crib. I have to sit on the bed until she goes to sleep or she'll cry again. I'm hoping that we'll eventually get past this, but for now I don't want to leave her - she's got to have abandonment issues! It just breaks my heart!

No Nap for Ruthlande

Ruthlande was a bit fussy today because she didn't get a nap. Poor sweetie - twice, she had just gotten to sleep when someone showed up at the door and woke her up. The second person was the home health care nurse who was here to draw some blood and change her IV dressing. Well, she did NOT like her IV dressing being changed and she cried and cried. After that, she was just not going back to sleep.

So, she was really clingy and fussy in the afternoon. She would cry any time I would put her down. I'm still happier with that than with the disinterest she seemed to have in the hospital, though. I'd rather see her upset than just not seeming to care one way or the other about what was happening around her.

2nd Day Home

Well, my first full day with all of the kids on my own went really well. Ruthlande seemed to be feeling well and she napped during Jaden and Danielle’s “resting time,” so that worked out great. In fact, this first day went so well that I have to keep reminding myself that it won’t always be this easy. We’re off to a great start!

Look at the picture of Ruthlande laying on her back - that's a big deal for her!

Day 14 – 1st Day Home

Well, it took us a bit longer than we expected (we were told Ruthlande would be discharged at 8 AM, which turned into 1 PM), but Ruthlande was released from the hospital today! We’ve already had our first visit from the home health care nurse – It seems like the IV antibiotics are going to be really easy to give her – not a problem at all. I uploaded some more pictures to Snapfish (Sara – I’ll try sending more to you too), so feel free to check them out. Tonight will be Ruthlande’s first in-home bath and I’m going to try to wash and comb out that hair of hers – wish me luck – after two weeks in the hospital with nothing done to her hair, I’m going to need it! :-) I honestly think I’m more nervous about her hair care than her medical care!

Ruthlande is able to sit up with some help – she’s still having a bit of trouble holding her head up, but the doctors say her neck will get stronger. Nothing’s changed as far as the hydrocephalus is concerned – I’m just watching for any signs that she’s not tolerating it. If she doesn’t end up getting a shunt, it might be good if she could still visit those specialists that come to PaP once a year so that they can evaluate her to see if it’s getting any worse.

Ruthlande isn’t yet smiling, but she is definitely responding. Dr. Ruge says it is possible that she may have partial paralysis in the face, causing her to actually not be able to smile. This condition can sometimes be associated with spina bifida. I think this might be the case because she will sometimes do something that looks like she might be trying to smile, but it doesn’t quite come through. She is definitely playing with toys more and “talking” to them a lot – it’s really cute. I got a little bit of it on video, but not much because she clams up if she sees the camera! And she now cries when I leave the room or if I put her down after I’ve been holding her. I see this as a good sign because it shows that she cares enough to want people around her. She was SO quiet before that it was really strange. The only time she made any sort of noise at all was when she cried when we would move her or change her diaper or something. Otherwise, she would just lay in the crib, completely silent. So, I was very excited when she starting making noises when playing and was even happy when she started crying when I left her. She’s showing lots of improvement. I think she just needed to get rid of those fevers to start feeling well enough to show some personality!

So, all is well in the Hewitt household! We’re looking forward to figuring out our new daily routine and taking care of the sweet little girl who we already love!

Day 11

It looks like we have something worked out with home health care. As of right now, they can’t get anyone out to us until Monday, but we’re waiting to see if they might be able to move that up. Ruthlande is going to get a pick line today and she will be ready to come home tomorrow (if they were able to get home health care tomorrow). She hasn’t had a fever since midnight Wednesday.

They gave Ruthlande the picc line today at 2 and all went well. She still hasn’t had a fever since 12 AM Wednesday, so I think we’re probably out of the woods as far as that is concerned.
She has definitely seemed more active. She’s been playing with toys more – she really loves the mobile that they put on her crib – I’m going to have to see if I can get my hands on one like it. She still doesn’t really move her legs (I have seen some very small movement, but in general she keeps them still), but she’s been more active with her hands and arms. Scott even got her to hold her own bottle yesterday.
Anyway, all is well. It’s looking like she’s going to be coming home to us soon, so we are very happy!