We got in on Thursday night after an 11 hour trip that should only take 8. She was very good for the whole thing and slept most of the way. She was ready to party when she got to her grandparents' house and we all finally went to sleep around 2:00AM. She pretty much slept til 8:00-9:00 the entire time we were there, so that was pretty awesome.
While we were there we shopped at one of our favorite stores and couldn't resist having a little fashion show. She kept this outfit on the entire time. I got one of those Fisher Price retro record players for her (have to make sure today's kids know what records are!). Also they had an OP bathing suit with the flotation built in. This summer we hope to start using Aunt Pat and Uncle Steve's pool for therapy so this will come in handy.
My invitation to the Royal Wedding must have been lost in the mail!
She had a lot of fun visiting with her baby cousins Addie and Thomas and her older cousins Emily and Mia. I really enjoyed watching them all playing together with a big tote of toys, spreading them all over the floor in the living room. Amelia is certainly learning how to snatch and grab thing she wants from others. Good thing Addie likes her so much because if it was her Baby Brudder she might've gotten smacked in the head.
While in Mobile she did learn one new trick. Both my sister Marian and my parents have sunken living rooms with steps. We stopped over at Marian's on the way over to stretch our legs and she figured out how to get up and down the steps. She continued to try this in Mobile and got very good at it. Now that she is at home she can get up about three or four steps if I put an object she wants up on the stirs. I need to get out the tape measure today and start measuring the openings so we know what gates to purchase.
Sunday morning the Easter Bunny came and brought everyone baskets. Amelia got a reusable swim diaper, a pail with a rake and spade, a beach tote, a coloring book with washable markers and the pièce de résistance --- Dora the Explorer Band-Aids. I never would have predicted the reaction that the Dora Band-Aids would produce:
First glimpse at her Easter basket. What hath the Bunny brought?
Examining more closely. What is this?
Dora, Dora, Dora the Explorer!
After emptying the contents of the baskets, we drove up to Mount Vernon for Gregory's baptism, Mass and the Easter egg hunt and covered dish supper. St. Cecilia's is where Todd and I were married and Amelia was baptized with her cousin Clara last year.
Waiting for Cousin Gregory's baptism to start.
Getting ready for her first Mt. Vernon Easter egg hunt. The anticipation is too much!
Getting into the action!
Learning to walk while only holding one hand. Glad she wore her flats.
Checking to see if she got any prize eggs!
Who got the most eggs? So young. So competitive!
Let's go get our prize! She won a stuffed puppy dog.
Visiting with everyone and waiting for the covered dish supper to start.
Happy Easter from the Bankers!
As you can see, I think her first Easter in the country was a success and she had a fantastic time. But all good things must come to an end, so we had to come home. We had a sleep study scheduled for Monday night and we left later than anticipated, so we had to go straight to the hospital after driving 8 hours. Only one parent was allowed to stay overnight with her, so I stayed with her so Todd could go home, get some rest, and go to work.
The point of the study is to see what she is doing while she sleeps. Kids with lung disease tend to have apnea and not keep their oxygen saturation levels up. This is because of muscle tone issues that she has as a result of being premature or may even been exacerbated by her long intubation period. The airway gets floppy when she is relaxed at night and doesn't allow proper air flow.
They measure everything...brain waves, heart, respiration, blood sats, muscle movements. We both slept in a queen size bed with a camera trained on us. We had had quite a weekend and we were both exhausted. Both of us fell asleep within minutes.
We started off the night with no cannula and within half an hour the tech busted in, wheeled in an oxygen tank, and put a cannula in her nose. Sounds like she didn't pass the test. The tech cannot tell us anything and it takes the doctor a while to review the results and call us. One thing is for certain, neither one of us is anxious to repeat this test any time soon.
Could you sleep with all this mess on?
We had a terrific time in Mobile seeing family and friends while we were there. It has taken most of the week for us to catch up on our laundry, house work and sleep, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Sharing good times with the ones we love is what life is all about!
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