My Daughter who is the Daughter of my Daughter

Blaubeere had her baby a few days ago but the little girl sure has been having a hard time getting started. She weighed just under six pounds when born, the smallest baby on my side of the family in recent memory. She seemed to do fine the first day but then she began to have difficulty breathing and they found she had air in the sack around her lungs, where it didn't belong. That made it difficult for her lungs to inflate when she tried to breath. So into the NICU she went and a tube was inserted to remove the air. And an IV to hydrate her. And a tube went in to feed her. And on top of all that were various wires attached here and there to monitor her all over the place. They made her mom leave the room each time they had to put a new tube or monitor in. No fun. And then she got a little jaundiced so they put her under a lamp and put some cool shades on to protect her eyes. Plus her Mom put on a mitten because she kept hooking her hand on this tube or that line and pulling on them. 

So there she was, laying all small and tiny in her warming crib, surrounded by machinery, nurses and a Mom who desperatly wanted to hold her but couldn't. She wasn't the smallest, most serious baby in NICU (there was a set of twins there that were under two pounds) but to her parents, brothers and grandparents, she was the most significant child in the hospital.

In all of that, though, it was cool that in all the limiting of visitors the hospital did, they allowed grandparents free access, as much and whenever they wanted. So we did. We've been able to go a couple of times and provide her mother with an opportunity to get some much needed rest and still have her little girl have someone with her. Also gave her grandma some time with her.  Grandmas like that kind of thing. This one sure does, anyway.

We are also happy to report that she is doing much better now.  The errant air is gone, tubes have begun to come out. She's eating like a healthy baby more, though not yet getting all her milk that way. She's well on the road to recovery. And the best part?  Her momma is getting to hold her more and more each day. What a little angel.

Christmas Vacation

This Christmas holiday has been good, for the most part. Well, if you overlook the fact that nearly all of us got sick during the vacation its been good. Schwartzbeere was sick just before the school vacation started but swears it wasn't what the rest of us got. I guess he doesn't want to get blamed for bringing it into the house. Can't say as I blame him. But if it wasn't him then it was me. Anyway, wherever it came from, we got sick. Be that as it may, it was still a good holiday. I had to go in one day because I ran out of vacation time but that wasn't bad. Its usually very quiet between Christmas and New Years. And by the time I went in I was feeling better enough that it wasn't so bad. 

So Christmas morning we got to sleep in later than the kids used to let us. This year it was just the kids who still live at home that were here. The rest were off doing their own thing or visiting the other side of their families for Christmas. Got to share, I guess. So we got up around 7:30 am and opened presents. With just the few of us it didn't take all morning like it has some Christmas mornings.

Everyone got stuff that made them smile.  Then there was goodies the rest of the day.  Food on Christmas at our house is "do-it-yourself".  Plenty of stuff, healthy and otherwise, to choose from but you're on your own.

 

Because we were all sick at one time or the other we really didn't go out and "do" anything.  Just stayed around the house.  We got a few new movies for Christmas so we watched a bunch of those, played games and just talked.  Actually, it was all kind of nice.

 

And Mr Hobbs nailed it again.  Snow; a white Christmas.  You just can't beat a good, reliable weather pig. He is in this picture, just kind of hard to see.