Fuuny, we all noticed how quiet it is and then we just wandered off until somebody posts. Teehee. Got a busy day planned here too. Today is Kendra's 4th birthday. I can't believe it already....but it's sort of like she's still going on 2 with her delays. She has a surprise in store for her when she gets to Gramma's for the day today - big girl panties! Yep, her meds are controlling her bladder spasms so well that she's almost always dry between catheterizations now, so I figured "why not?" She already decided that she didn't want to wear diapers anymore. She's in size 7s which have to be ordered and delivered as medical supplies along with her catheters and the last time Jenny put one on her she ripped it right back off twice and pointed at Katie. So Jenny tried Pull ups, which she'll tolerate even though they are too tight around her thighs. It's getting harder and harder to find diapers to fit anyway.
So yesterday when we were buying her birthday present we bought her some big girl panties. I did a little studying on the Spina Bifida Moms' web site and found that most of the moms there put their kids in big girl (or boy) panties as soon as the Oxybutenin starts preforming well and they stay dry. But they also buy the thinnest, smallest Always pantie liners and pop those into the panties as an easy peel-out shield. Well by golly, if it's good enough for their kids it's darn sure good enough for ours. She's going to be so excited!
When the kids take her back to Denver in 6 months they'll be setting up her surgeries. The first is called the Mitrofanoff Procedure and after it's done and healed up she'll be able to cath through an extra little belly button next to the belly button she was born with. The second is ACE, or Antegrade Colonic Enema, and another opening is made from her tummy into the cecum. Then her nightly bowel washouts will also be done through her tummy instead of with the usual enema. They'll do both procedures at the same time, and they are looking at next August for her surgery date. Kenny won't be able to get off work because he won't be able to give them a solid date when he'll return - kinda hard to ask for time off and tell the boss he has no idea when he'll be back. So I'll be going down there with Jenny and it looks like it will be the two of us in Denver by ourselves for another month or more.
We just couldn't hook up with Sophia's family, so this is the first time that Sophia and Kendra haven't celebrated their birthdays together since they were born. They have been getting Sophia ready for her 4th open heart surgery and right now are trying to minimize the time she spends around other kids. As outgoing and gregarious as Little Miss Sophia is that's been a little tough, but if this next surgery goes well there'll be plenty more birthdays ahead of them to celebrate together.
And that's all the news from Oleo Acres!
